Pistol used as a side arm by the French Navy.

A modern version of Colt's "Single Action Army" revolver, used as a side arm by the US cavalry in the late 1800s. Colt's Manufacturing Company ( CMC --formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is a United States Firearms manufacturer founded in The Colt Single Action Army Handgun (also known as the Colt Peacemaker, Single Action Army or SAA, Colt.

The M1911 Colt pistol, which was used in the U.S. Army as a side arm during WW II

A side arm is a firearm, usually a pistol, which is worn on the body in a holster to permit immediate access and use. The M1911 is a single-action, Semi-automatic pistol ( Handgun) chambered for the. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. A firearm is a Tool that projects either single or multiple Projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion A holster is an unspecified yet specialized article of Clothing or a device worn to hold or restrict the undesired movement of an item such as a Handgun or other A side arm is typically required equipment for law enforcement personnel and military personnel. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking Usually, uniformed personnel of these services wear their weapons openly, while plainclothes personnel have their side arms concealed under their clothes. Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information

Government security service bodyguards for VIPs and heads of state who need a weapon that can be concealed under clothing may have a fully automatic machine pistol as a side arm. A bodyguard (or "close protection officer" is a type of Security guard or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous wealthy or politically A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance A machine pistol is a Handgun -style magazine -fed and self-loading Firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire and normally chambered In a military setting, machine pistols are issued as personal defense sidearms to paratroopers, artillery crews, helicopter crews or tank crews.

Other eras

The term can also refer to swords and other mêlée weapons (eg. Melee (from the French mêlée meˈleː generally refers to disorganized Close combat involving a group of fighters the rapier, the katana and wakizashi, the arming sword and the side-sword are all considered sidearms for their respective eras of use); the modern use of it usually pertains to pistols and similar firearms. A rapier is a relatively slender sharply pointed Sword, used mainly for thrusting attacks mainly in use in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries A is a type of Japanese sword ( nihontō) and often is called a "samurai sword The (meaning "side arm" is a traditional Japanese sword with a Shōtō blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 inches with an average of 50 cm (20 inches The arming sword (also sometimes called a knight's or knightly sword) is the single handed Cruciform Sword of the High Middle Ages A firearm is a Tool that projects either single or multiple Projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion

References