The only English-made automatic pistols which have been produced in considerable numbers are those made by Webley and Scott, Ltd. of Birmingham and London. An experimental model was built in 1903, based on a design patented in the same year by W. J. Whiting (Brit. Pat. No. 19,032 - 1903). This pistol was of the locked-breech type with recoiling barrel, under which was a spiral recoil spring. Only a few specimens were made as it was not considered a success.

Webley 1904 model-In 1904 Whiting produced a new design, covered by Brit. Pats. Nos. 3820, 17,856, and 25,028 (all of 1904). This pistol also employed a locked breech with recoiling barrel, with a locking system of the prop-up type. Unlike the 1903 prototype, however, a stiff V-shaped spring and recoil lever, located under the right hand grip piece, replaced the spiral spring. This idea came from the Webley revolvers, where such a spring had long been used.

  • I Have a Webley 455 MK IV serial No 77082. The records I keep reading in diffrent places indicate that the Lowest known serial number for a MK VI is 77503 which means mine is 421 before the lowest known. I would think that there marks out there that are older or younger than.
  • Webley started producing Air Pistols in 1924 and today still produce Air Pistols to the same design principle (see below the Tempest) The early Air Pistols were marked with serial numbers up to the beginning of World War 2.

This pistol was very heavy, was awkward in appearance, and consisted of too many parts, a number of which required exacting milling operations, making it expensive to produce. This model was never adopted for armed forces use and but few were made, there being no commercial market for such a weapon.

Webley Mark I-By 1913 an improved .455 caliber pistol had been developed and it was adopted in that year for use by all British Naval units and by the Royal Marines. This pistol also had the lockedbreech system, necessary for a pistol of this power. The mechanism, though excellently made to exacting specifications, was very complicated and consequently expensive to manufacture. Like the Model 1904, the recoil spring was of the V type, located under the right grip plate. These plates, usuaAy made of ebonite, were brittle and easily broken. As the spring was covered by this plate a broken plate led to trouble. On some specimens wood grip plates are to be found.

A Webley & Scott service revolver, serial number 122603.38 caliber, plastic grips marked WEBLEY, marked on the left side of the frame WAR FINISH, and above the cylinder. More like this LOT OF THREE EARLY REVOLVERS. .Serial #20093. Up for auction is an Original Webley Mk I.455. It is a British Navy issued revolver with “N” on the backstrap. It has a 4” barrel. It is in original condition with no restoration. There is a pin missing that is located in front of the cylinders. All markings and serial numbers clearly visible. All matching serial numbers. I know that this is an old thread, but I have just acquired a Mk 2 #1., s/n X41., with a 43 on the barrel. It has the spurless hammer. The trouble is, it was sold to me as a Webley-Scott Mk IV. I started looking at photos trying to date it and discovered that it did not look like a Webley. The front sight blade, for one, has a screw in it. Not a 'steal' at that price. 90% in USA have had the cylinder shaved for use with 45ACP in half-moon clips, and the Mark 1 was an 1880s black powder gun, not designed for the higher pressure of 45 Auto and jacketed bullets.

Other variants also appeared. Some pistols had grip safeties while other specimens show the safety to have been omitted. In the case of those that had the grip safety the hammer (always placed externally) is located on the grip, and pressure on the grip causes the whole lock assembly (hammer, sear, and sear lever) to move inwards. Other variants appear as to the type of sights used. All specimens show a lanyard ring.

The over-all length of the Mark I is 81/2' (216 mm.), barrel length 5' (127 mm.), height 51/2' (140 mm.), and weight 391/2 oz. (1120 grams), with empty magazine. The magazine capacity is 7 rounds. Whereas the .455 Webley revolver had 7 grooves with right hand twist of one turn in 20', the Mark I automatic has 6 grooves with right hand twist of one turn in 10'.

When the magazine is pushed in partially, to a point where a „catch' holds it, the arm may be used as a single-shot pistol by inserting cartridges directly into the chamber, the action remaining open after each shot. Pushing the magazine all the way in converts the pistol into the conventional self loader.

Despite the excellent workmanship used in its manufacture, this pistol is not considered to be a satisfactory military arm. It is too complicated and has too many parts, many of which require very exacting milling and machining operations to insure the proper functioning of the weapon, all of which makes it an expensive arm to produce. In these respects it is the antithesis of the Russian Tokarev. While the Webley can be disassembled fairly easily for such a complicated weapon, this operation has to be performed all too frequently because a very small amount of foreign matter in the mechanism is likely to cause it to malfunction.

