Service pistol

A service pistol is any handgun issued to military personnel or law enforcement officers.

Typically service pistols are revolvers or semi-automatic pistols issued to officers, non-commissioned officers, and rear-echelon support personnel for self defense, though service pistols may also be issued to special forces as a backup for their primary weapons. Pistols are not typically issued to front-line infantry.

Before firearms were commonplace, officers typically carried swords instead.

Prior to the introduction of cartridge-loading firearms, there was little standardization with regards to the handguns carried by military personnel, although it had been important for officers, artillerymen, and other auxiliary troops to have a means of defending themselves, especially as it was not always practical for them to have a full-length rifle or carbine.

Traditionally, soldiers (infantry and cavalry alike) and officers had carried swords for both personal protection and use in combat. The development of firearms in the mid-14th century changed the way battles were fought, and by the late-15th century it was no longer especially practical to close to hand-to-hand combat range to engage one's opponents, owing to the prevalence of pikes and musket-fire (pike and shot) on the battlefield.

Training was also a factor—it took a very long time to train new recruits in the use of longbows and swords—whereas the basic operation of an arquebus could be taught in a comparatively short time. As a result, swords were retained only by officers (who were less likely to be at the front of the pike-and-musket hedge) and by cavalry, for whom early single-shot handguns were of limited use.

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