Webley 1913 Semiauto Pistol: History and Disassembly

William Whiting and the Webley company had high hopes for their self-loading pistols being adopted by the British military - but they never got the success they were hoping for.
After the poor performance of the Webley 1904 ( • Webley Model 1904 ) at trials, William Whiting decided to make sure his next attempt would be fully developed before he put it in the hands of the military. He did very well at that too, as the gun which would become the Model 1913 Webley did very well from its very first military tests. The Royal Navy was, in fact, quite enthusiastic about it, although the Army was not. The Navy would ultimately adopt the gun and purchase about 8,000 of them during World War One, while the Army acquired just a couple hundred and preferred to stick to its revolvers.
Thanks to Mike Carrick of Arms Heritage magazine for loaning me these pistols to bring to you!
Cool Forgotten Weapons merchandise! shop.bbtv.com/c...
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If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! / inrangetvshow

[@dermetzger]

3:20 - Need to correct you here, Ian. The royal navy thought the pistol was the coolest thing UNTIL sliced bread, not "since". Sliced bread wasn't invented until 1928. 😁

[@AshleyPomeroy]

At first I though this was an arch joke - but you're right. Industrial bread slicing wasn't invented until 1928. You learn something every day.

[@edmundschwartzadder5360]

that mag cut off solution was genius. the absolute minimum disruption to function to accommodate a ridiculous and dimwitted requirement.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

It's normally the dullest and least promising sons of the landed gentry that take up careers in the British army, which may help explain the idiotic request for the magazine cut off.

[@tomsoki5738]

@@Kevin-mx1vi not at all, it was just battle doctrine of the time.

[@sonnygallo5662]

You addressed an idiotic add on adequately. 😆

[@User_Un_Friendly]

This is the same group of Generals that authorized sappers equipped with Bangalore Torpedoes. Running into machine gun defended minefields carrying a bomb…🤯

[@natwolf687]

@@tomsoki5738 For rifles, yes. you wouldn't include a cut off in a magazine feed machine gun.

[@peterbu27]

An excellent pistol. My grandfather had one which he carried through WWI (as a RN officer) and retained it after his retirement from the service. Totaly reliable.

[@bamboozlednoodle6513]

That’s really cool

[@oneproudbrowncoat]

Nice, simple locking system, too.

[@HybridPhoenix08]

5:00 If the British army had soldiers shooting themselves in the leg whilst holstering their sidearms, then they had bigger issues than a grip safety.

[@ShooterQ]

I'd guess that mass-produced holsters at the time were a bit different than ours today, with a bit more chance of soft leather or unsupported fabric to fold into the trigger guard.

[@Activated_Complex]

Officers, you mean. And in fairness to our British cousins, there’s that recent video from the US of a retired General not knowing one end of a “full semi-auto” black rifle from the other at the range.

[@trooperdgb9722]

Many similar complaints were made by the US Cavalry about the 1907/09 precursors to the 1911.

[@eriklindbergs5017]

@@Activated_Complex Just watched that. HAHAHAHA. He handles the recoil like a wet noodle.

[@roberthardy3090]

The young Auberon Waugh whilst a cavalry rupert did manage to shoot an armoured vehicle machine gun through his body whilst leaning over the front of it to unjam it, so yes they probably did! He fortunately didn't move much so all the bullets travelled through essentially the same hole and so he survived.

[@Zbyhonj]

Wow, Webley was quite the engineer, he handled the magazine cut-off request with considerable grace. That dual mag stop doesn't interfere with functionality and cost in any way. It's so simple most people wouldn't ever figure that out.

[@mikepette4422]

*Whiting * Webley was the company.

[@Zbyhonj]

@@mikepette4422 noted :)

[@johnjuiceshipper4963]

This gun is in absolutely amazing shape for being more than a 100 years old. It never ceases to amaze me how well guns can be preserved.

