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Pistols & Revolvers
Standard Sidearms
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During World War I the British had used the formidable .455 Webley Mk. VI but they found that it took too long to train soldiers to use the heavy pistol with any accuracy. After several years of searching it was determined that a smaller .38 caliber pistol would be as effective and could be put in action with less training. Between the wars most armies were adopting self-loading pistols, the British Military continued to hold on to the conservative notion that revolvers were more sturdy and more accurate than "Automatics". With this mind set, the Enfield No. 2 Mk. 1 and later the No. 2 Mk. 1* was adopted for military service. The Browning 9mm HP35 would not come into service in large numbers until after the end of the desert campaign. At that time, almost all special forces units, such as Airborne troops and the SAS operating in NW Europe would trade in their revolvers for the reliable Browning Pistol. |
Enfield Revolver No. 2 Mk. 1 The Enfield Service Revolver was patterned after the Webley Mk IV revolver which it closely resembles. In fact it is believed the Army constructed the Enfield revolver by taking the Webley Mk IV apart and rebuilding with just enough differences to make it entirely impossible to have the part interchangeable! Both revolvers were a six shot single/double action revolver firing a caliber .380 SAA round. At one pound eleven ounces it was relatively light. The bullet was underpowered compared to most service pistols of the time. |
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Webley Mk IV Due to shortage of revolvers at the outbreak of the war, The Webley Mark IV. The Webley was slightly better made and unlike the Enfiled was never modified into a hammerless double action revolver. |
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Smith & Wesson 38 Military. S&W revolvers were first used by the British Army in World War I and they continued to be used throughout World War II. Photographic evidence suggest the S&W was popular with the LRDG. It was slightly more powerful due to a longer barrel and had less trigger pull making it easier to fire and more accurate. The revolver was chambered to accept the same .380 SAA 200 grain cartridge used in the other service revolvers. The round is also called the .380 Webley. |
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Non- Standard Sidearms
Two pistols fall into the non standard category. The first, the Colt .45 automatic was issued to troops but is considered non standard because of the ammunition used in the pistol. The second is the Webley M1906 which was widely used by the Britsh and the Commonwealth but never officially adopted for military use by the British Army.
M1911A1 Colt 45 Automatic Another favored weapon was the Colt 45, Automatic pistol (M1911A1). The pistol fired the same .45 ACP ammunition as the Thompson Submachine gun. It was battle tested and not too difficult to come by. Indeed it was issued to Commandos as a sidearm and contiuned service in the British Army in the Mediterranean theater through out the war. While the pistol was issued it is considered non-standard because the 45 ACP round was not a standard round in British inventory. |
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| Webley & Scott .32ACP Self Loading
Pistol
The M1906 Webley & Scott was adopted by the London Metropolitan Police in 1911. It is sometimes refered to as the Webley MP for this reason. Production of the highly popular pistol lasted until 1940 The first examples of this weapon had the safety on left side of the hammer, but later models moved the safety to the left side of the frame, where it could also lock the slide. While never officially adopted by the British Army it was widely used unofficially by British and Commonwealth forces in both World Wars, with many British officers and NCOs carrying it as a back up. It was also widely adopted by many colonial forces, including those in Palestine. The pistol was small, sturdy and reliable. It was extremely accurate at short range, making it a terrific concealed weapon. (Because it was so widely used by British officers and NCOs I have included here instead of on the page of unlikely weapons) |
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