How much were pistols actually fired in combat?

[jacklo]

There is a great deal of collector interest in war time pistols, but even the best pistols are only ornaments if they are not fired in combat or self defense. Since the rifle was the primary infantry weapon in WWII, how much were pistols actually fired at enemies or attackers?

Also, since the pistol is a short range weapon, they may not have hit many of their targets. How many casualties were caused by pistols compared to rifles?

[P08]

Probably not much, but I have seen a number of war time photos showing German soldiers holding a pistol ready to fire. One looks like he's going to make a house search.

I have asked myself the same question on bayonets. Did they actually use them in combat? After reading a book on danish SS soldiers I know that YES they did use them...Scary description

[archer]

I would think it unlikely a pistol was more than a backup although some years ago I read an account of the Dieppe attack in which
it reported a conversation with a Canadian soldier who said something like
"I had a Browning Hi Power and used that big pistol with it's
13 rounds to see off quite a few Germans"
(but I also remember reading about a commando who used a longbow during one landing!) so I guess pistols had some usage.

[Greg Sebring]

As for bayonets,... my dad has mentioned on occasion that the Germans would really get geeked (for lack of a better word) when the American forces advanced with bayonets. He was in an artillery unit so I'm sure his opinion wasn't from personal experience. It was either from talking to infantry units or possibly something he read.

After the Bulge, dad carried a P.38 he took off a prisoner. He did add that carrying a captured pistol did come with some risk. If you were captured by the enemy with one of their weapons in your possession, you could expect some harsh treatment...same with medals, etc.

Greg

[jacobtowne]

Pistol use in WWII combat varied among theaters. A British general once famously said that he had seen thirty men wounded by pistol fire during the course of WWII, of which 29 were his own troops who had inadvertently shot themselves while cleaning or otherwise mishandling their pistols.<o =""></o>

While this might have been an exaggeration, it was also likely near the truth for the European and North African theaters. It was not the case in the trenches of WWI, and most certainly not in the Pacific theaters during WWII, where close quarters combat was the rule, rather than the exception.
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There is no doubt that the John Browning designed U.S. Model of 1911 caliber .45 pistol, first manufactured by Colt, was the most widely used of all combat pistols (perhaps because the Americans are rather more hand-gun oriented) and there are innumerable stories of its effectiveness in combat among soldiers and marines involved in the fierce fighting on Pacific islands.<o =""></o>
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But for the Colt story to end all Colt stories, it is necessary to go back to <st1:date year="1918" day="8" month="10">8 October 1918</st1:date>, when Corporal Alvin York, after shooting a machine-gun team with a rifle, rounded up 132 German prisoners and marched them into captivity at the point of a M1911.<o =""></o>
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JT
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[C.O.Sargent]

From what I have read and heard more people were shot and wounded with captured pistols simply because they were fooling around with them, then were actually shot or wounded by enemy pistol fire.

[andy1230_13]

pistols...

I am just reading a book about the Stalingrad war,where they claim they searched the houses(huts...)with a pistol and a grenade,this book was written by L. Degrelle,so I think they did use the pistol. Oh,and what about the early paratrooper days? I believe when they were dropped,the only weapon they had was the p08,correct me If I am mistaken.

[Wanderers87]

Correct- the Fallschirmjager initially dropped with only pistols, and their main arms were dropped as well, but in drop canisters. They had pistols for self-defense once they hit the ground, until the drop canisters were found. Pistols used by the Fjr ranged from P08's and P38's, to anything from Polish Radoms to HSc's. Pretty much anything that was in the service in the Wehrmacht at the time. So yes, it would be a fair bet to say pistols were used somewhat often with the Fallschirmjager.

-Gavin

[stevezz1]

From what I have read and heard more people were shot and wounded with captured pistols simply because they were fooling around with them, then were actually shot or wounded by enemy pistol fire.

I have heard a number of stories regarding injuries from Lugers.
Highly prized by the Allied troops for a souvenir or for bartering, but they did carry a sting in the tail. If it is cocked with a round in the chamber it is quite easy to shoot yourself, or a mate, while striping the weapon. Even after the reciever has been removed from the frame, it can still fire......

Steve.

How not to look after your Luger........

[ottomaton]

Just to be clear, the muzzle velocity of a rifle round is about 2x - 3x that of a similar pistol round. Rifles therefore have many many times the range of handguns, beyond the simple aiming advantages. Using a pistol in anything but close combat is therefore suicidal, as the guys with the rifle can shoot you at a range that you can't shoot them.

The U.S. M1 Carbine was developed specifically for officer types and backline troops who would have previously been armed with a handgun because ir was determined that handguns weren't effective.

I would imagine that on most occasions when a handgun might be useful for doing something like clearing a building, a SMG would have taken it's place in WWII.

[Matt Weber]

Well, I've talked with several veterans, from Europe to the Pacific, and I can tell you that pistols were in fact used, and use often!

I talked with a German Paratrooper once, and he said that he carried a Sauer 38, and that he liked it. You are correct that early in the war German paratroopers were dropped only with a pistol, and perhaps some grenades.
The Germans in particular, viewed the pistol as a practical weapon, rather than just a badge of rank. Therefore, the Germans issued pistols more widely than any other military during WWII, and used them quite fequently.

I also talked with many American vets who served both in Europe and the Pacific. One Marine I spoke with served in the Pacific, said that that pistol was the most coveted piece of equiptment during the war. He said that the value of the pistol was discovered at night. When you are sitting in your foxhole, and the enemy attacks at night, and trys to sneak into your foxhole!

Another GI from the Pacific, said that everytime they saw a Japanese body on the groud, they would put a pistol round in his head! They didn't trust them, because many times they were "playing possum", or booby trapped!

Matt

[ChrisCook]

Pistols in combat

My dad had a friend that carried a BAR during the war, he was a BIG man.... Anyways, he told us that he was walking down a road one day and this German came running out in the road about 50 feet away and aimed his Luger at him. Well, the German fired and managed to hit the strap on his backpack/webgear and grazing his uniform. He fell to the ground with the BAR and needless to say that was the end of the German. So, there is at least one instance that I have heard of.... Chris.