[@webtoedman]

"The Navy were really on board" Well punned, Sir!

[@mactrauma5323]

Not the navy!

[@tangero3462]

When you mentioned their "one request" I jokingly said to myself "magazine cutoff" and then you actually said it. Wtf British ordnance

[@ZGryphon]

Remember, this is the same British Army that adopted a rifle action devised by the inventor of the detachable box magazine--the most revolutionary development in rifle magazines, basically, ever--and then chained the magazine to the rifle and refused to issue extras, because the stupid sods will only lose them if we do that, you know.

[@det.bullock4461]

Probably the same upper class twits that thought lower classes wouldn't be able to cope with a flushing toilet (saw a documentary about it once, the mind-boggling thing is that it's not even aneddotical, they often put such opinions in writing themselves).

[@Apeing510]

@@ZGryphon To be fair, Americans had the same attitude, hence the M1 Garand's daft clip system.

[@bradenculver7457]

Apeing At least the enbloc clip was effective and cheap when magazine production wasn't as robust, it's a very good system just detachable magazines are still infinitely better

[@hailexiao2770]

@@Apeing510 Garands with clips still make more sense than issuing M14s with 1 magazine and stripper clips, which apparently was a thing when the latter first came out.

[@jamiec5565]

Webley made a massive mistake with this pistol; it was well designed straight off the bat. For the British military to adopt anything, it has to be significantly flawed with interesting faults. War stops being fun with working equipment after all.

[@iroscoe]

Its more sporting that way it gives Johnny Foreigner a fighting chance .

[@natemmerson6849]

We don't need a stiff upper lip if the guns work! **military grade tutting**

[@efishe22292]

@koolkitty8989 When a cartridge is rimmed, it requires less machining on the barrel and inherently less precision as it headspaces off of the rim instead of the head. Perhaps this is why, but I'm not sure.

[@gunner678]

@@efishe22292 thats exactly why. It makes sense when you think of it!

[@freman007]

This would actually explain a lot.

[@dougbrown8840]

Funny how nearly every automatic pistol inevitably draws some comparison with the 1911 or High Power. Mr Browning designed the weapons that would set the bar for automatic pistols very high indeed. Excellent video!

[@gameragodzilla]

Yeah, because at the end of the day, the Browning tilting barrel action is basically the action used by almost all modern pistols. It’s why the 1911 is still relevant to this day with just a few features backported.

[@1337penguinman]

@@gameragodzilla It was a very forward thinking design. Allows for much more powerful cartridges without adding a lot of weight or complexity.

[@XH1927]

@@gameragodzilla Yeah, it's too bad cheapness won out and everyone went to the Petter version. Petter is so sloppy compared to locking lugs.

[@guaporeturns9472]

Why is that funny?

[@jdedwards7507]

It is a shame these Webleys weren't more widely adopted, but they were surpassed in number and popularity by the Colt. There were a handful of Colt 1911's chambered in .455 Webley, very rare, used by the Royal Air Force.

[@ben501st]

Ian's face when he said the rest of the parts were melted made me sad.

[@lancerevell5979]

Wish they'd sold those parts to Numrich or another big supplier. How great it would be to order the parts and build our own Webley!

[@ramjb]

Fun part is that months later, after the Dunkirk debacle, they contacted Webley again asking "hey can you make us some of those semiauto pistols you used to have a lot of spare parts around?". And Webley was like "WTF dude...REALLY?"

[@genghiskhan6809]

@@ramjb I can completely see Webley’s responses to that being something along the lines of “Dude! Fuck you!! Fuck off!!! FUCKING PAY ME THEN!!!!.

[@slaughterhound8793]

Pistols like this just serve to remind us how many great firearms have been produced through the years, & make us realize that we have to really prioritize what we want, because there have been just too many great guns through the years for anyone to acquire one of each type.

[@RebSike]

*wants mag cutoff in a 7 round pistol* "hey buddy, you just blow in from stupid town?"

