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Pistols are intended for single-handed use at short ranges. There are three basic types. The first is the single shot weapon from which others were developed; now only manufactured for target shooting where the highest degree of accuracy is called for, and where rapid fire is not required. Secondly, there is the revolver which is equipped with a revolving cylinder carrying the cartridges in chambers. The mechanism which is actuated by muscular effort of the firer, presents each chamber in turn to a single barrel, therefore the bullet must pass a small gap between the cylinder and barrel. The cylinder capacity is generally between five and seven cartridges. If more rounds are required, either the cylinder becomes too bulky or the size of the cartridge must be reduced, in which case the bullet is likely to become ineffective. Thirdly, the automatic pistol, the most modern development. It has been misnamed, as it is actually a semi-automatic or self-loading pistol, firing one shot each time the trigger is pressed. A truly automatic pistol would fire a burst of bullets in the same manner as a machine gun, but owing to its small weight, it would be completely uncontrollable. Automatic pistols are no longer made. The semi-automatic cycle of ejection, loading and cocking is performed by employing some of the energy from the combustion of the charge.
Military pistols are designed for quick use at short ranges. They are light and handy combining a high rate of fire with adequate striking energy. A service pistol - revolver or self-loader - normally weighs about 2 lbs. The effective range varies with the skill of the user and the reigning conditions: in battle the pistol might only be used at ranges of 10 yards or less, but an experienced marksman can hit a 5 inch bull at 50 yards under range conditions, without waiting for a fluke.
Hand weapons working on the revolver principle were constructed in the 16th Century in England, but the origin is thought to be about a century earlier in Europe. The derivation of the word pistol is obscure, several suggestions have been mooted by historians. The first pistols were probably constructed for use on horseback and were single shot weapons. Such weapons were known to have been made in Pistoia in Etruria, Italy, about 1540. Another solution put forward by qualified researchers is that early pistols for mounted use were carried in holsters which were slung across the 'pistallo' or pommel of a saddle.
In 1835 Samuel Colt was granted a patent in England, then the centre of small arms manufacture in the world, for a revolving cylinder action which forms the basis of almost every modern revolver. His first production model was fitted with percussion ignition, the nipple being mounted in the centre of each chamber breech; thus the weapon was a muzzle loader although charges are actually loaded into the foremost end of the chamber in the cylinder. A single action trigger necessitated cocking the hammer by hand, and the movement also actuated the pawl which rotated the cylinder one sixth of a revolution, and it then locked it in position whilst the round was fired. The light single action trigger pull was popular because it permitted accurate shooting, and rapid fire was accomplished by 'fanning' the hammer. The trigger was either held back or tied to the back of the trigger guard, then the palm of the free hand was swung towards the body over the hammer. This action raised the hammer to full cock but as the trigger was disengaged the hammer fell again immediately and fired the cartridge. At short ranges an expert could fire six effective shots in less than three seconds in this manner.
In 1853 Colt opened a plant in London and met with little competition because he fought all infringements of his patents energetically.
The Deane-Adams solid frame double action British made revolver was patented in 1851. The double action trigger evolved a relatively heavy pull but it gave rapid fire without the use of the other hand as with fanning.
A real advance in lock-work came with the British patent in 1855 of the Beaumont system. which allowed firing by single or double action. The hammer could be thumb cocked and then released by a light trigger pressure or the trigger could be pulled right through to rotate the cylinder and raise and release the hammer; a system used on most present day revolvers.
Revolvers, like muskets, passed through the pin fire and rim fire stages to centre fire metallic cartridge case. The breech loading revolver has a gate in the standing breech (the rear part of the frame which backs up the cylinder) for loading and ejecting. So apart from the chambers being bored through the cylinder there was no great structural change from the muzzle loaders. Centre fire cartridges seemed to have gained popularity about 1870.
Revolvers have a high rate of fire but reloading is slow and although devices to aid rapid reloading have been made they have never become popular. Quicker unloading has been accomplished by arranging to empty all the chambers simultaneously; the 'self-extracting' revolver was of British and European origin about the year 1875. The associated names are: Garland, Thomas and Tranter. The first self-extracting revolver issued to the British Army was a .442 inch calibre rim-fire Enfield revolver later modified to take a .450 inch centre fire cartridge. In 1890 both Webley and Smith and Wesson made a reliable break action self-extracting revolver. The extractor, which also ejected the cases, was operated by opening the piston which had the barrel hinged to the body.
The introduction of the centre fire cartridge made these weapons practicable, and they were developed rapidly from 1880 onwards. These are of two basic types, the first being a simple blow back action which does not have a locked breech; the second has a locked breech and this is generally opened by recoil action. The latter is accepted as the normal military pattern because it handles a more powerful cartridge than the blow back variety. The semi-automatic pistol depends on a drawn brass cartridge case which can be loaded against the spring pressure into a magazine, and will withstand the violent stresses of automatic extraction and ejection from the chamber.
The first successful pistol to be placed on the market was designed by an American, Hugo Borchardt in 1893, but it was manufactured in Germany because financial backing was not forthcoming in the USA. By modern standards this weapon was clumsy, but it did have a detachable magazine in the hand grip and was unlocked by the recoil of the barrel which operated a toggle lock similar in principle to that used in the Vickers Machine gun. In 1894 the Mannlicher and Bergmann pistols were introduced and were followed in 1898 by the Mauser which could be fitted with a butt. Combined with the power cartridges then used, the effective range increased considerably, particularly as the standard of workmanship of both weapon and ammunition are excellent. John Browning, an American who did much of his armament work in Belgium, designed a number of high quality pistols from .25 inch pocket models to high powered 9 mm military weapons. The last one he designed was in 1925 which was produced in 1935 by the FN Factory at Herstal, Belgium, and is generally known as the 1935 Model Browning (9 mm). It fires the famous Luger Parabellum cartridge which also fits many sub-machine guns. This weapon is in current use in the British Army.
The foresight and knowledge of the early engineers is impressive. For instance, the design of Borchardt's cartridge in 1893 was completely correct; it became the 7.63 mm round which Paul Mauser's 1898 pistol used and is still recognised nearly sixty years later as an excellent cartridge. In 1903 the Colt Company began making self-loading pistols under licence to Browning's designs.
The semi-automatic pistol has been adopted by most of the major powers as an official service pistol and has proved itself as a hard hitting, accurate and reliable weapon under all conditions.
Flintlock, Percussion
and Pin-Fire Pistols in the Collection
Self-Loading and Automatic Pistols
in the Collection
Pistols Revolver in the Collection
Signal Pistols, Line Laying and Anti Riot
Guns in the Collection
Miscellaneous Pistols in the Collection
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Page produced by Peter Eldred - Last updated 3 August 2004