Webley Revolver

Introduction

The Webley Revolver (also known as the Webley Break-Top Revolver or the Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was a standard issue pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, British Empire, and the Commonwealths between 1887 and 1963.

The Webley is a top-break revolver with automatic extraction – meaning that when the revolver is broken open for reloading, the extractor ejects the spent cartridge casings. The Mk I was adopted in 1887, while the Mk IV was used during the Boer War of 1899-1902. Perhaps the best known model is the Mk VI, which was introduced in 1915.

The Webley fires a rather large .455 Webley cartridge, making it among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced. Although the .455 caliber Webley is no longer used by any military, the .38/200 Webley Mk IV is still used as a police sidearm in several countries.

Design

The British company Webley & Son (Webley & Scott since 1897) have produced several different revolvers from the mid-1800’s to the late 1900’s. Some of the earlier models, like the Webley Green army model 1879 or the Webley-Pryse model, were first made during the 1870’s. However, the best known models are a range of military revolvers which were in service during two World Wars and several colonial conflicts.

All Webley top-break revolvers had a two-piece frame, which breaks down at the forward low end for ejection and reloading. The ejector was automatically activated when the frame was broken open, which simultaneously ejected the spent cartridges from the cylinder. Then the new cartridges were inserted by hand or with a speed loader. In case of the revolvers being rechambered for .45 ACP ammunition, half-moon clips were used to load the gun (two clips, three rounds each). All Webley’s were either double action or double action only, with a distinguishable shape of the barrel and frame lock, with the lock lever on the left side of the frame, and a v-shaped lock spring on the right side.

History

In 1887, the British Army was trying to replace the Enfield Mk I and Mk II revolvers. Webley & Scott, which was already a well known manufacturer of good quality guns and had sold many pistols commercially to both military and civilian’s, made the .455 caliber Webley Self-Extracting Revolver for this purpose. The military was greatly impressed (it was seen as a vast improvement over the Enfield, which did not have a practical extraction system), and was adopted on November 8, 1887 as the “Pistol, Webley, Mk I”. The contract which followed called for 10,000 Webley revolvers at the price of £3/1/1 each, and at least 2,000 pistols to be supplied within eight months. These pistols were chambered for the .455 British Service cartridge, which launched a heavy 18 gram lead bullet at the relatively slow muzzle velocity of 600 feet per second. Later a smokeless version of this cartridge was adopted, but the gain in velocity was negligible.

The Webley Mk I

Over the course of time, the Webley Revolver went through many changes, which finally ended with the Mk VI, produced between 1915 and 1923. The large .455 caliber revolvers were retired in 1947, but the Mk IV .38/200 remained in service until 1963. Several commercial versions were sold to civilians, and some similar designs (such as the Webley-Government and Webley-Wilkinson) which were not officially adopted for service, were purchased privately by military officers.

The Webley Mk VI

Webley Mk VI cylinder

An opened Webley

Webley Mk IV .38/200 Service Revolver

The Webley Mk IV .38/200

After World War I, the British Military decided that a .455 caliber pistol and cartridge was too large for a modern military. After many tests and trials, it was decided that a .38 caliber pistol with a 200 grain bullet (0.457 oz) was just as effective as a .455 caliber pistol.  Webley & Scott immediately made the .38/200 caliber Webley Mk IV revolver (not to be confused with the regular Webley Mk IV revolver), which was almost identical in appearance to the Webley Mk VI. Much to Webley & Scott’s surprise, the British government took the design to the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, and produced a revolver which was very similar externally to the .38/200 Webley Mk IV, but internally different enough so that no parts could be interchangeable between the two. This Enfield pistol was accepted into the military under the designation of “Revolver, No.2 Mk I”, and adopted in 1932. This was followed in 1938 by the Mk I*, which featured a spurless hammer and only was double action. Finally, in 1942, the Mk I** was introduced, which was a simplified version for wartime production.

Webley & Scott sued the British government over this incident, claiming £2250 as the ‘costs involved in research and design’ of the revolver. RSAF Enfield firmly stated that the Enfield No. 2 Mk I was designed by Captain Boys (the Assistant Superintendant of Design, who designed the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle) with the assistance of Webley & Scott. Webley & Scott’s claim was denied, but the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors eventually awarded Webley & Scott £1250 for their work.

Interestingly enough, RSAF Enfield proved to be unable to manufacture enough revolvers during World War II, and as a result the Webley Mk IV was adopted as the standard sidearm for the British Army.

Operational History

Boer War

The Webley Mk IV (.455 Webley caliber), which was introduced in 1899, soon became known as the “Boer War Model”, since large numbers of officers and non-com’s purchased them on their way to fight. In this war, the Webley served alongside a number of other pistols, including the Mauser C96 “Broomhandle”, early Beaumont-Adam’s cartridge revolvers, and several other top-break revolvers.

World War I

The Webley Mk V (adopted December 9, 1913) was the standard issue pistol at the outbreak of World War I, but more Mk IV’s were in service then because the order for 20,000 Mk V’s had not been completed before the outbreak of War.

On May 24, 1915, the Webley Mk VI was adopted as the standard sidearm for British and Commonwealth troops, and remained so for the duration of the war. It was issued to officers, airmen, naval crews, boarding parties, trench raiders, machine-gun teams, and tank crews – everyone except for the standard infantryman. The Mk VI proved to be a rather reliable and resilient weapon, and was well suited for the conditions of trench warfare. Several accessories were developed for the Mk VI, including a bayonet (which was made from a converted French Gras bayonet), a speedloader, and a stock (so that it could be used as a carbine).

World War II

During World War II, the official service pistol was the Enfield No. 2 Mk I .38/200 caliber revolver. Due to a critical shortage of handguns, several other weapons were adopted (at first only practically, late officially). For this reason, both the .38/200 Webley Mk IV and Webley Mk VI (.455 caliber) were issued to personnel during World War II.

The Webley Mk VI

Post-War

The .38/200 Webley Mk IV and .455 Webley Mk VI were still issued to British and Commonwealth forces after World War II – extensive stockpiles of revolvers were in military stores. There was a critical lack of ammunition for the type, however, which was what kept Enfield’s and Webley’s in use for so long – they were not wearing out due to lack of use.

Eventually, the .38/200 Mk IV was replaced by the Browning Hi-Power, this being complete in 1963, after it saw use in Korea, the Suez Crisis, the Malayan Emergency, and the Rhodesian Bush War.

Police Use

The Hong Kong Police and the Royal Singaporean Police were issued Webley Mk III and .38/200 Webley Mk IV revolvers from the 1930’s onwards. Singaporean Webley’s were equipped with a safety catch, which was not on the original design. These countries Webley’s were gradually retired during the 1970’s as they came in for repair, and were replaced with the Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 revolver. The London Metropolitan Police and many other colonial police units are also known to have used Webley’s until just after WWII.

The Ordnance Factory Board of Inida still manufactures .380 Revolver Mk IIz cartridges, as well as a .32 caliber revolver with a 2-inch barrel that is clearly based on the .38/200 Webley Mk IV service pistol, thus the legacy is still continued today.

A box of WWII vintage .380in Mk IIz cartridges

.455 caliber Webley ammunition

Specifications

Weight: 2.4lb’s

Length: 11.25in

Caliber: .455

Cartridge: .455 Webley Mk II

Action: Double Action Revolver

Feed System: 6 round cylinder

Muzzle Velocity: 620 feet per second

Effective Range: 50 yards

Sights: Fixed front blade and a rear notch

Sources:

www.justguns.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.world.guns.ru