Modern Combat Pistols: The Development of Semi-automatic Pistols for Military and Police Service Since 1945

Modern Combat Pistols provides a comprehensive account of the development of military and police semi-automatic pistols and their ammunition from 1945 to present day. It follows on from the same authors critically acclaimed Assault Rifle Crowood 2004. The first part of the book looks at defensive and offensive pistols the difference between military and police pistols and special-purpose weapons such as silenced and underwater pistols. The history of the handgun before 1945 is described and there is an examination both of the development of the semi-automatic pistol since 1945 and of future trends in pistol design. The second part of the book is divided up on a country-by-country basis. Each countrys section starts with a historical overview of pistol development in that country before giving a description and technical data for each individual weapon. Appendices cover technical aspects of semi-automatic and ammunition design.