Everything about The Webley Revolver totally explained
The
Webley Revolver (also known as the
Webley Break-Top Revolver or
Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was, in various
marks, the standard issue
service pistol for the armed forces of the
United Kingdom, the
British Empire, and the
Commonwealth from 1887 until 1963.
The Webley is a
top-break revolver with automatic extraction; breaking the revolver open for reloading also operates the
extractor, removing the spent
cartridges from the
cylinder. The
Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in 1887, but it was a later version, the
Mk IV, which rose to prominence during the
Boer War of 1899–1902. The
Mk VI, introduced in 1915 during
World War I, is perhaps the best-known model.
Webley service revolvers are among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced, firing the
.455 Webley cartridge. Although the .455 calibre Webley is no longer in military service, the
.38/200 Webley Mk IV variant is still in use as a police sidearm in a number of countries.
History
The British company
Webley and Scott (P. Webley & Son before merger with W & C Scott) produced a range of
revolvers from the late 19th to late 20th centuries. Early models such as the Webley-Green army model 1879 and the Webley-Pryse model were first made during the 1870s. The best-known are the range of military revolvers, which were in service use across two World Wars and numerous colonial conflicts, but Webley & Scott also produced a number of short-barrel solid-frame revolvers, including the
Webley RIC (
Royal Irish Constabulary) model and the
British Bulldog, designed to be carried in a coat pocket for self-defence.
In 1887, the
British Army was searching for a revolver to replace the largely unsatisfactory
Enfield Mk I & Mk II Revolvers, and Webley & Scott, who were already very well known makers of quality guns and had sold many pistols on a commercial basis to military officers and civilians alike, tendered the .455 calibre Webley Self-Extracting Revolver for trials. The military was suitably impressed with the revolver (it was seen as a vast improvement over the Enfield revolvers then in service, which lacked a practical extraction system), and it was adopted on
November 8,
1887 as the "Pistol, Webley, Mk I". The initial contract called for 10,000 Webley revolvers, at a price of
£3/1/1- each, with at least 2,000 revolvers to be supplied within eight months.
The Webley revolver went through a number of changes, culminating in the Mk VI, which was in production between 1915 and 1923, finally being retired in 1947, although the Webley Mk IV .38/200 remained in service until 1963 alongside the Enfield No. 2 Mk I revolver.
Commercial versions of all Webley service revolvers were also sold to the civilian market, along with a number of similar designs (such as the
Webley-Government and
Webley-Wilkinson) that were not officially adopted for service, but were nonetheless purchased privately by military officers.
Webley revolvers in military service
Boer War
The Webley Mk IV, chambered in .455 Webley, was introduced in 1899 and soon became known as the "
Boer War Model", on account of the large numbers of officers and
Non-commissioned officers who purchased it on their way to take part in the conflict. The Webley Mk IV served alongside a large number of other handguns, including the
Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" (as used by
Winston Churchill during the War), earlier
Beaumont-Adams cartridge revolvers, and other top-break revolvers manufactured by gunmakers such as
William Tranter, and
Kynoch.
World War I
The standard-issue Webley revolver at the outbreak of World War I was the Webley Mk V (adopted
December 9 1913), but there were considerably more Mk IV revolvers in service in 1914, as the initial order for 20,000 Mk V revolvers hadn't been completed when hostilities began.
On
May 24,
1915, the Webley Mk VI was adopted as the standard sidearm for
British and Commonwealth troops a
speedloader device ("Prideaux Device"), and a stock allowing for the revolver to be converted into a
carbine.
World War II
The official service pistol for the British military during
World War II was the
Enfield No. 2 Mk I .38/200 calibre revolver, but owing to a critical shortage of handguns, a number of other weapons were also adopted (first practically, then officially) to alleviate the shortage. As a result, both the Webley Mk IV in .38/200 and the .455 calibre Webley Mk VI were issued to personnel during the war.
Post-war
The Webley Mk VI (.455) and Mk IV (.38/200) revolvers were still issued to British and Commonwealth Forces after World War II; there were now extensive stockpiles of the revolvers in military stores. An armourer stationed in
West Germany recalled (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) that by the time they were officially retired in 1963, the ammunition allowance was "two cartridges per man, per year." This lack of ammunition was instrumental in keeping the Enfield and Webley revolvers in use so long: they were not wearing out because they were not being used.
The Webley Mk IV .38 revolver wasn't completely replaced by the
Browning Hi-Power until 1963, and saw combat in the Korean War, the
Suez Crisis,
Malayan Emergency, and the
Rhodesian Bush War. Many Enfield No. 2 Mk I revolvers were still floating about in British Military service as late as 1970.
Police use
The (Royal)
Hong Kong Police and
Royal Singaporean Police were issued Webley Mk III & Mk IV .38/200 revolvers from the 1930s (rather unusually, Singaporean police Webleys featured safety catches). These were gradually retired in the 1970s as they came in for repair, and were replaced with
Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 revolvers. The
London Metropolitan Police were also known to use Webley revolvers, as were most colonial police units until just after World War II. There may still be some police units with Webley Mk IV revolvers that, whilst not issued, are still present in the armoury.
