History of the Metropolitan Police Service by the end of the 19th century. During the 1860s, the flintlock pistols that had been purchased in 1829 were decommissioned from service, being superseded by 622 Beaumont–Adams revolvers firing the .450 cartridge which were loaned from the army stores at the Tower of London following the Clerkenwell bombing. In 1883, a ballot was carried out to gather information on officers' views on whether they wished to be armed, and 4,430 out of 6,325 officers serving on outer divisions requested to be issued with revolvers. The now obsolete Adams revolver was returned to stores for emergencies, and the Bulldog 'Metropolitan
Metropolitan Police Service a fleet of more than 8,000 vehicles, which are used for a range of duties, including: The majority of vehicles have a service life of three to five years; the Met replaces or upgrades between 800 and 1,000 vehicles each year. As of 2012, the Met has transitioned all new vehicles into the Battenburg markings, which is a highly-reflective material on the side of the vehicles, chequered blue and yellow (symbol of police). The old livery was an orange stripe through the vehicle, with the force's logo. However, these liveries are becoming hard to find, as all new vehicles are