British Officer's WW1 .455 Colt service revolver - photographs

[Lancashire Fusilier]

I am pleased to share another item from my Collection, a very fine WW1 British officer's Colt .455 calibre service revolver.

As the War dragged on into 1915, it became obvious to the British Government that despite production of the Webley Mk.VI service revolver, the British military needed additional service revolvers, and they turned to the American Colt Company ordering some 60,000 Colt New Service .455 revolvers for delivery starting in 1916, and to be shared between the British and Canadian Forces.

Colt revolvers had long been popular with British officers due to their high quality and design, and this particular example has the high quality blued finish which was a feature of the early Colt .455 revolvers purchased by the British Government.

Having a 5.5 inch barrel chambered in .455 calibre, with the barrel carrying the marking " New Service .455 Eley ". This revolver has both British military ' crossed pennants ' proof marks on the frame and face of the cylinder, and the British ' Broad Arrow ' acceptance mark and British inspection marks on the frame.

Unlike the Webley Mk.VI which is a ' top break ' revolver, the Colt New Service revolver has a side swinging cylinder with a simultaneous hand ejector.

The revolver is in superb all original condition retaining all of its original blued finish, with matching serial numbers to the frame and cylinder crane.

The bore is excellent, retaining its original bright finish.

The Colt's holster is a rarer version of the .455 service holster, which in addition to the belt loop, also has two leather hangers with brass snap hooks for hanging the holster from the Sam Brown belt utilizing the two sword hanger rings, this pattern of ' slung ' holster is often attributed to British cavalry officers.

Also shown, is the correct ' Colt ' pattern corded revolver lanyard with a snap hook fitting.

Three versions of the .455 cartridge are shown, including 2 versions of the ' Colt .455 ' cartridge, one in all brass, and the other with a brass casing and a lead bullet. With one of the ' Colt .455 ' cartridges being longer than the other two.

Also attached is a photograph of two other WW1 revolvers from my Collection, the Webley Mk.VI .455 revolver and the Smith and Wesson .455 Mk.2 Hand Ejector revolver so as to be able to compare all three WW1 British .455 issued service revolvers side by side.

LF

2

[Lancashire Fusilier]

2

[spconnolly007]

Very nice Leo

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Very nice Leo

Pleased you liked it, Happy New Year.

[TonyE]

........Three versions of the .455 cartridge are shown, including 2 versions of the ' Colt .455 ' cartridge, one in all brass, and the other with a brass casing and a lead bullet. With one of the ' Colt .455 ' cartridges being longer than the other two..........

LF

Colt seem to have had a penchant for adopting their own names for British pistol cartridges. There is of course no such cartridge as the ".455 Colt" per se, it being Colt's name for the British .455 service rounds. The longer cased ".455 Colt" is a copy of the British .455 Mark I and the shorter version the .455 Mark II. The latter is sometimes even referred to as the "455 Colt Mark II" in the United States. Another example of this practice is the markings on the magazines of the British contract Colt Government Model semi-auto pistols which bear the name ".455 ELEY" for the .455 Webley Self Loading cartridge.

The only correct contemporary cartridge for your pistol is the .455 Webley Mark II with a 265 grain lead bullet. The jacketed Mark VI cartridge was not introduced until 1939 amid fears that the lead bullet would be deemed contrary to the various conventions on deforming bullets, as the Germans had frequently claimed in WWI.

The Colts are beautifully made pistols and yours is a very nice example. Having a small hand, I find them a tad too long in the trigger reach and for that reason prefer the S & W, but that does not detract from their craftsmanship.

Regards

TonyE

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The Colts are beautifully made pistols and yours is a very nice example. Having a small hand, I find them a tad too long in the trigger reach and for that reason prefer the S & W, but that does not detract from their craftsmanship.

Regards

TonyE

TonyE,

I appreciate the information on the .455 cartridges, and you are absolutely correct regarding the difference in hand grip to trigger measurement on both the Colt and the Smith and Wesson, which certainly feels much further apart on the Colt.

Happy New Year.

Regards,

LF

[gew98]

These are very beautiful pistols...and they don't appear deactivated !!. Personally I have always felt the S&W revolvers were of a higher standard of fit & finish. I have had a few S&W Model 1917's and two Colt 1917's and found the Smith's to be better fit , finish , feel and more accurate

[Lancashire Fusilier]

These are very beautiful pistols...and they don't appear deactivated !!. Personally I have always felt the S&W revolvers were of a higher standard of fit & finish. I have had a few S&W Model 1917's and two Colt 1917's and found the Smith's to be better fit , finish , feel and more accurate

gew98,

You are correct, none are deactivated and they all are in excellent live fire working order. I am pleased that you appreciated them.

Happy New Year.

Regards,

LF

[Khaki]

Happy New Year LF,

Very nice images of pistols and related equipment

regards

khaki

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Very nice images of pistols and related equipment

regards

khaki

Thanks khaki, I am pleased you liked them, and a very Happy New Year to you also.

Regards,

LF

[free1954]

very nice sir. thank you for the close up photos of the markings. did you ever fire all three for a comparison of handling and accuracy?

[Lancashire Fusilier]

very nice sir. thank you for the close up photos of the markings. did you ever fire all three for a comparison of handling and accuracy?

free1954,

Many thanks for the post, and I am pleased you liked them. Yes, I have test fired all 3 revolvers.

In terms of handling, once you have become familiar with the operation of each, be it a break top or side swing cylinder revolver, there is actually very little difference in the handling of each and it will probably just come down to personal preference.

