Side arm

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

A side arm is a firearm, usually a pistol, which is worn on the body in a holster to permit immediate access and use. A side arm is typically required equipment for military and law enforcement personnel. Usually, uniformed personnel of these services wear their weapons openly, while plainclothes personnel have their side arms concealed under their clothes. A side arm may be carried alone, or as a back-up to a primary weapon such as a rifle or carbine.

Uses

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. In a military setting, machine pistols are sometimes issued as personal defense sidearms to paratroopers as well as artillery, helicopter or tank crews.

Historically in Eastern armies, and in many contemporary armies, the issue of a side arm in the form of a service pistol has been a clear sign of rank and is the mark of a commissioned officer or senior NCO. In the protocol of courtesy, the surrender of a commander's side arm was seen as the final act in the general surrender of a unit. If no ill will is meant, and a strict interpretation of military courtesy is applied, a surrendering commander may have been allowed to keep his side arm in order to exercise his right of command over his men. Similarly, many commanders on a local level have been anecdotally cited as having used the threat of their side arms to motivate troops, to varied effect.

Perhaps most importantly, the side arm has also come to enjoy a growing popularity amongst the civilian populations of jurisdictions where laws permit citizens to carry arms in their own defense.

Other eras

The term may also refer to swords and other mêlée weapons (e.g. the rapier, the tanto 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.

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