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In militaries throughout history, soldiers have
gone into combat with a sidearm to ensure they
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always have a weapon. While most militaries
have issued relatively underpowered sidearms,
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the countries that gave these pistols
and revolvers to their troops wanted to
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ensure that even if they lost their rifle,
they could still pack a devastating punch.
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To clarify, to make it on this list, the sidearm
had to be chambered in at least a .45 ACP and
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above or fire some kind of armor-piercing
round. As you will soon find out, though
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there are many rifle calibers amongst military
service rifles, military sidearm calibers are
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much more limited. However, that has not stopped
armies worldwide from issuing some of the most
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powerful sidearms in military history.
Number Five: British Webley Revolver
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From the hills of South Africa, the trenches of
Western Europe, and the jungles of South East
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Asia, the British Webley revolver continuously
served the British Commonwealth forces from 1887
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to 1970. Because of this, the Webley has the
second longest service history on this list.
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As the only revolver on this list, part
of the reason why the Webley remains
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such a popular sidearm is its reliability.
Unlike more complex semiautomatic firearms,
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the Webley is incredibly simple to operate. Its
six-shot cylinder firing .455 Webley rounds in
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double action made it perfect for any environment.
Its large bullet also helped a good deal.
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The .455 Webley is a bit longer than the
American .45 ACP, but it’s a good deal
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heavier. Weighing an average of 17 grams, the
actual .455 Webley bullet weighs in about five
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or six grams heavier than its classic American
cousin. The main reason why the .45 ACP outshoots
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the .455 Webley is more to do with its propellant.
Because the British designed the revolver in 1887,
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the firearms' ability to accept "hotter loads" is
diminished compared to its modern counterparts.
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This means that firearms like the Webley can only
safely shoot ammo of lesser power and pressure.
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Since the Webley design never changed too
drastically in the almost 80 years it was in
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service; it could not be adapted to shoot more
powerful rounds like the .45 ACP. Even though
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a person could make a slight modification
to a Webley to accept the American round,
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it would not be safe to shoot it since .45
ACP creates too much pressure for the Webley.
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Despite this flaw, the .455 Webley is
a massive round, and still one of the
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largest and most powerful military side
arm rounds ever to grace the battlefield.
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Number Four: The Russian SR-1 Vektor
None of the sidearms on this list are
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more shrouded in mystery than this one, and
for a good reason. As the sidearm of choice
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for the Russian equivalent of the Secret
Service, the Spetsnaz, and other specialized
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anti-terrorist units, these handguns are
no joke in terms of power and reliability.
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Because of the people who carry it, little
information is known about the handgun outside
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Russian military and police circles. Such mystery
has also caused the pistol to go by many names
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like the SPS pistol, the Serdyukov SPS, the Grach
pistol, and the Gyurza. However, all these names
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refer to the same gun despite what you call it.
When you first look at it, you will see that it
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mixes the classic Russian Makarov with
the European Berretta. Such a look was
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intentional since, during the 1980s, the Russian
government wanted to revamp its military sidearms
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to upgrade them to modern standards. After
all, the US and other European militaries
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had been pumping out tons of new small arms,
and the Russians knew they were lagging behind.
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The Russian military first wanted to develop
several strong pistol rounds and build guns
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around them. The testing lasted years and resulted
in three new pistol rounds. All of these have
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since been adopted by the Russian government
in various capacities, but the 9x21mm Gyruza
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rounds were by far the most powerful of all three.
While the 9x21mm Gyruza rounds are just a tad bit
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longer than the standard 9mm rounds commonly used
worldwide, the extra space leaves plenty of room
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for more propellant. The Russians specially made
a new propellant for the rounds and packed more
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of it into the cartridges. The end result was a
muzzle velocity of about 1450 feet per second,
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which is about 50% greater than the average
muzzle velocity of 1000-1100 feet per second
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seen in the most common 9mm rounds.
The extra energy allows these rounds
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to pierce armor. During testing, the bullets
could penetrate up to 30 layers of Kevlar armor
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and 4mm of steel at 50 meters. Though body armor
technology has certainly advanced since the 1990s,
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especially for military body armor,
the rounds are still powerful enough
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to penetrate most civilian and police body armor.
Because of how much energy these rounds have, many
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nations around the world, including the United
States, have banned them completely. Whenever the
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Russian Secret Service travels outside of Russia,
they must leave their SR-1 Vektor pistols behind
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and exchange them for a less powerful sidearm.
Why the government does not issue the side arm
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to every soldier in the Russian army is a matter
of quality control. Each pistol has to undergo
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strict tests before it can be issued to the
military or police. Every handgun must pass
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a series of tests including being subjected to a
wind tunnel full of sand for an hour, being rained
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on for an hour, and being frozen for an hour.
Once the gun goes through all this punishment,
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if it does not fire like it was supposed
to, it gets tossed away and a new one built.
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Number Three: Chinese Type 92
The Chinese Type 92 pistol,
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also known as the QSZ-92, is the standard
sidearm of choice for its military and police
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forces. In contrast, the police are equipped
with the less powerful 9mm version, and the
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military fields the much deadlier 5.8mm version.
Officially known as the 5.8×21mm DAP92 round,
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this cartridge also came about during the 1990s
when China wanted to revamp its military sidearms.
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Because body armor was becoming more prevalent,
Chinese leadership wanted a weapon that had
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the power to defeat body armor but could
also have the recoil and size of a pistol.
