The new Generation of 9 mm semi-auto Pistols

9 mm semi-auto Pistols

Less than 15 years ago, the panoply of handguns in service with police and military for- ces of Western nations was so varied (as regards both types and calibres) as to border on total anarchy. It was not uncommon to find, within a single police corps and sometimes even within a single army, simultaneous-and often semi-official or para-official-deploy. ment of radically different weapons such as 7.62 mm Browning (.32 ACP) semi-auto pistols
and .357 Magnum revolvers. This variety, which ran contrary to the most elementary rationalisation/standardisa tion/interoperability requirements, was mainly a result (and an indication) of the low importance then attached to close-quarter personal defence weapons by both military and police forces. The military were much more concerned with the evolution of assault rifles and squad weapons; and the police forces had not yet been forced to face the terrorist threat, whose growth during the 1970s was to plunge several Western countries into a war they were totally unprepared to fight.
Today, a true standardisation has finally been achieved, for alt military and para-military users, at least as regards the calibre: the 9x19 mm Parabellum (PB) As a result of this stan- dardisation, the semi-automatic (or self-load- ing) pistol- and particularly the high-capacity. magazine models is systematically replac ing the revolver as the standard-issue service sidearm, for a whole series or reasons: firopower, reliability, dimensions, ergonomic characteristics, and so on. Additionally, it is possible to identify a precise convergence in users' ideas as regards the operational philo sophy of the semi-auto pistol, and hence the resulting technical requirements addressing safety, quick draw and use and first-round hit probability. This worldwide convergence is particularly useful in tracing the characteristics of what could well be described as the "new" generation" of automatic pistols: a generation grouping all pistols fitted with a trigger device allowing for immediate firing, and hence featuring safety device(s) permitting the weapon to be carried with a chambered round without any risk
Although the major handgun manufacturers have of course developed and manufactured quite a number of different types and models of semi-auto pistols to meet these basic re- quirements, the technical solutions adopted have been singularly converging as well: in most cases, the choice has fallen on double action mechanism, automatic firing pin safety and high-capacity magazine. Apart from some. interesting displays of ingenuity, there were no spectacular technical innovations as regards the basic working principles of semi-auto handguns: the true advances have been made in manufacturing processess and with the in- troduction of light materials.
The "birth" of this new handgun generation has been greatly influenced by two major offi- cial programmes: the re-equipment of the Ger- man police forces (launched in the first half of the 1970s), and the US inter-service require- ment for a new 9 mm PB automatic pistol to re- place the Colt M1911A1 (a programme which is still hitting the headlines). These two pro- grammes, which involved a thorough evalua- tion of several pistols, have provided much useful information and insight for all obser ers; additionally, they have started a sort o "chain reaction", resulting most notably several police forces adopting the German ap proach and uniformly re-equipping with mm PB pistol. The most evident example of this trend is the French Gendarmerie, which is expected to announce its choice very soon- for SIG-Sauer P226 or Beretta 92SB, offered by Matra-Manurhin and MAS, respectively an order covering about 100,000 pistols. ag

It is only logical that things should proceed at a slower pace as regards the military: with budget problems facing virtually all Western armies, personal self-defence weapons can only receive a low priority. However, and be- cause the new generation of semi-auto pistols really do offer important operational ad- vantages, the "path forward" traced by some armies (US, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Japan) appears likely to attract more and more followers, as soon as credits become available and/or current weapons must be replaced any- way. For instance, and to quote France again, it would be highly surprising if in a few years the armed services would not adopt the same pistol now to be selected for the Géndarmerie Nationale.

The rôle of the semi-auto pistol

It is still being debated whether or not the handgun still has a useful operational role to play. Certainly, any idea of using it as an offensive weapon was abandoned many years ago - apart from special weapons (silenced), special units and special missions; the true question is what effectiveness can reasonably be expected from a semi-auto pistol as astrictly defensive weapon. Is the self-loading pistol still the best answer to this requirement, when compared to short-barrel assault rifles and, mainly, very compact SMGs? It is true that on the average handguns are smaller, lighter and easier to carry than even "miniaturised" SMGS, but despite the high-capacity mag- azines (15+ rounds), as regards firepower (and in particular saturation power) they are in no way comparable to SMGS, being restricted to a semi-automatic firing mode. Additionally, their useful range is very limited, and in any case quite inferior under practical circumstances to the theoretical value (50 m) assumed by the US Army as a standard reference figure.

Providing that these limitations are clearly understood and accepted, it is possible to comment that, at least for personnel who can- not be encumbered by anything longer and/or heavier, the semi-auto pistol still represents the only available tool for "last ditch" self-de- fence even if this self-defence could appear a laughable proposition from some points of view. This is particularly the case with flight personnel, sailors and transport vehicle crew, all of whom could well find themselves in direct contact with an armed enemy.

