Webley Revolver

[Absalom]

The handgun may have played a small roll in the outcome of WW2 but played a big enough roll from a logistics standpoint. In regards to supply of both the firearms themselves and the ammunition. 38 Special was already an established round when the Brits did their trials. A Webley design in 38 Special would probably have remained in both police and military service as long as the 38 Special M10s did.

This is an interesting way to look at it, but I think it imposes too much hindsight.

In the late 1920s when the British made the decision to down-scale the military caliber, the .38 Special, just like the .45 ACP, was a round of limited distribution largely known only in the US.

And even there, until WW II the older .38 S&W held its own in police service; despite the Colt Police Positive Special coming out in 1908, the standard Police Positive sold well until around 1940, and look when S&W introduced the Terrier (admittedly as a pocket caliber).

It is also important to note that the British did NOT, as is so often presumed, "adopt the .38 S&W". The .38 round which became the standard .380-designated caliber had been chambered in Webley revolvers since at least the 1890s. It may even have been Webley who proposed the caliber; the original 200gr lead load was developed by Kynoch (famous makers of dangerous-game loads).

It's likely that the identical dimensions were adopted based on the S&W round sometime back in the blackpowder era. But the British didn't compare American revolver rounds in the 1920s and then choose the .38 S&W. They picked the standard British .38 round with which the initial developer of the new downscaled revolver, Webley & Scott, already had decades of experience.

Just for fun:
A .38 Webley Mk III from the National Army Museum collection.
Carried by Lt.Col. Murray, OC 1st Btl King's Own Scottish Borderers, at Cambrai 1917.

 

[Thuer]

My second model Webley Kaufmann in .455 The First model had just the knop at the top of the frame to open the revolver. The second model added the lever to makes things more easy. The third model was the first model of Webley who used the bridge wich is now common on all Webley top-break revolvers. I have do have a weak spot for those British revolvers

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

Like your Webley Kaufmann. Always thought the Webley Pryse was cool too.

 

[Thuer]

You do mean this one? It is in .450 It is on my permitt as a Webley. But I do think that it is a other British maker who made this No 4 revolver als know as Webley Price. When the revolver is openend. The extractor comes out. But it would not spring back in position. That was not invented yet in Great Britain and als probebly a patent of Smith and Wesson. This revolver is much copyed in Britain. The manner to open the revolver with a push handle came from the Belgium Counett. But his revolvers contain just one lever.
When you turn the knob with the arrow on it the other direction. You can remove the cilinder. And yes. I realy do like the Pryse.