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.38 Caliber Pistol

The .38 caliber revolver is a six-shot handgun, made with two and four-inch barrels, manufactured by Colt, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson. The two-inch barrel weapons are used by Criminal Investigation Division and counterintelligence personnel. This weapon can be fired by cocking the hammer (single-action) or with a trigger pull that brings the hammer back before releasing it (double-action).

Commercial cal. .38 Special six-round revolvers that were purchased for use by air crews, general officers and security personnel were the Colt .32 and .380 automatic pistols, Colt .38 Detective Special Revolvers, Colt .38 Police Positive Revolvers, Colt .38 Special Official Police and Smith & Wesson .38 Military and Police Revolvers. These pistols all used cal. .38 Special cartridges, with exception of the Colt .32. The M1917 revolver was issued in 2-inch, 4-inch, or 6-inch barrel lengths.

Although commercial pistols were purchased and issued to General Officers, some standard Army issue pistols were specially modified for use by General Officers.


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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/38-cal.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Friday, January 08, 1999 6:51:43 AM