Webley .38 cal. model-The Webley .38 caliber model, introduced in 1910, was brought out to satisfy a natural demand for a lighter automatic pistol than the Mark 1. In general this new pistol was a copy of the Mark I, but it was furnished with an internal striker of the non-inertia type instead of the external hammer. Like its progenitor, it is prone to malfunction if dirt, dust, or too-heavy oil gets into the mechanism.

Webley Air Pistol Mark 1 Serial Numbers

The pistol was 8' (203 mm.) in length, and weighed about 33 oz. (935 grams). This model was not long in production.

Webley 9 mm. „High Velocity' model-This model was designed to take the Belgian 9 mm. Browning Long cartridge and was introduced in 1913. While it resembles the .455 Mark I in having an external hammer and the same type of grip safety, the action is quite different, being of the blowback type with a stiff recoil spring. The use of the blowback principle, rather than the locked bolt, was possible because of the relatively weak cartridge used. Some specimens of this model are reported to be without the grip safety.

Like the other blowback pistols made by Webley and Scott, the barrel is held in position by the trigger guard. Disassembly is accomplished by inserting the finger in the trigger guard and pulling down and forward. The recoil spring is of the characteristic V type. The magazine holds 7 cartridges. In some specimens the magazine release catch will be found to be on the frame back of the trigger guard while in others it will be found at the bottom of the grip frame.

The over-all length is 8' (200 mm.), weight 32 oz. (ca. 907 grams), and the magazine capacity 7 cartridges. An interesting feature of this arm relates to the loading. As in many other automatics, when the last shot is fired the action remains open. In this pistol the magazine follower pushes the slide catch up and holds the slide in the open position. To load, the magazine is pushed all the way in and then a stud located on the top of the slide is pressed in, thus releasing the catch which holds the slide back, whereupon the slide (impelled by the compressed recoil spring) rushes forward stripping off the top cartridge and chambering it.

This pistol was adopted for use by the South African Police and reportedly was also used at one time by the Egyptian Police. It is often called the New Military and Police Model, but it is doubtful that this is official nomenclature.

Both the .38 cal. model and the 9 mm. High Velocity model have rectangular, fixed lanyard „loops,' rather than the loose rings found on the .455 models.

Webley .32 cal. model-The .32 cal. model was first manufactured in 1906, following the design covered in British Patent No. 15,982 (1905). It became known as the Metropolitan Police Model, as it was so used for a number of years. It was supplanted by revolvers for police work and was discontinued many years ago.

The pistol is of the blowback type, having much the same lines as the larger-calibered models. It has the V-type spring and recoil lever, located under the right grip plate. It has an external hammer and spring-loaded inertia firing pin. A thumb safety is mounted on the frame below the slide back of the trigger guard.

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To disassemble, the hammer is raised to full cock, the safety lever is turned to the „Safe' position, the magazine is withdrawn and, by placing a finger through the trigger guard and pulling it toward the muzzle, the barrel is freed. The barrel and breechblock can then be withdrawn.

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Webley Mark 1 Serial Numbers

This Enfield No.2 MK I* revolver was manufactured in 1939. It is a six shot top-break revolver that is chambered for the .38 S&W cartridge, which is also known as the .38/200, meaning a .38 caliber projectile weighing 200 grains. This No.2 MK I* is constructed of steel and has a greyish parkerized finish. It is a double action only revolver with a barrel length of 5 inches. The Patridge sights includes a blade front sight and a square notch rear sight, both of which are not adjustable. The checkered grip panels are made of wood and there is a metal disc inlay on the right grip.

There are three main versions of the Enfield No.2 Mk I revolver. The first is the original No.2 Mk I that was first adopted on June 2, 1932. The second version is the Mk I*, which was adopted on June 22, 1938 and is featured on this page. The MK I* had a spurless hammer and Enfield removed the single action notch from the hammer which made this version strictly double action only. The MK I* also featured a lighter main spring to help with accuracy and the grips were reshaped with grooves along the upper surfaces for the shooters thumb. The third version is the Mk I**, which was a variant of the Mk I*. This was a simplified version for wartime production and adopted on July 29 1942. This version eliminated the hammer safety stop. While the elimination of this feature made the revolver appreciably easier to produce, it proved an altogether false economy since it gave the revolver an alarming tendency to accidentally discharge if it was dropped. This version was discontinued and recalled and later converted back to the MK I* configuration in the post war years.

