It was a war in which Allied troops spent miserable weeks in trenches awaiting the order to attack. When the command came, the men who went over the top faced murderous machine gun fire and the threat of poison gas. Those who survived the carnage of no-man’s-land and made it to the enemy entrenchments at times found their four-foot-long bolt action rifle, topped by another fifteen inches of bayonet, to be a greater liability than asset in the close-quarter fighting that followed.
Within the confines of the trenches, a stout club often proved more useful than an unwieldy rifle. On exhibit in London’s Imperial War Museum is a collection of brutal looking, improvised clubs used by British soldiers for hand-to-hand trench combat during the First World War. Britain’s military leadership astutely concluded that while a club might be handier than a rifle under these constrictive battle conditions, it was still not the ideal tool for such work. But the English eschewed the shotgun as a weapon of war and the submachine gun had yet to be invented.
Traditionally, the British regarded handguns as being of minor tactical importance in warfare. They were considered strictly defensive weapons and the few soldiers who carried them received minimal training in their use. However, the engagement in which England found herself from August of 1914 until November of 1918 was anything but traditional. Representing a rare departure from conventional military wisdom, the combat status of the handgun was upgraded. A large caliber revolver was deemed the logical offensive weapon for fighting in the trenches.
Half-moon clips enabled Smith & Wesson’s Model 1917 revolver to function with .45 ACP ammunition, making it an effective substitute for the Model 1911 pistol. These revolvers played a significant role in the First World War. Displayed with the gun are an Army-issued canvas pouch holding six loaded clips and a World War I vintage ammo package containing eight loaded half-moon clips.
Yet, useful as the revolver was for close-quarter combat, it certainly could not replace the Lee-Enfield rifle as the primary fighting implement of the British Army. Nor was it feasible to equip infantrymen with both rifles and revolvers for several reasons, not the least of which was the problem of securing the long gun when the handgun was deployed. Instead, handguns were worn by commissioned officers, who normally did not carry rifles. British infantry raids on German trenches were typically led by lieutenants armed with revolvers. Not surprisingly, the battlefield attrition rate of British lieutenants during the First World War was severe. Handguns were also carried by both officers and enlisted men in such assignments as Field Artillery, where rifles were impractical.
In 1914 the standard side arm of the British Army was the top-break Webley revolver in either Mark IV or Mark V configuration. The Mark VI version of the Webley was formally adopted for use by both British and Commonwealth forces on May 24th, 1915. All three models were chambered in .455 Webley, which had been their service caliber in various black and smokeless powder incarnations for some 23 years.
The first of the .455 Webley series of cartridges, the Mark I, was designated as Britain’s official military handgun round in 1891. With a case length of .855 inch, the Mark I cartridge held a meager 18 grains of black powder. That conservative charge expelled a 265-grain, hollow base, lead bullet from a 6-inch revolver barrel at a lethargic 600 fps. In 1897 it was succeeded by the Mark II round, which retained the same 265-grain lead bullet but substituted 7 grains of cordite as the propellant. Because the more efficient cordite required less volume to achieve the same power as black powder, case length of the Mark II cartridge was reduced to .760 inch. Even though the Mark II round was nearly one tenth of an inch shorter than its predecessor, the chambers of all Webley .455 revolvers were bored long enough to accept the original Mark I cartridge.
Throughout World War I the regulation revolver ammunition used by British land forces was the .455 Mark II. Generating a muzzle velocity of only 620 fps, the Mark II round might seem to have been woefully inadequate for combat. But it proved effective in battle, delivering greater short-range stopping power than its modest ballistics would suggest.
While Britain’s military leadership had come to recognize the handgun’s value, there simply weren’t enough Webley revolvers available to supply those soldiers who required them. Compounding the problem, Webley & Scott was unable to manufacture them in sufficient numbers to satisfy the demand. Members of the Commonwealth found themselves turning to outside sources to meet their handgun needs. Anticipating her impending entry into the war that was already raging on the Continent, in the summer of 1914 England contacted Smith & Wesson, seeking a suitable double action revolver chambered for the .455 round.
THE .455 FIRST MODEL HAND EJECTOR
Smith & Wesson had been producing their .44 Hand Ejector model since 1908. Also referred to as the “New Century” model, this gun was the original N-frame revolver. A distinctive feature of the New Century was a third locking lug located at the front of the yoke, or crane, that engaged a spring-loaded pin in the ejector rod shroud. This engineering nicety earned the gun its popular title of “Triple Lock.”
The New Century could easily be adapted to the .455 cartridge, but the British found the yoke-mounted locking lug and full ejector rod shroud objectionable, fearing their close tolerances would make the gun susceptible to binding from dirt and mud. Despite these concerns, the need for additional handguns was so pressing that the British agreed to accept Triple Locks until Smith & Wesson could re-design the revolver and eliminate the undesirable features. The urgency of the situation prompted Smith & Wesson to begin converting existing .44 Special cylinders to .455 caliber for use in British Contract guns. According to Smith & Wesson historian Roy Jinks, some 5,600 Triple Locks in .455 caliber were eventually manufactured before production of the re-designed revolvers began.
During the First World War Smith &Wesson revolvers were supplied to England through the Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Company, which served as the American purchasing agency for the British Commonwealth. Like all Smith & Wesson firearms, the British Contract guns underwent standard factory proof testing prior to shipment. Before the revolvers were issued for service however, British inspectors also tested them, stamping their own proof marks in various locations on the guns.
The .455 First Model in my collection has a tiny “London View Mark” (a crown over the letter ’V’) stamped in each of the cylinder flutes. The frame and barrel also bear this same stamping. On my example the English proof marks are unobtrusive and do not detract from the overall appearance of the revolver. In fact some might argue they impart a degree of character to the piece. That is not always the case with Commonwealth proofed revolvers. I have observed some that looked like they had fallen victim to a deranged inspector using a sledge hammer and cold chisel. Such guns usually have more “character” than suits my pedestrian tastes.
The initial 5,600 British contract Hand Ejectors were .455 First Models (Triple Locks). The third locking lug, at the juncture of the frame and ejector rod shroud, was a minor marvel of engineering. However, the British felt the tolerances were too close for a military service revolver. Fit and finish of these guns rivaled commercial production.
Occasionally a British Contract revolver will be encountered that also displays personal markings such as a soldier’s name and assignment. These generally imply private ownership, as the Government disapproved of anyone purposely defacing His Majesty’s revolvers. Identifiable personal markings can add to the history (and sometimes the value) of a gun, if they help establish its provenance. The .455 First Model in my collection has what may be a previous owner’s name faintly stamped on the left side of the frame below the thumb-piece, but it was struck so lightly that only a few letters can be discerned. This gun is in excellent