Pistol sword
A blade with a built-in firearm, designed for the sword's use.
A pistol sword is a weapon that combines a sword blade with a pistol or revolver mounted parallel to it, designed primarily for use as a sword with the firearm as a secondary component. Unlike a rifle with a bayonet, the two parts are typically not separable. The weapon's design prioritizes the blade, making the firearm an addition rather than the primary arm.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- Solingen
- Produced
- 1575
Facts from the source article.
History
Flintlock pistol-swords were made in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the barrel attached to the side of a shortsword or dagger blade. A shell guard protected the firing mechanism during sword use. French and German hunters used them to kill wounded wild boar. Examples survive in the armoury of Wawel Castle in Kraków, Poland. Similar weapons were made in India, including the katar, a thrusting dagger; modern variants may have a single-shot pistol built into one side. In 1838, the United States Navy adopted the .54 caliber, single-shot smoothbore Elgin pistol, which had an 11.5-inch Bowie knife blade, intended for boarding parties. It was the first percussion cap gun in naval service, but only 150 were made. The Navy specifically intended them for the Wilkes-South Seas expedition. In 1840, a naval landing party reportedly used the pistol effectively when Fijian warriors attacked on the island of Malolo. A few Elgin pistols remained in use during the US Civil War but proved unpopular; the Navy replaced them with the M1860 Cutlass, which stayed in service until the 1940s. During the mid-19th century, Belgian gunsmiths produced pinfire cartridge gun-swords in limited quantity. These custom-made weapons were sometimes used by European officers and featured a loading gate behind the basket hilt. During World War I, the British manufactured a limited number of Webley revolvers with folding blades, similar to the Pritchard pistol bayonet, for trench use by officers. Few were produced due to expense and scarcity of raw materials. A rare variant of the World War II Japanese Nambu automatic pistol was a pistol sword, possibly privately purchased by an officer; only one example is known. A few reached the other side of the Atlantic, and one became part of Buffalo Bill's gun collection.
Similar weapons
Combining a cutting or striking weapon with a firearm was a popular idea in Eastern Europe for centuries. The flintlock axe pistol, often called a gun axe, became a signature weapon for Polish cavalry between the 1500s and 1700s. Similar designs appeared in Hungary, and a multi-barreled version came from Germany. In 1703, Swedish Admiral Erich Sioblad created an axe pistol that was used by the Swedish navy from the early 1700s until 1840. During the Renaissance and late medieval period, some linstocks hid a matchlock pistol inside the blade. Henry VIII’s bodyguards used iron round shields that had a pistol built into them. The English also made pistol-mace combinations, the most famous being Henry VIII’s Walking Staff, a three-barreled pistol combined with a morning star. Legends that appeared decades later claimed the king carried it at night while walking through London to check on constables. That mace pistol is now in the Tudor Room at the Tower of London. In the late 1800s, Parisian street gangs used Apache revolvers, which combined a knife, revolver, and knuckleduster. During the mid-Victorian era, folding knife pistols were popular in England. Made by Unwin and Rodgers, they used black powder in small calibers and included tools like blades and corkscrews, often carried by sailors. A modern version called the Defender, firing .22 rimfire rounds, is still made. Belgian gunsmiths produced revolvers with Bowie knife blades, some used by French officers in the Crimean War and Franco-Prussian War.
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