Webley Royal Irish Constabulary revolver | |
---|---|
Type | Revolver |
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Service history | |
In service | 1867–1918 |
Used by | United Kingdom & Colonies |
Wars | Anglo-Zulu War Second Afghan War |
Production history | |
Designed | 1867 |
Manufacturer | Webley & Scott, Birmingham |
Produced | 1867-1898 |
Variants | No 1 & No 2 Model |
Specifications | |
Mass | 30 oz (0.85 kg), unloaded [1] |
Length | 9.25 in. (235 mm) [1] |
Barrel length | 4.5 in. (114 mm) [1] |
Cartridge | .442 Webley cartridge |
Action | Double-action |
Muzzle velocity | c650 ft/s (198 m/s) [1] |
Effective firing range | 25 yd (23 m) |
Maximum firing range | 100 yd (91 m) |
Feed system | 6 shot cylinder |
Sights | Fixed front post and rear notch |
The Webley Royal Irish Constabulary revolver is a British double-action, centerfire cartridge revolver designed in 1867. It was one of the earliest British breachloading revolvers and one of the most popular British revolvers of the 19th century. [1]
British armsmaker Philip Webley and Son of Birmingham produced their first caplock revolvers (Webley Longspur) in 1853 with limited success, due to the popularity of the already established Adams revolvers. Taking lead in the new (at the time) centerfire metal cartridge technology, they produced their first breachloading, centerfire cartridge revolvers in 1867. They immediately became popular with British Army officers, who at the time were expected to purchase their own personal weapons (swords and pistols) on their own expense, as very robust, compact and reliable weapons. They were the first popular Webley product that made the firm famous. Due to their quality, they remained in production for more than 30 years. [1]
In 1868, the Royal Irish Constabulary was formed as a paramilitary force armed with carbines and revolvers. As the Webley revolver was adopted as their first service weapon, it was known after that as the Royal Irish Constabulary revolver. [1] [2]
Designed in 1867 for .442 centerfire cartridge, it was one of the earliest British breachloading revolvers. Solid frame revolver, with a round barrel screwed into the frame, and a one piece wooden grip held by two vertical screws. The foresight is sloted in, mostly semi-round, while the backsight is a long, V-shaped groove on the top strap above the cylinder. It has a loading gate hinged at the bottom that opens sideways, held by a flat spring. The six cambered cylinder is plain in the early models, while in later ones it was fluted to achieve a small reduction in weight. The ejector rod is mounted on a yoke (swivel) under the barrel and mostly housed in the hollow cylinder arbor, so it can be pulled out and swung to the right when needed. When the ejector rod is drawn out, the cylinder may be removed after drawing the arbor forward. The revolver has a double-action lock, with a half-cock position for loading. [1] [2]
These revolvers were made in a variety of calibers, but no less than .410 in (10.4 mm). They were widely used all over the British Empire, and copied in various European countries. In 1872, a pocket model (.442 in) with a 2.5 in barrel was produced, which was the precursor of the famous British Buldog revolvers. [1]
Produced from 1872, slightly smaller (8.25 in length, 3.5 in barrel) and lighter (0.76 kg) model, with the same overall characteristics. [1] [2] They were made in a variety of calibers, from .320 and .380 to .450. Service revolvers were six-shot, but smaller commercial 5-shot variants were also very popular. [3]
These revolvers were massively used by British officers and horsemen in the Anglo-Zulu War (1879). Practical use in combat showed that they were mostly effective on the distance of less than 25 yards. [4]
The Webley Revolver was, in various designations, a standard issue service revolver for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and countries of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, from 1887 to 1970.
Webley & Scott is an arms manufacturer founded in Birmingham, England. Webley produced handguns and long guns from 1834 to 1979, when the company ceased to manufacture firearms and instead turned its attention to producing air pistols and air rifles. In 2010 Webley & Scott restarted the production of shotguns for commercial sale.
A ramrod is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant. The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held in a notch underneath the barrel.
An automatic revolver also known as semi-automatic revolver, is a revolver that uses the recoil energy of firing for cocking the hammer and revolving the cylinder, rather than using manual operations to perform these actions. As semi-automatic firearms, the shooter must manually operate the trigger to discharge each shot.
William Mason was a patternmaker, engineer and inventor who worked for Remington Arms, Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, and Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the 19th century.
Charles-François Galand (1832–1900) was a French gunsmith who worked in Liège, Belgium, and Paris, France. He manufactured many revolvers for civilian and military use, including the Galand Revolver, the Tue Tue, and the tiny Le Novo. The Velo-dog, developed from the Tue Tue and the Novo, was designed by Charles-François' son René in 1904.
