Webley-Scott Model 1913 MK-1N .455 Royal Navy Contract Pistol

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Von der Goltz

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Here for comparison is the contemporary British Webley & Scott automatic (self-loading) pistol which was adopted first by the Royal Navy in 1912 (first deliveries weren't made until April 1913) after Small Arms Committee testing against both the Colt .45 ACP Military Model 1905 and Colt Model 1911. This type pistol also saw service with the Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps/RAF, Royal Horse Artillery (with adjustable sights and modified safety) and private purchases by Army officers (although it didn't perform as well in the muddy trenches due to fouling and jamming). This Webley-Scott .455 1913 MK1 Navy automatic pistol serial number 3800 was 1 of 1919 (serial numbers 3691-5609) delivered to the Royal Navy in December 1914. Close-up photos show the (19)14 acceptance date above the Crown/GR on the frame and breech-block, the serial number, the broad arrow property mark on the grip. Eventually about 7000 saw service in the Royal Navy, about 500 in the British Army and some 500 with Australia. Most Government contracts were completed by late 1917 with a few more delivered in late 1919. These pistols also saw service in WWII with the Royal Navy

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Here's Commander C R Samson, standing beside a single seat Nieuport 10 aircraft with this type pistol in his hand about to start on a mission over the Turkish lines in 1915. Commander Samson commanded No. 3 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Wing, based on Tenedos Island, which took part in the operations at the Dardanelles. The pistol is quite distinguishable by the boxy breech-block and exposed barrel.
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Here's a 7-round packet of WWI ammo dated 1 January 1919 which contains 1917/1918 head stamped rounds.
 
You have a very nice example of one of the ugliest handguns ever produced.

In my mind, that title has always gone to the CZ-38. Which was also ludicrously oversized for a 380, but that didn't matter very much, because the trigger mechanism did its best to make sure you couldn't hit anything. And reloads were slow, because it hung on desperately to the empty magazine. Easy to clean, though, which I guess they figured was a key quality in a gunfight.

The Webley .455 auto is also very pleasant to take apart and put back together - everything just fits beautifully.
 
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In Europe one can find these for very reasonable cost. For example .380 verson of above that was personal weapon of Winston Churchill sold at an English auction for about
5,500BP. For comparison Walther PP that belonged to high ranking NSDAP official sold for over $80,000 in USA.
 
You have a very nice example of one of the ugliest handguns ever produced.
I always thought they were steampunk cool.:)



And for me the ugliest pistol was this monstrosity-
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IMG_1874-660x439.jpg , and this-
20190202_195413.jpg .:D

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You always bring us the coolest stuff, many thanks!
 
Esthetics is a personal matter until a poll is taken, even then what matters most is the eye of the beholder. The OP pistol has a very interesting lock design, and it surprises me that no one copied that aspect, it's simple and looks durable.
 
Esthetics is a personal matter until a poll is taken, even then what matters most is the eye of the beholder. The OP pistol has a very interesting lock design, and it surprises me that no one copied that aspect, it's simple and looks durable.

My understanding is that the breech-locking mechanism in the Webley .455 self-loader, although simple in concept, was much more difficult to manufacture than the Colt-Browning swinging link design. At least, Webley manufactured it to very tight tolerances. One complaint about the gun, as I understand it, is that it was too tightly fitted, and would not tolerate dirt. OTOH, I would have thought this would have been tested for in the British Army's lengthy acceptance process.

Also, in a recent article in a magazine devoted to military surplus firearms, there was an article about Webley automatic pistols in which the author said that the Webley breech-locking mechanism greatly reduced felt recoil. This is not something I had heard before. I will try to remember to bring the magazine and report on it more fully soon.
 
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I love that they thought it a selling point that it was "capable of being used as a Single-shot Pistol enabling the shooter to fire singly, keeping the Magazine in reserve for emergency." LOL!!

"I say Reginald, my loyal batsman, do be a dear and place this single tin of beans on that fence post, for I wish a spot of target shooting. No, don't fret dear companion, I shall be operating my Webley as a single shot only. We shall keep the entire magazine in reserve in case the hun breaks through through at Hooge or Polygon Wood. There's a chap."

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The magazine article I mentioned above turned out to be less recent than I thought. It was "Rapid Fire Champion" by Jim Dickson, on page 54 of the "Inside Military Surplus" magazine issue for Winter/Spring 2016.

In it, Mr. Dickson says "The director [of Webley and Scott] was intrigued by my assertion that this turn-of-the-century semi-auto does not move perceptibly when firing. The downward motion of the barrel unlocking counteracts the upward muzzle blip so the gun basically stays still in your hand while firing. It is effectively recoilless....After he [the director] shot it he said 'I didn't believe you when you said it hasn't got any recoil, but it doesn't." (This event took place in 1975. Mr. Dickson relates that the W&S director simply turned to a worker and ordered him to make up some ammo.)

Mr. Dickson goes on to say "Today, the .455 Webley automatic remains the fastest firing automatic pistol out there. Only a submachine gun is faster, and you will get more hits with aimed rapid fire that the Webley delivers with such ease....the Webley automatic offers you a significant advantage over all other powerful pistols."

Has anyone else heard this? Has anyone here ever fabricated ammo and fired a Webley 1913? Or fired a Webley 38 ACP automatic? These are much rarer than the .455, but the ammo is more available (although I think the major makers stopped loading 38 ACP 20+ years ago).

Because if this is true, competitive shooters should be having Webley-type autoloaders custom built in .45 ACP or .45 Super and winning every trophy in the world. Somebody built a batch of .45 ACP Lugers about 25 years ago; the same thing should be possible now with Webleys.
 
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