An accurate appraisal of the most severe threats facing today's highly mechanised armies, with the proliferation and increasing sophistication of anti-tank and anti-armour weaponry, would indicate that under real com- bat conditions most operations will actually be carried out by dismounted troops - hence, mainly equipped with small arms. Additionally, as regards the European theatre it should not be forgotten that Warsaw Pact forces have been steadily improving their organisations and tactics for deep raids against Western rear areas that is, where there is a lower con- centration of heavy weapons and defence suc- cess or failure will mostly depend on small arms. Considering the very dense urbanisation of most NATO rear areas, it is quite possible to imagine that combat against Soviet raid teams will be carried out mainly with individual weapons and light support weapons. From this perspective, it is clear that all military person- nel should always have a weapon at hand: if not to return enemy fire, then at least to defend themselves and escape. If it is not feasible to equip all personnel in uniform with a short-bar- sled assault rifle or a SMG, then the

Selecting the calibre

The current de facto standardisation on the 9 mm PB calibre was an easily foreseeable de- velopment, because this ammunition had al- ready been selected by a NATO standardisa- tion agreement, the STANAG 4090 (not ratified by the US, however). The existence of this agreement was of course "re-discovered" when the US launched its programme for a new automatic pistol to replace the M1911A1, but it would be wrong to assume that it played

The Beretta 92F, winner of the US competition for a successor to the Colt M1911A1, is to be standardised in US services as the M9. The first order calls for about 320,000 pistols over five years. The weapon is representative of the new generation of 9 mm PB semi-auto pistols: double action mechanism, high- capacity magazine, ambidextrous safety lever and magazine release, firing pin safety, etc. The light alloy frame keeps the weight under 1 kg. a significant role in their decision: rather, a tho- rough analysis of the ballistic performance of several calibres - most notably the .45 ACP, the .38 Special, the .357 Magnum and the 9 mm PB finally reversed the well-known American prejudices according to which the .45 ACP had the best "stopping power" of all handgun calibres, while the 9 mm PB was re- garded as being too fast and having too high a piercing power (and hence, an insufficient ef- fectiveness against human tissue). Contrary

to these widely-held beliefs, scientific com- parative testings carried out with fully-jack- eted bullets conforming to the Hague conven- tions and fired under identical conditions have shown that, while the .357 Magnum am- munition offer the best terminal ballistic per- formance in absolute terms and the .38 Spe- cial is the least satisfactory of the four, the 9 mm PB round presents the best compromise amongst the different parameters. In particu- lar, it produces a larger cavitation effect than the .45 ACP (0.62 It as against 0.37 It), with a smaller (2.8 kg/m/s as against 3.8 kg/m/s) but still sufficient momentum; its piercing power against steel plates is much better, because of both its smaller cross section and its higher velocity (the indicative figures are 360 and 260 m/sec, respectively) which also result in a flatter trajectory; finally, the 9m PB is at least as accurate as the .45 ACP-but it is smaller and lighter and generates a lower recoil en- ergy, which has important positive con- sequences on the pistol itself (lower weight and higher magazine capacity to start with). It was not without very good reason that the US service and police forces, and most notably the US Army which shared with large sec- tions of the civil shooting community a veritable "religion" of the M1911A1 and its .45 ACP ammunition-eventually conceded that the 9 mm PB was to be preferred.

Semi-auto pistols vs. revolvers

It was also not without very good reason that a semi-auto pistol was preferred to the re- volver: during the Vietnam war, the US services discovered once again, to their dis- comfort, that revolvers' general effectiveness, reliability and service life are not really up to the operational requirements set by real com- bat conditions. Additionally, in practice the re- volver only offers the choice between the .38 Special (hardly a convincing calibre as regards stopping power) and the .357 Magnum (ex- ceedingly powerful and accompanied by a too high recoil velocity: about 4 m/sec., as against 3 m/sec. for the 9 mm PB). Also, the revolver cannot accept a silencer, and it is by definition more cumbersome to carry than an automatic pistol.

A TOUCH ACT TO FOLLOW

In the late 1960s, the U.S. Army awarded a contract to Canadian Marconi Company to design and develop a new multi- channel tactical radio. The result was the AN/GRC-103 Radio Set, accepted first by the U.S. Army and then throughout the world, to become the international standard in its class., Canadian Marconi has received two major contracts to produce new radio systems for the U.S. Army. The Company will supply line-of-sight multi-channel radio equipment for the Mobile

Subscriber Equipment (MSE) program, with deliveries starting in early 1987 and continuing into 1993. The second contract, from the U.S. Army Communications- Electronics Command, calls for the design and development of the "next generation" secure tac- tical radio known as DUER (Digital UHF ECCM). Scheduled for the 1990s, the new radio will meet military communications require- ments into the 21st century. Yesterday's success is about to be repeated, with tomorrow's technology.

