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By John MarshallDuring World War I, Great Britain’s service

handgun needs had been served by a motley mixof .455 caliber weapons, including Colt 1911-pat-tern pistols, Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers,Webley semiautos, and Webley revolvers. In theyears immediately following the “Great War,” thestandard British service revolver was the Mark VI.455 Webley, which utilized a topbreak action.When the barrel and cylin-der were released andswung down, emptycartridges wereejected automati-cally, leaving thecylinder ready forreloading. In 1921,the Royal SmallArms Factory at Enfield began production of thatrevolver to supplement its production at Webley &Scott in Birmingham. Its nomenclature was official-ly “Pistol, Revolver, Webley, Mark VI.” It becamethe standard-issue sidearm for officers, who previ-ously had been allowed to purchase handguns oftheir choice. Although some semiauto pistols hadbeen purchased and issued in the First World War,the Brits stuck with revolvers for use in the postwarera, considering them to be more reliable. Thus,the revolver hung on, but the days of the .455 cal-iber guns were numbered.

The .455 Webley was judged by the Britishservice hierarchy to be more bulky, heavy andunwieldy than desired. Also, it was believed thattraining time could be reduced due to the softerrecoil of a smaller, less-powerful gun. In 1922, theWar Office made a decision to seek a scaled-down and lighter service revolver in a smaller cal-iber. Webley & Scott Ltd. was appointed the agentfor development. The caliber of the new revolverwas to be, in British terminology, a “.380.” Thisround was not the same as the cartridge we knowas the .380 in the U.S. (a shorter rimless 9mmround), but was a rimmed, stubby cartridge with abullet diameter somewhat larger than that used inour own .38 Special cartridge. On these shores,today we call it the .38 S&W.

This round could fit in the shorter cylinder of aWebley, which would not accept our standard .38Special cartridge. It was recognized, of course, thatthe stopping power of this number could not equalthe older .455, which had a bullet weight ofbetween 220 and 265 grains. In an effort to make a.38 round with the stopping power of a .455, thebullet weight of the new cartridge was ramped upto more than 200 grains. Webley submitted a sam-ple gun dubbed the new “Mark IV model” in Janu-ary 1922, and tests were conducted at the RoyalSmall Arms School in Hythe. The reports were gen-erally favorable. The new smaller gun was liked forits lighter weight, but it was thought that it would

be a better service weapon if the stopping power ofthe cartridge could be made greater.

Kynoch made some test cartridges with 200-grain lead bullets, powered by 2.8 grains of nitro-cellulose powder. These bullets tended to yaw afterpenetration, a desirable feature, and registered a50-yard velocity of 570 feet per second from a 5”barrel. The standard issue cartridge was modeledon this design, and became known as the .38/200in England. In August 1922, the test committee pro-

nounced the stopping power sufficient, and recom-mended that test guns be constructed for furtherevaluation. Both Enfield Armory and Webley &Scott submitted samples. Captain R.C. Boys, theAssistant Superintendent of Design at the SmallArms School, made some alterations to the Webleydesign to facilitate manufacturing and to addresssome handling issues. Enfield produced six sam-ples, and Webley made one. Trials were conductedin November 1927. It was soon apparent to Web-ley that their basic design had been lifted, and thatit was intended that the Royal Ordnance factorieswould produce the revolver. They lodged a com-

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otors scattered around England, most notably AlbionMley Military Mark IV was issued to supplementtrrroits commercial-finish guns, and wanted it under-s

CCLLAASSSSIICC HHAANNDDGGUUNNSS:: BBrriittiisshh EEnnffiieelldd/Webley .38 Revolvers of WWII

WWII-contractWebleys were marked “WAR FINISH” on the left side of theframe. Webley was proudof its commercial-finishguns, and wanted itunderstood that the finishon these wartime revolverswas an exception and notup to its usual standards.

April 11 Blue Press Section 2 2/14/11 2:57 PM Page 40