Boer War The Webley Mk IV, chambered in .455 Webley, was introduced in 1899 and soon became known as the "
Boer War Model", on account of the large numbers of officers and
non-commissioned officers who purchased it on their way to take part in the conflict. The Webley Mk IV served alongside a large number of other handguns, including the
Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" (as used by
Winston Churchill during the War), earlier
Beaumont–Adams cartridge revolvers, and other top-break revolvers manufactured by gunmakers such as
William Tranter, and
Kynoch.
First World War The standard-issue Webley revolver at the outbreak of the First World War was the Webley Mk V (adopted 9 December 1913), but there were considerably more Mk IV revolvers in service in 1914, as the initial order for 20,000 Mk V revolvers had not been completed when hostilities began.
speedloader devices (the "Prideaux Device" and the Watson design), and a stock allowing for the revolver to be converted into a
carbine. Demand exceeded production, which was already behind as the war began. This forced the British government to buy substitute weapons chambered in .455 Webley from neutral countries. America provided the
Smith & Wesson 2nd Model "Hand Ejector" and
Colt New Service Revolvers. Spanish gunsmiths in
Eibar made acceptable copies of popular guns and were chosen to close the gap cheaply by making a .455 variant of their 11mm
M1884 or
"S&W Model 7 ONÁ" revolver, a copy of the
Smith & Wesson .44 Double Action First Model. The
Pistol, Revolver, Old Pattern, No. 1 Mk. 1 was by
Garate, Anitua y Cia. and the
Pistol, Revolver, Old Pattern, No.2 Mk.1 was by
Trocaola, Aranzabal y Cia. Orbea Hermanos y Cia. made 10,000 pistols.
Rexach & Urgoite was tapped for an initial order of 500 revolvers, but they were rejected due to defects.
Second World War The official service pistol for the British military during the
Second World War was the
Enfield No. 2 Mk I .38/200 calibre revolver. Owing to a critical shortage of handguns, several other weapons were also adopted (first practically, then officially) to alleviate the shortage. As a result, both the Webley Mk IV in .38/200 and Webley Mk VI in .455 calibre were issued to personnel during the war.
Post-war use The Webley Mk VI (.455) and Mk IV (.38/200) revolvers were still issued to British and Commonwealth forces after the Second World War; there were extensive stockpiles of the revolvers in military stores, yet they suffered from ammunition shortages. This lack of ammunition was instrumental in keeping the Enfield and Webley revolvers in use so long: they were not wearing out because they were not being used. An armourer stationed in
West Germany joked that by the time they were officially retired in 1963, the ammunition allowance was "two cartridges per man, per year." The Webley Mk IV .38 revolver was not completely replaced by the
Browning Hi-Power until 1963, and saw use in the Korean War, the
Suez Crisis,
Malayan Emergency, and the
Rhodesian Bush War. Many Enfield No. 2 Mk I revolvers were still circulating in British military service as late as 1970.
Police use The
Royal Hong Kong Police and
Singapore Police Force were issued Webley Mk III & Mk IV (38S&W then .38/200) revolvers from the 1930s. Singaporean police (and some other "officials") Webleys were equipped with safety catches, a rather unusual feature in a revolver. These were gradually retired in the 1970s as they came in for repair, and were replaced with
Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 revolvers. The
London Metropolitan Police were also known to use Webley revolvers, as were most colonial police units until just after the Second World War. The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and
Shanghai Municipal Police received Webley Mk VI revolvers during the interwar period. The
Ordnance Factory Board of India still manufactures .380 Revolver Mk IIz cartridges, as well as a
.32 calibre revolver (the
IOF .32 Revolver) with barrel which is clearly based on the Webley Mk IV .38 service pistol.
Military service .455 Webley revolver marks and models There were six different marks of .455 calibre Webley British Government Model revolvers approved for British military service at various times between 1887 and the end of the First World War: •
Mk I: The first Webley self-extracting revolver adopted for service, officially adopted 8 November 1887, with a barrel and "bird's beak" style grips.
Mk I* was a factory upgrade of Mk I revolvers to match the Mk II. •
Mk II: Similar to the Mk I, with modifications to the hammer and grip shape, as well as a hardened steel shield for the blast-shield. Officially adopted 21 May 1895, with a barrel. •
Mk III: Identical to Mk II, but with modifications to the cylinder cam and related parts. Officially adopted 5 October 1897, most were not issued, except for a number that were marked with the "broad arrow" acceptance stamp on the top strap. These few went to the Royal Navy. •
Mk IV: The "Boer War" Model. Manufactured using much higher quality steel and case hardened parts, with the cylinder axis being a fixed part of the barrel, and modifications to various other parts, including a redesigned blast shield. Officially adopted 21 July 1899, with a barrel. •
Mk V: Similar to the Mk IV, but with cylinders wider to allow for the use of nitrocellulose propellant-based cartridges. Officially adopted 9 December 1913, with a barrel, although some models produced in 1915 had and barrels. •
Mk VI: Similar to the Mk V, but with a squared-off "target" style grip (as opposed to the "bird's-beak" style found on earlier marks and models) and a barrel. Officially adopted 24 May 1915, and also manufactured by RSAF Enfield under the designation
Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No. 1 Mk VI 1921–1926. ==The Webley Mk IV .38/200 Service Revolver==