The vast majority of the Enfield No.2 Mk I revolvers were modified to the Mk I* configuration during WWII. This generally happened as they came in for repair or general maintenance. The official explanation of the change to the Mk I* version was that the British Tank Corps had complained that the spur on the hammer was catching on protrusions inside tanks, but most historians nowadays believe that the real reason was that the Mk I* version was cheaper and faster to manufacture. British combat experience with the .38/200 Enfield revolvers during WWII seemed to confirm that, for the average soldier, the Enfield No.2 Mk I could be used far more effectively than the bulkier and heavier .455 caliber Webley revolvers that had been issued during WWI. Despite this, the Enfield No.2 Mk I* revolvers were not popular with the troops, many of whom took the first available opportunity to dump them in favor of Smith & Wesson, Colt, or Webley revolvers.

The majority of Enfield No.2 revolvers were made by RSAF (Royal Small Arms Factory) in Enfield, England, but wartime necessities meant that some No.2 MK I revolvers were produced elsewhere. Albion Motors Ltd. in Glasgow, Scotland made the Enfield No.2 Mk I* from June of 1941 through November of 1943 whereupon the contract for production was passed onto the Coventry Gauge & Tool Company. These two companies produced approximately 24,000 revolvers by 1945. The revolvers made by Albion Motors will be marked with 'ALBION' on the right side of the frame. Other manufacturers included the Howard Auto Cultivator Company (HAC) located in New South Wales, Australia. The HAC company manufactured a very limited number of Enfield No.2 Mk I* and I** revolvers in 1941. It is estimated that around 350 or so were ever produced. The revolvers that were manufactured by HAC were heavily criticized because their parts were non-interchangeable, even with other HAC produced revolvers. Today, very few HAC revolvers are known to still exist. It is thought that most of the HAC revolvers have been destroyed in the numerous Australian gun amnesties and government buy backs programs. The Singer sewing machine company manufactured components which they sent to Enfield for assembly into its revolvers. These parts will be found marked with 'SM' or 'SMC' on mid-war revolvers. A total of around one million No.2 Mk I and its variants were produced.

The top-break design of the Enfield No.2 insures that it is very fast to reload. In a top break revolver, the frame is hinged at the bottom front of the cylinder. When the lock is released, pushing down on the front of the barrel brings the cylinder up thus exposing the rear of the cylinder for reloading. This pivoting action also operates an extractor that pushes any cartridges in the chambers out far enough so that they will fall free, or can be easily removed. A modern speed loader designed for the Smith & Wesson K-Frame revolvers will function with any of the British .38/200 top-break revolvers, further speeding reloading.

The No.2 Mk I* is as accurate as any other service handgun of its time in normal short-range combat situations. The relatively light double action trigger pull is not, however, the best choice for precision shooting. The double action only design will throw even the most competent shooter's aim off enough to noticeably affect accuracy at ranges of more than 15 yards or so. Some unit armorers have been known to retrofitted the Enfield No.2 Mk I* back to the Mk I variant, but this was never an official policy and appears to have been done on an individual basis. Despite officially being declared obsolete at the end of WWII, the Enfield as well as the Webley revolvers were not completely phased out in favor of the L9 Browning Hi-Power until April of 1969.

A short history of this revolver.

Webley Mark 1 Serial Numbers

At the end of World War I the British Government decided that a .38 caliber sidearm firing a 200 grain bullet would be as effective as the larger .455 caliber round. To me, this is hard to believe because the .38/200 round also known as the .38 S&W is comparable in performance to the modern .38 Special cartridge, which is not nearly as powerful as the larger .455 Webley round.

Webley Mark 1 Serial Numbers Online

Nonetheless, the British firm of Webley & Scott tendered their Webley Mk IV revolver in .38/200 caliber. Rather than adopting it, the British authorities took the design to the Government run Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England. The Enfield factory came up with a revolver that was very similar to the Webley Mk IV, but internally it was slightly different. The Enfield designed revolver was quickly accepted under the designation Revolver, No.2 Mk I, and was adopted on June 2, 1932, followed in 1938 by the Mk I*, and finally the dangerous Mk I** in 1942.

By this time, Webley had enough and sued the British Government for £2,250, on the grounds of the costs involved in the research and design of the revolver. Their action was contested by Enfield, whom stated that the Enfield No.2 Mk I was actually designed by Captain Boys with assistance from Webley & Scott, and not the other way around, accordingly, their claim was denied. By way of compensation, however, the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors awarded Webley & Scott just £1,250.

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