The
Ordnance Factory Board of India still manufactures .380 Revolver Mk IIz cartridges, as well as a .32 calibre revolver with barrel that's clearly based on the Webley Mk IV .38 service pistol.
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Military service .455 Webley revolver marks and models
There were six different marks of .455 calibre Webley service revolver approved for British military service at various times between 1887 and the end of World War I:
- Mk I The first Webley self-extracting revolver adopted for service, officially adopted November 8, 1887, with a barrel and "bird's beak" style grips.
Mk II Similar to the Mk I, with modifications to the hammer and grip shape, as well as a hardened steel shield for the blast-shield. Officially adopted May 21, 1895, with a barrel.
Mk III Identical to Mk II, but with modifications to the cylinder cam and related parts. Officially adopted October 5, 1897, but never issued.
Mk IV The "Boer War" Model. Manufactured using much higher quality steel and case hardened parts, with the cylinder axis being a fixed part of the barrel and modifications to various other parts, including a re-designed blast-shield. Officially adopted July 21, 1899, with a barrel.
Mk V Similar to the Mk IV, but with chambers wider to allow for the use of nitrocellulose propellant-based cartridges. Officially adopted December 9, 1913, with a barrel, although some models produced in 1915 had and barrels.
Mk VI Similar to the Mk V, but with a squared-off "target" style grip (as opposed to the "bird's-beak" style found on earlier marks and models) and a barrel. Officially adopted May 24, 1915, and also manufactured by RSAF Enfield under the designation Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No. 1 Mk VI from 1921-1926.
The Webley Mk IV .38/200 Service Revolver
At the end of World War I, the British military decided that the .455 calibre gun and cartridge was too large for modern military use, and decided (after numerous tests and extensive trials) that a pistol in .38 calibre, firing a 200-grain (13 g) bullet, would be just as effective as the .455 for stopping an enemy.
Webley & Scott immediately tendered the .38/200 calibre Webley Mk IV revolver, which as well as being nearly identical in appearance to the .455 calibre Mk VI revolver (albeit scaled down for the smaller cartridge), was based on their .38 calibre Webley Mk III pistol, designed for the police and civilian markets. Much to their surprise, the British Government took the design to the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, which came up with a revolver that was externally very similar looking to the .38/200 calibre Webley Mk IV, but was internally different enough that no parts from the Webley could be used in the Enfield and vice-versa.
The Enfield-designed pistol was quickly accepted under the designation Revolver, No. 2 Mk I, and was adopted in 1932, followed in 1938 by the Mk I* (spurless hammer, double action only), and finally the Mk I** (simplified for wartime production) in 1942.
Webley & Scott sued the British Government over the incident, claiming £2250 as "costs involved in the research and design" of the revolver.
This was contested by RSAF Enfield, which quite firmly stated that the Enfield No. 2 Mk I was designed by Captain Boys (the Assistant Superintendent of Design, later of Boys Anti-Tank Rifle fame) with assistance from Webley & Scott, and not the other way around. Accordingly, their claim was denied. By way of compensation, the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors eventually awarded Webley & Scott £1250 for their work.
RSAF Enfield proved unable to manufacture enough No. 2 revolvers to meet the military's wartime demands, and as a result Webley's Mk IV was also adopted as a standard sidearm for the British Army.
Other well-known Webley Revolvers
Whilst the top-break, self-extracting revolvers used by the British and Commonwealth militaries are the best-known examples of Webley Revolvers, the company produced a number of other highly popular revolvers largely intended for the police and civilian markets.
Webley RIC
The Webley RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) model was Webley's first double-action revolver, and adopted by the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1868, hence the name. It was a solid frame, gate-loaded revolver, chambered in .442 Webley. General George Armstrong Custer was known to have owned a pair, which he used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.
British Bulldog
The British Bulldog series of revolvers were an enormously successful solid-frame design featuring a barrel and chambered in a variety of heavy-duty calibres, including .442 Webley and .450 Adams. They were designed to be carried in a coat pocket or kept on a night-stand, and great numbers have survived to the present day in good condition, having seen little actual use. Numerous copies of this design were made in France and Belgium (primarily the latter) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and they remained reasonably popular until World War II. They are now generally sought after as collector's pieces, especially as ammunition for them is (for the most part) no longer commercially available.
Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver
A highly unusual example of an "automatic revolver", the Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver was produced between 1900 and 1915, and available in both a six-shot .455 Webley version, and an eight-shot .38 ACP (not to be confused with .380 ACP) version).
Unusually for a revolver, the Webley-Fosbery had a safety catch, and the light trigger pull, solid design, and reputation for accuracy ensured that the Webley-Fosbery remained popular with target shooters long after production had finished.
Cultural impact
Webley Revolvers often serve as a stereotypical British revolver in film and television—their appearance in the film Zulu, for example, is an anachronism, as the film is set in 1879 and the Webley Mk VI revolvers shown in use by the British officers were not introduced until 1915, but the Mk VI is based on designs from around the period in which the film is set, and can thus be seen as a stand-in for the historically correct (but more difficult to obtain) Beaumont-Adams Revolver.
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