Firearm

Just once I'd like to meet an alien menace which wasn't immune to bullets!Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart ^{[Robot (TV story) [src]]}

Firearm was a term encompassing a variety of weapons, generally which utilise a projectile fired from the weapon relying on chemical explosives to propel the projectile at high velocities away from the firearm.

General Description

Weapons that fell into the 'firearm' category included:

Handguns (Pistols or Revolvers) designed to be usable one-handed.
Rifles used a cartridge type distinct from pistols, name refers to rifling (spiralled groves inside the barrel) causing the projectile to rotate in flight, stabilising the trajectory.
Shotguns used shells that usually contain a number of small projectiles from a typical smooth bore rather than rifled barrel.
Machine guns. Usually a mounted weapon that is designed to sustained long periods of fire. Some variations are designed so they can be carried around like rifles, e.g. Light machine guns.
Sub-machine guns. Automatic or selective fire weapons that fire pistol rounds.

This list is incomplete, as the simplicity of the basic design allows for a wide range of variations.

Firearms were also sometimes classified by their loading mechanism. A single shot weapon such as a shotgun or musket must be reloaded after each firing, while a semi-automatic weapon reloads mechanically after each shot, but only discharges once with each trigger pull. An automatic weapon reloads and fires continuously as long as the trigger is held down and it has ready ammunition.

Often, these two systems of classification are used in tandem, e.g. semi-automatic pistol or automatic rifle. In this way, both the loading mechanism and the configuration of the firearm are described.

Two main kinds of ammunition exist for basic firearms: pistol and rifle. Pistol rounds mainly used a large calibre, round-fronted bullet from a small amount of propellant while rifles use a narrower, longer bullet with a high propellant load.

A common military weapon, used by armed forces such as UNIT, was the assault rifle. It was a magazine-fed selective fire firearm with a rifled barrel.

Pistols typically were used as more of a defensive weapon, to counter or discourage a personal attack, or as a back-up to a larger weapon. While primitive pistols were single-shot weapons, most carried by Humans after the 19th century were semi-automatic weapons of either a revolver or magazine-fed design. Fully automatic pistols existed, but were not as common due to cost of production, failure rate, and ammunition consumption. The advantages of a pistol came from its small size; it is easily portable and concealable, making them suited for use by organizations such as Torchwood, whose agents often did not wish to advertise that they were armed, or may need to have a weapon with them at all times. Its disadvantages are its relatively low ammunition capacity, and lack of accuracy, power or range compared to larger weapons.

Shotguns and more primitive forms of rifle were often seen used by hunters (DW: Pyramids of Mars), and could be pressed into service as combat weapons, but were generally less effective than weapons intended for military or self-defense weapons.

Generally, most types of firearm have been ineffective against armored races such as Daleks and Cybermen, though specifically designed bullets have been produced to utilise alien race's weaknesses (Gold in the Cybermen's case). (DW: Battlefield) Standard bullets are effective though against biological species that are similar to Humans, such as the Ood. (DW: Planet of the Ood)

Firearms, as a relatively primitive technology, can be neutralized by more advanced technology. For example, Sontaran soldiers have employed a cordolaine field that affects certain metals such as copper, causing weapons using copper casings on their projectiles not to fire. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)

Technological improvements such as the Bastic bullet can make firearms more effective, to the point of being a viable weapon even against a Dalek. (DW: Revelation of the Daleks, The Parting of the Ways)

One practical limit on the use of firearms is that they were primarily lethal weapons and while it was possible to use a firearm to incapacitate rather than kill, this can only be achieved by inflicting serious injury and pain. While there are forms of ammunition known as "less than lethal" intended for incapacitation, such as rubber bullets, they still inflict extreme pain, and can still be lethal under certain circumstances. For this reason, individuals such as the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith refuse to use them on moral grounds. ^{[source needed]}

Despite their limitations, Humans were known to use firearms well into the 2001st century and beyond.

An appreciation of the usefulness of firearms was not limited to Humanity. Upon landing on the planet Exxilon a Dalek taskforce's weapons were rendered in-operable forcing them to replace their energy based weapons with semi-automatic ballistic weapons. (DW: Death to the Daleks)