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Chinese engineers spent the next several years
designing the 5.8mm cartridge as a clone of
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the infamous FN 5.7×28mm round. Despite their
similarities, the two pistol rounds have one
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significant difference in performance.
Unlike the Belgian 5.7mm round,
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the Chinese 5.8mm is designed to punch through
body armor and then quickly dissipate energy.
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The Chinese military wanted the round to mimic
the effects of intermediate rifle cartridges
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like the American 5.56mm. Just like the 5.56mm,
the 5.8mm round will tumble once inside the
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target. The tumbling effect from the bullet is
what causes incredible wound cavities that will
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take out a person with just a single shot.
Despite having about one-fifth the energy of
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the standard 5.56mm round, the 5.8mm has about
half the speed of the 5.56 round but is only
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around 25% lighter. Because of these
factors, it’s no wonder that tests have
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shown its ability to pierce 1.5mm of steel out
to 100 meters and 4mm of steel to 50 meters.
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And if you think you can get your hands on
one of these guns, then think again. The
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Chinese military strictly controls the export
of these handguns. Only models chambered in the
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standard 9mm cartridge are allowed for sale on the
civilian market, and Chinese soldiers are the only
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people allowed to carry and use the firearm. So
unless you plan on enlisting in the Chinese army,
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you might have to wait a while for one of
these bad boys to show up on the market.
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Number Two: American 1911
The most iconic pistol on this list and arguably
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of all time is the American M1911. Serving as the
primary military sidearm for almost 80 years and
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still serving in various iterations among US
Special Forces, the M1911 also ranks as one of
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the most powerful military handguns ever fielded.
The US military opted for a round stronger than
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the standard 9mm because of the US experience in
the Philippines. After the Spanish-American war,
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US troops fought a decade-long guerilla
war against Filipino guerillas desiring
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independence. During this conflict, the US .38
special revolvers were deemed not strong enough
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to take down determined and drug-fueled fighters.
The US Army began test trials in 1906, and six of
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the world's top arms manufacturers submitted
designs for a .45 ACP caliber pistol. After
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years of trials, Colt's classic M1911A1 design
won out when during final testing, it fired over
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6,000 rounds over two days, only stopping for
reloads and getting cooled down with water.
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The .45 ACP round is not necessarily known for
its clean ballistics and accuracy but for its raw
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power. Depending on the load and amount
of propellant, the .45 ACP round clocks
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in at about twice the power of a 9mm round.
With further advances in firearm technology,
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some .45 ACP rounds creep up close to about
half of what a 5.56mm round can deliver.
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Because of its long service life across numerous
nations and battlefields, the M1911 was fed with a
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wide range of makes and models of .45 ACP ammo. Of
course, older lots of ammo will be less powerful
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than newer ones since firearm technology has
developed so much in the past fifty years
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to give older rounds much more power.
Despite the disparity in performance,
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one thing is for sure. The M1911's raw power
and reliability made it the military sidearm
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of choice for millions of troops worldwide when
they needed to engage in a short-range fight.
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Number One: Belgian FN Five-Seven
Of course, a list discussing the
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most powerful military side arms would be
incomplete without talking about the Belgian
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Five-Seven pistol. While it’s scientifically
proven to be the deadliest pistol a soldier
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can wield on the battlefield today, many
myths exist that need to be dispelled.
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First are the facts. The Belgian government arms
manufacturer FN first designed the pistol in the
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1990s as an alternative to relatively weak
9mm handguns. The Belgians liked that most
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9mm handguns had controllability and accuracy
with large magazine capacities. They decided to
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take all these factors and wrap them all into
a firearm that could punch through body armor.
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After years of development, the Belgians
released the Five Seven to the international
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arms market starting in 2000. The Five Seven
clocks at just a pound and a half loaded,
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making it one of the lighter military side arms
in use despite its huge round. This is because
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the gun uses a lot of strong yet lightweight
polymers to give it a balanced and light feel.
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However, what gives the Five Seven its bite is
its FN 5.7×28mm ammo. The 5.7mm bullet can be
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considered a revolution in firearm technology.
With its incredibly high muzzle velocity of
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around 2,800 feet per second with relatively
low energy, not much higher than a 9mm bullet,
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the 5.7mm round can punch through armor and
still remain inside a target, preventing
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innocent people or civilians from getting hurt.
NATO and various police agencies and governments
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have done a mountain of ballistics testing
throughout the past twenty years. Though
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body armor technology has improved, the fact
that the round can consistently penetrate two
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Level II vests at 100 meters shows how
devastating it can be. Because of this,
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over 40 militaries and police agencies
worldwide use this as their go-to firearm.
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However, it is its armor-piercing ability that
has generated a lot of myths. One of the most
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prevalent is that it’s not as good as many people
think it is and a person saying that would be
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correct when talking about the civilian market.
Because the 5.7mm bullet is so devastating,
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FN only sells the armor-piercing variant
to military and law enforcement customers.
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Civilians can only purchase a much less powerful
round purposefully designed for the civilian
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commercial market. Though the civilian version of
the Five Seven round still clocks in at a whopping
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1,600 feet per second, it’s not considered armor
piercing by the ATF, and numerous studies have
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backed this claim up. Because of this, whenever
cities or states try to ban the ammunition,
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the bills never pass because the civilian variant
is nowhere near as powerful as military ammo.
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