The Webley–Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver is a recoil-operated automatic revolver designed by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC and produced by the Webley & Scott company from 1901 to 1924. The revolver is easily recognisable by the zig-zag grooves on the cylinder.
The Triple Lock, officially the Smith & Wesson .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model New Century, is a double-action revolver. It was and is considered by many, including handgun enthusiast and expert Elmer Keith, to be the finest revolver ever made.
The Beaumont–Adams revolver is a black powder, double-action, percussion revolver. Originally adopted by the British Army in .442 calibre in 1856, it was replaced in British service in 1880 by the .476 calibre Enfield Mk I revolver.
In firearms, the cylinder is the cylindrical, rotating part of a revolver containing multiple chambers, each of which is capable of holding a single cartridge. The cylinder rotates (revolves) around a central axis in the revolver's action to sequentially align each individual chamber with the barrel bore for repeated firing. Each time the gun is cocked, the cylinder indexes by one chamber. Serving the same function as a rotary magazine, the cylinder stores ammunitions within the revolver and allows it to fire multiple times, before needing to be reloaded.
The Colt New Service is a large frame, large caliber, double-action revolver made by Colt from 1898 until 1941. Made in various calibers, the .45 Colt version with a 5½" barrel, was adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces as the Model 1909.
The British Bull Dog was a popular type of solid-frame pocket revolver introduced by Philip Webley & Son of Birmingham, England, in 1872, and subsequently copied by gunmakers in continental Europe and the United States. It featured a 2.5-inch (64 mm) barrel and was chambered for .442 Webley or .450 Adams cartridges, with a five-round cylinder. Webley produced smaller scaled .320 Revolver and .380 calibre versions later, but did not mark them with the British Bull Dog name.
The Model 1872 revolver was the service sidearm of the Swiss Army. It was later refined to the Model 1872/78 revolver. Approximately 600 were manufactured in Belgium by Pirlot Frères.
The Model 1892 revolver is a French service revolver produced by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne as a replacement for the MAS 1873 revolver. It was the standard issue sidearm for officers in the French military during the First World War.
The Gasser M1870 was a revolver chambered for 11.3×36mmR and was adopted by the Austro-Hungarian cavalry in 1870. It was an open-frame model, with the barrel unit attached to the frame by a screw beneath the cylinder arbor. The arbor pin was screwed into the barrel unit and fitted into a recess in the standing breech. The cylinder was gate-loaded from the right side, and a rod ejector was carried beneath the barrel. A unique safety bar will usually be found on the right of the frame, below the cylinder. This carries pins which pass through holes in the frame to engage the lock mechanism. Slightly retracting the hammer allows one of these pins to move inward, preventing the hammer moving forward again when released. The pistol can thereafter be carried safely when loaded. Pressure on the trigger withdraws the pin from the path of the hammer before firing. The M1870 Gasser became the Austro-Hungarian cavalry revolver. It chambered a long 11.25 millimetres (0.443 in) centerfire cartridge which had earlier been used in Fruwirth carbines.
The Colt Model 1889 was a revolver produced by the Colt Manufacturing Company in the late 19th to the early 20th century.
The Webley Self-Loading Pistol was an early magazine-fed pistol. The gun was designed in 1910 by the Webley & Scott company. The Mk. 1 entered police service in 1911 in a .32 ACP model for the London Metropolitan Police. The .455 version was adopted by the Royal Navy in 1912 as the first automatic pistol in British service. The pistol was also adopted by the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Flying Corps. Its predecessor was the unsuccessful Mars Automatic Pistol.
Adams revolver, also known as Deane-Adams revolver, is a black powder, double-action, percussion revolver. Introduced in 1851, it was the first revolver designed and produced in United Kingdom. It was heavily used by British officers during the Crimean War (1853–1856) and the Indian Mutiny of 1857. It was the precursor of more advanced Beaumont-Adams revolver, designed in 1856. After 1867 the production of breachloading Adams revolvers began, and many existing Adams and Beaumont-Adams revolvers were converted to breachloaders, using .450 Boxer centerfire cartridges. From 1872 to 1880, these revolvers were adopted as official sidearms of the British Army and Navy and were in use until the 1880s.
Webley Longspur is an early British percussion revolver, patented in 1853. The first revolver of the later famous British factory Webley&Son, it was an open frame, 5-shot, single action revolver. It was a solid and popular weapon at the time, although it faced heavy competition from already established, popular Colt's and Adams revolvers.
Remington-Beals Pocket Revolver was the first percussion revolver produced by Remington&Sons in 1857. Three successive models were produced in 1857–1860.