An international leader in defence equipment and systems, Canadian Marconi is recognized throughout the world for innova- tive design and high quality manufacture of avionics, radar and communications systems for both military and commercial use. The Company's extensive research and development pro- grams ensure its readiness for the challenges of the future and its ability to follow one success with another in the complex world of high technology electronics

The German

police programme

From a military point of view, the handgun has only a limited importance when compared with other infantry weapons. But as regards police forces, it is the other way round: the sidearm is the first and foremost defence and combat tool, and most often the only weapon the policeman can immediately count on. This quite basic point had been largely forgotten in several European countries, including the FRG: the different regional and federal police forces were equipped in a totally incoherent way, both as regards the calibres and the simultaneous use of both semi-auto pistols and revolvers.

The shock of the 1972 terrorist attack during the Munich Olympic Games reversed this dangerous complacency, and triggered a handgun evaluation and standardisation pro- gramme which effectively laid down the main guidelines for the new generation of standard- issue semi-auto pistols. As a first step, the Federal Government established a series of general weight and dimension rules for police pistols, and directed adoption of the 9 mm PB as the standard calibre for all police handguns. Subsequently, a special commission, compris- ing the police chiefs of the different Länder and representatives of the federal police, was tasked with detailed formulation of the com- mon requirements, so as to define, as pre- cisely as possible, the "ideal" police pistol.

These common requirements demanded a pistol as compact as possible (maximum di- mensions: L 180mm, H 130mm, W 34mm), de- void of any protrusions that could interfere with quick drawing, and suitable for use by both right- and left-handed personnel. But by far the most significant requirement was for the pistol to be permanently carried, in total safety, with a chambered round and hence to allow for immediate firing without having to manipulate the slide, cock the hammer or press a safety lever. As we will see later, these criteria have been widely adopted by other services and manufacturers, and indeed are the key par- ameters of the latest generation of semi-auto pistols. Finally, German police demanded a minimum magazine capacity of 8 rounds and -

an expected service life of 10,000 rounds. Three weapons emerged from the competi- tion: a new Walther model, the SIG-Sauer P225 and the H&K PSP. These are officially known as P5, P6 and P7, respectively.

A new operational philosophy But above and beyond the selection process of these three weapons, the German police competition resulted in a new operational phil- osophy as regards service semi-auto pistols: this philosophy has quickly gained widespread acceptance, and currently is the accepted operational concept in most military and police forces. As regards police forces in particular, it is interesting to note that even American police traditional users of 38 Special and 357 Magnum revolvers are now increasingly shifting to 9 mm PB pistols and to the opera- tional doctrines which go with them.

What is expected today from a service semi- auto pistol? Essentially, it should allow the user to fire the first round as quickly as pos- sible, and with sufficient accuracy to inca- pacitate the adversary. This is hardly a "new" requirement in itself; what is new is the om- phasis on reduction of the intervention time, to be obtained by freeing the firer Irom the need to bring back the slide, cock the hammer and/ or act on a manual safety lever or button. The firing process must be reduced to its simplest form, involving only one hand: draw, aim, pull the trigger The seconds gained that way can quite well mean all the difference be- tween life and death for the professional user, who often and particularly in the case of

police officers is not expected to shoot first. This first, paramount requirement entails a whole series of consequences. If the pistol must always be ready to fire, there is no other solution than to permanently carry it with a chambered round- the slide being mani pulated to chamber the first round, once and for all, at the beginning of each mission or even of each service day. It is also imperative to delete the manual safety device (in conven- tional single-action pistols, this device pre- vents accidental firing by blocking the hammer, the trigger, the sear or any given combination of these components). However, the constant presence of a chambered round makes it even more important to protect the weapon against accidental percussions result- ing from falls, blows or simply mishandling.

Technical implications Faced with this series of requirements, most

manufacturers have responded by proposing pistols featuring double action trigger mechanism, decocking (hammer lowering) de- vice and automatic firing pin safety -the purpose of the whole being to ensure that a shot can be fired only if it the trigger is volun- tarily pulled. The double action mechanism al- ready is a first passive safety device in itself (and by the way, this is the only safety feature present in most revolvers): starting from the "on safe" position with lowered hammer, the

Left: The Steyr GB boasts the highest- capacity magazine currently available. (18 rounds!) and is also remarkable for its frame, made up two pressed steel semi-halves welded together, and for the small number of parts. The weapon is cleverly designed on the delayed blowback principle.

S&W offers a whole family of 9 mm PB pistols -although these are all derived from the earlier Mod. 39 and Mod. 59 models. All weapons share the same mechanical design and internal arrrangement, being based

on the Browning short barrel recoll The Series 400 pistols have a fight alloy frame. while the Series 600 (with the exception of the Mod. 669) are in stainless steel. The shortcomings of the family are the lack of an ambidextrous or convertible magazine release button and the longest and most complicated field stripping procedure of all modern military pistols

Technical implications Faced with this series of requirements, most

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