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Revolvers Of The British Services 1854 - 1954
Michael Boyle


Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 595
Location: Bucks County,PA,US
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By W.H.J. Chamberlain and A.W.F. Taylerson

Wasn't sure whether to put it here or under "Books" but as it is less commentary and more technical resource it may best fit here.

First of all it is large format 80 pgs. including appendices, end notes, bibliography and index. It was published in New York and Ontario. It is primariliy aimed at collectors.

The first revolver was issued by the War Dept in 1854 (for the Crimean War as it turned out) - the Pistol, M.L., Rifled, Revolver - Colt (commonly refered to over here as the "hog leg"). Being a muzzle-loading 'cap' gun I doubt any would have been present in SA in 1879 (army-wise). This model was widely distributed in the Navy but the Army only issued them to officers and senior sergeants (the book says "sergeant majors"). The Army then seems to have shied away apart from the cavalry.

In 1869 the Navy issued Deane and Adams revolvers converted to breach-loaders (it worked for the Snider so why not?) firing the Boxer .450. The next was 1872 when the 'Pistol, Adams', center fire (Mark II) and (Mark III) were issued. The last Adams service revolver was the (Mark IV) in 1873. All were cavalry issue as well but it wasn't until 1878 that they became 'General Service' and issued to infantry. Unfortunately by then there weren't enough to go round so the British services were forced to acquire 'trade' or civilian pistols in whatever .450 configuration they could resulting in many Colts (double-action (trigger squeeze) only as the officers rejected single-action (hammer cock then squeeze) as being too slow) [which would seem to indicate that there were few if any Colt "Peace Makers"] as well as Tranters which were too tightly chambered for the Mark I .450 thus requiring different ammo and severely limiting their issue. Any of these could have been issued to troops in SA. The ammunition for these was not declared obsolete until 1882 for the Adams and 1887 for the Colt.

The Enfields didn't enter service until 1880 and the Webleys until 1890 so it seems apparent why most officers in 1879 would prefer to purchase their own pistols rather than rely on what was available for issue, the ORs who warranted revolvers would however seem stuck. (Although the Colt Double Action Government Army Revolver was a fine weapon compared to the breach-load conversions.)

That is it for the book, for our purposes, as it next picks up with the 1880 on service revolvers and in fact most of the book deals with the World Wars. What I gather from this is that the only revolvers issued to the troops were in .450 'caliber' (although 'caliber' isn't really the right word) so it would seem that unless an officer bought a pistol that fired that cartridge he'd be shooting on his own dime (or sixpence) and given the wide variety of hand guns available on the civilian market in a dozen or so calibers it's seems little wonder that officers would need to buddy up in 'caliber cliques'! (Of course a Regimental CO could have some input on the calibers chosen by the officers of his regiment.)

There is also the consideration that in Victorian times pistols were still thought 'cowardly weapons' by British society at large as opposed to other societies of the time that seemed to require more pragmatism!

Best

Michael
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Sawubona


Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 1179
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Outstanding digest, Michael. Nit pick alert: did you mean .455 for the Webley? The difference is small, but since they never really were .455 (but rather .441) and yet always referred to as ".455", I'll always relate the name Webley and the caliber of .455 together. And a rare "caliber" at that, particularly if you ever are in the market for ammunition.
Any help on getting that book?
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Michael Boyle


Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 595
Location: Bucks County,PA,US
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Sorry, I didn't mean to imply .450 for the Webley. I was refering only to the revolvers that were general service issue at the time of the A-ZW. I see now how I mangled that paragraph, should have put the first sentence last or on it's own! (Wrote that post in the wee hours after a three hour drive.)

I should also have added that the issued ammunition was "Cartridges, Small Arm, Ball, Revolver, Adams' B.L." Mark I and II. It was the Boxer revolver cartridge consisting of a 225 gr. pure lead bullet lubricated with beeswax with only 13 grs. of powder in a brass casing attached to a separate iron (Mark I) or hard brass (Mark II) base, much like the M-H cartridge. Final commercial production seems to have ended in 1894 so it had a 25 year run, not too shabby given the circumstances.

I got the book last fall after periodic checking, still it's not quite what I was after, I'd like to find one with all the pistols used not just government issue and some anectdotal evidence (at least) on how they arranged resupply for the non-government issued side arms.

MAB
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Michael

Thanks for the details.

Regarding pistol books, I remembered a book I obtained years ago, that I recall as being fantastic, due to the fact that all the excellent illustrations inside were large detailed line drawings of hundreds of individual revolvers/automatics from the world mid-19th Century to modern. It was an incredible book and one which I am after at present. Apparently, it is being reprinted -

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Handguns : Pistols and Revolvers of the World from 1870 to the Present. A.B. Zhuk.

If I'm correct, many revolvers were covered from around the time of the AZW, although I can't be sure of how much was written in the book about each weapon. However, if you're looking for a book helping with identification, as I am, I think this one is ideal.

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AB ZHUK book
Bill Cainan1


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 107
Location: Lampeter
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Go to abebooks.com - there's at least half a dozen copies available at fairly reasonable prices

Bill

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Bill Cainan
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Thanks Bill

That's where I obtained a copy. It is as good as I remember. Maybe not have enough detail in the written specifications for some, but for visual identification it is spot on. A few Adams, Tranter, Webley, etc., models are covered, as well as other makes worldwide. Nice addition to my recent firearm book purchases.

Thanks again

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Revolvers Of The British Services 1854 - 1954
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