Webley
Length Overall |
Barrel Length |
Weight |
Caliber |
Action Type |
Magazine capacity |
|
|
|
.455 or 45acp |
DA Revolver |
6 |
Of all of the guns I have chosen for my collection,
this one may not be the silliest, but it could very well be the most obscure.
This was the sidearm used by the solders of Her Majesty, during the pinnacle
of the British Empire. It was also their trusted companion during the Empire's
fall, and withdrawal to the borders of the British Isles. These guns served
the soldiers of the Raj, and the East India Company. They fought Zulus
in South Africa, and then, years latter, fought Boers in the same place.
This was the gun of the explorers, and adventurers of the middle and latter
portions of the nineteenth century. When Sherlock Holmes instructed Dr.
Watson to "take precautions" this was a coded message to the venerable
doctor to arm himself with his trusty service revolver. This was very likely
the old Webley. The classic Webley adorned the hips of soldiers, the frock
coats of gentlemen, and the overcoats of detectives, and policemen, everywhere
the Empire reached.
In it's day, the Webley was a remarkable pistol.
This was a double action, cartridge revolver. This gun is modern in every
way, except appearance, even today. It was designed, and produced in the
days of black powder, muzzle loading arms. The
During the decline of the empire, the old Webly
still soldered on. It fought the Kaiser's troops, and then the Fuhrur's,
along with those of Hirohito, and Mussolini. In truth, both the Empire,
and the Webley were somewhat beyond their time and beginning to look a
bit old, worn, tired, and out of style. At the conclusion of the Second
World War, neither the Webley, nor the Empire, continued to be a real presence
in the world. Their time had ended. England is still a vital nation, but
it is no longer the envy, power, and terror of the world as it had been
in centuries past. In like manner, the Webley revolvers are still around,
and are still sought out by some shooters, but their preeminence has been
passed on to latter generations of firearms.
Webly did make some rather odd looking automatic
pistols, and even a recoil operated "automatic revolver" (the Webley Fossberry),
but the company was mainly a producer of revolvers, and was known as such.