The Colt is somewhat larger to hold and handle than the Smith and Wesson, this being due to the distance between the mid-front of the butt/hand grip to the front of the trigger being a little longer on the Colt.

Although all three have different barrel lengths, the Colt being 5.5 inches, the Webley being 6 inches and the Smith and Wesson being 6.5 inches, all 3 are extremely accurate, with the .455 cartridge definitely being a ' Man Stopper ', as it was designed to be.

Regards,

LF

[17107BM]

Hello all.

Have to say, very nice fire arms, and look to be with an enthusiastic owner who will with out doubt look after them.

Enjoy.

Cheers

G.K.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Have to say, very nice fire arms, and look to be with an enthusiastic owner who will with out doubt look after them.

G.K.

G.K.

I am pleased you liked them, and they are in good hands.

A Happy New Year.

Regards,

LF

[free1954]

free1954,

Many thanks for the post, and I am pleased you liked them. Yes, I have test fired all 3 revolvers.

In terms of handling, once you have become familiar with the operation of each, be it a break top or side swing cylinder revolver, there is actually very little difference in the handling of each and it will probably just come down to personal preference.

The Colt is somewhat larger to hold and handle than the Smith and Wesson, this being due to the distance between the mid-front of the butt/hand grip to the front of the trigger being a little longer on the Colt.

Although all three have different barrel lengths, the Colt being 5.5 inches, the Webley being 6 inches and the Smith and Wesson being 6.5 inches, all 3 are extremely accurate, with the .455 cartridge definitely being a ' Man Stopper ', as it was designed to be.

Regards,

LF

"they just don't make them like that anymore". i hate to sound like an old **** but those are some fine revolvers that we may never see the likes of again.. i have fired a NEW SERVICE in 45 long colt, and a S&W in 45 acp but never a webley. thanks again sir for posting.

[532SQN]

Very nice firearm thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Rick

[QSAMIKE]

Just thought you might like to see this......

Mike

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Just thought you might like to see this......

Mike

Mike,

Yes, very pleased to see them. Canadian military issue.

Thanks for sharing.

Happy New Year.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

"they just don't make them like that anymore". i hate to sound like an old **** but those are some fine revolvers that we may never see the likes of again.. i have fired a NEW SERVICE in 45 long colt, and a S&W in 45 acp but never a webley. thanks again sir for posting.

If you get the chance to shoot the .455 cartridge, you will enjoy and appreciate the experience.

Happy New Year.

Regards,

LF

Very nice firearm thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Rick

Rick,

Pleased that you liked them.

Happy New Year,

Regards,

LF

[Joe Sweeney]

LF,

Very nice revolvers and I'm enviuos of them. A big hole in my collerction are revolvers, I have none.

In the opriinal post you said Officers Colt. Is there anything that would identify a Colt as an Officers vice an OR's issue Colt?

Hapy New Year

Joe Sweeney

[Lancashire Fusilier]

LF,

Very nice revolvers and I'm enviuos of them. A big hole in my collerction are revolvers, I have none.

In the opriinal post you said Officers Colt. Is there anything that would identify a Colt as an Officers vice an OR's issue Colt?

Hapy New Year

Joe Sweeney

Joe,

My Collection is based on those firearms used by officers, and either I know the name of the officer they had belonged to, or they came with officer equipment, or they were known to be officer issue. As with one of my .455 Webley Service Revolvers which belonged to 2nd Lt. Stannus Vernon Deacon Douglas-Jones of the Coldstream Guards, and it came with his named Coldstream Guards officer's sword and his other side-arm equipment, he also had his .455 Webley revolver fitted with custom walnut grips which were not standard issue.

In reality, any of these revolvers could have also been issued to, or used by someone below commissioned officer rank who would or could have been issued with a service revolver, particularly NCO's.

Attached is a photograph of 2nd Lt. S.V.D. Douglas-Jones' Coldstream Guards side-arm equipment.

Also attached is a photograph ( dated 27 May, 1918 ), which clearly shows a soldier of the Worcestershire Regiment armed with a Webley Mk.VI service revolver, which he was either issued with, or picked up.

Happy New Year.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Joe,

Taking another look at the May 1918 photograph, I can see no holster for the Webley being worn by the soldier, and you will notice that the pistol's lanyard is just hanging down unattached to the soldier. The caption for this photograph, is that these men of the Worcestershire Regiment were holding the south bank of the Aisne River at Maizy, 27 May 1918.

Possibly, the Webley Mk.VI revolver belonged to an officer who was killed or wounded in the action, and his revolver was recovered by that soldier, who also has a pair of binoculars around his neck.

The caption, also states that the soldier with the revolver was a lance corporal ?

Regards,

LF

[Joe Sweeney]

LF,

Thanks, that is an interest provenance you have on the Webley.

That phot is also interesting as, like you said, the soldier appears to be kitted in P14 Infantry equipment and not the pistol rig version.

Joe Sweeney

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The Colt Archive at Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A., shows that my particular Colt .455 New Service Revolver was shipped from the Colt Factory on May 24, 1917 and was part of a 450 revolver order sent to the British Government Agents, The London Armoury Company, 31 Bury Street, St. James, London S.W.1.

LF

[Whitedog]

Outstanding collection of revolvers and associated equipment! Fantastic! Thanks for sharing. I've a S&W 1917 in .45acp that I really enjoy shooting. For me, the 1917 Colt is too uncomfortable in my hand. The S&W was designed better I think. I've never fired or owned a Webley. I think that I might get one though if I find a good one at the next gun show. I really like the look of them! Fred G.