Instances of Assault or Automatic Rifle use

Carbines with drum magazines were used to shoot and subdue the Ood both on Sanctuary Base 6 and on the Ood Sphere. (DW: The Satan Pit, Planet of the Ood)
The army and UNIT used H&K G36 assault rifles to repel the Sontarans, Daleks and the Cybermen, they were completely ineffective against the latter two . (DW: Dalek, The Parting of the Ways, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday, The Poison Sky, The Stolen Earth, Journey's End)
Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones used assault rifles to combat a Dalek in the Torchwood Hub. (DW: The Stolen Earth)
During the Hath-Human war on Messaline, the Humans used a FN P90 PDW type rifle. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)
The Master's private armed teams fired on the Doctor, Martha Jones and Jack Harkness with assault rifles. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
Captain Jack led a squad of men to shoot the Toclafane with assault rifles. He also destroyed the Paradox Machine by shooting it with one. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)
The Preachers used a number of automatic weapons to fight the Cybermen, notably the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen)
Miss Foster's guards were armed with assault rifles. (DW: Partners in Crime)
The security guards in the International Gallery and the police units waiting to arrest Christina De Souza at the end of the tunnel were armed with Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifles. (DW: Planet of the Dead)
UNIT successfully battled three of the Swarm with Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifles and M4 carbines, although anti-aircraft batteries served a key role in finishing the creatures off. (DW: Planet of the Dead)

Instances of Handgun use

File:Rattigan with a gun.jpg

Luke Rattigan threatening members of the Rattigan Academy. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem)

When the lone Dalek escaped The Vault, the security guards used pistols against it, to no effect. (DW: Dalek)

When Suki Macrae Cantrell got promoted to Floor 500, she pulled a modifed Smith & Wesson Model 669 pistol on The Editor. She fired the pistol at the Jagrafess, with no effect. (DW: The Long Game)

Jack Harkness used a 21st century era pistol against the Daleks invading the Game Station, probably a Beretta 92FS. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)

Queen Victoria carried a small Webley Bulldog revolver in her bag for her protection. (DW: Tooth and Claw)

Jake Simmonds and Mrs. Moore pulled pistols (a SIG-Sauer P226 and a Beretta 92FS) to Mickey Smith when they found out he wasn't Ricky Smith. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen)

Tallulah had a prop Webley Mk VI to scare the Doctor, Martha Jones and Solomon. (DW: Daleks in Manhattan)

The Master's henchmen pulled out pistols (Glock 17s) to everyone witnessing when the Toclafane killed President Winters. (DW: The Sound of Drums)

Thomas Milligan used a Heckler & Koch USP Compact with a stainless slide to lure a Toclafane to the trap set up by Alison Docherty, and later in an attempt to kill the Master. Lucy Saxon used a Glock 17 to kill the Master. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)

Jack Harkness carried a Webley Mark VI revolver while in service with Torchwood, despite the rest of his team carrying more modern USP .45s. The Webley Mark VI was the British Army standard sidearm during World War I and World War II. (TW: Everything Changes)

General Cobb intended to shoot the Doctor with a Webley Mk VI but Jenny got in the way. The Doctor later almost shot Cobb as revenge for killing his daughter. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)

Colonel Mace shot Commander Skorr with a SIG P226. (DW: The Poison Sky)

General Sanchez attempted to repel the invading Dalek with a stainless Ruger GP100. (DW: The Stolen Earth)

John Jefferson shot an Ood with a Glock 17. He only fired one shot, probably the magazine hadn't been loaded properly, or the gun jammed. (DW: The Satan Pit)

Captain Erisa Magambo threatened Malcolm Taylor with a Walther P99 pistol, and later used it to defend against three of the Swarm. (DW: Planet of the Dead)

Wilfred Mott took his old Webley Mk VI service revolver with him when he sought out the Doctor. He later gave it to the Doctor who brought it with him to use against the Master. Ultimatly the Doctor had to choose between shooting the Master or Rassilon, but ultimatly chose to shoot the nuclear bolt, destroying it and breaking the link that anchored the Time Lords in the present time, sending them back into the Time War and saving the universe. (DW: The End of Time)

The Doctor used a Handgun against a Dalek mutant that had escaped from its damaged armour. He decided that he needed to kill Davros but when the moment came he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks)

The Doctor used an automatic pistol against a Dalek's eye stalk. (DW: Revelation of the Daleks)

It is known that the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor fired a handgun (possibly a SIG-Sauer P225) at one point, but what at and the reasons why are currently unknown. DW: Series 5 (Doctor Who)

Instances of Machine Gun use

Mounted machine guns were used to shoot the Scarecrow Drones when they attacked the Farringham School for Boys. (DW: The Family of Blood)
On Malcassairo, the guards repelled the Futurekind with machine guns. (DW: Utopia)

Behind the scenes

Most assault rifles used in the 2005 series, are Heckler & Koch G36s. These also appear in some episodes of Torchwood.
The guns carried by Sanctuary Base 6 security in DW: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit are P90 Personal Defense Weapons fitted with supressors (the same model of weapon commonly associated with 'Stargate SG-1 universe).
In the various UNIT episodes during the Jon Pertwee era, Sterling sub-machine guns or SLRs were used.