[@oktayyildirim2911]

I can see the appeal on a rifle, but I'm baffled at why they'd want it on a pistol, practically always a backup weapon.

[@robertthomas3777]

Brilliant reporting. Some superb features. Amazing engineering. Would love to see it fired and compared against the 1911.

[@NarfoOnTheNet]

I like how simplistic it looks: kind of like a gun you'd expect to be made in the post apocalypse

[@lafeelabriel]

I just don't get why the British had so little interest in this gun. In a another world it would have been as successfull as the 1911, no doubt.

[@raymondwilliamblack]

Simple the Ordinance thinking of the day was that give service men guns with a high rate of fire and thy will waste ammo thereby increasing the cost in supply of ammo this thinking continued right up to 1954 when the logic of bow & arrow versus MP44 ;ak47 in Korea was finally brought home. the1913 Webley had a big fault--the Main Spring was housed and retained by the right hand grip; if this was damaged (frequently) you may as well throw the gun at the enemy.

[@lafeelabriel]

@@raymondwilliamblack Well at least it's a fairly weighty lump of steel in case you have to resort to that..

[@stephen7571]

I would hypothesise it was the people in power who made the decisions. Change is sometimes difficult to accept. I have little doubt when the musket came into being, there would have been resistance from the supporters of the long bow, same thing with the tank.

[@lafeelabriel]

@@grievuspwn4g3 Would depend on how well the conversion was done I suspect.

[@daniel-leejones8396]

@William Walker , it totally baffles me when people say that about this pistol, I think it has a rugged beauty, form over function, apparently they are lovely to shoot and flawlessly functional and of typical webley quality.

[@jerkfudgewater147]

I love seeing different solutions to the same old problems... that V-spring with a claw on top, never would have crossed my mind

[@VexShiza]

I like that you're leaning back and taking a relax demeanor. It makes it feel like we're just having a conversation about the firearm.

[@frankpollitt8056]

There was also a 9mm version meant for the European market. It used a 9mm Browning cartridge just over 21mm in length as opposed to the 1mm Luger. I do own one of these guns.

[@Halvspenn]

I'm picturing them dropping it in a bucket of water, and then just standing around looking at it for a while, not actually knowing what the test was supposed to accomplish. "Well, it is a gun, and it is in water. So we have proven that this gun can indeed exist in water, I guess? Good job, lads!"

[@DeathtrapCult]

Halvspenn that's how I interpreted it too lol. Also the "morning dew" test

[@reillyc7605]

It proves that it is not a witch. Because a witch burns like wood, and wood floats on water. Also they must have weighed it against a duck.

[@banjopete]

Halvspenn ,No Albert, it’s what happens AFTER you take it out.........or are you suggesting I drop it in a bucket of water and fuck off to war?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@banjopete Well it doesn't turn water into wine.😏

[@brienmauer8134]

So much for the "floating gun" test!!

[@joshbonds3599]

I could sense restrained pain in Ian's voice when he revealed that the entire stock of spare parts was melted down. A very sad moment. ;-;

[@christhesmith]

I think they cut away...I am sure Ian had a big lump in his throat.It's OK Ian..... they're in a good place.

[@ekscalybur]

"Just wack it." As you command Gun Jesus.

[@andrew-ripley1747]

Thou shalt not speaketh the name of Gun Jesus in any form of perversion. Thou shalt ritually cleanse thyself of all impurities in a bath of pure Ballistol, 7 times over. Then, thou shalt be made clean in the eyes of Gun Jesus and Father Browning.

[@TJH1]

Superb video, as always. This channel has become the most consistently high quality and informative of those I follow. Thanks!

[@therugburnz]

Makes me appreciate captive pins more than ever.

[@motorsportfangr]

You should all watch C&Rsenal's video on making ammo for these things.

[@thegoldencaulk2742]

Thaaat's right, Rich!

[@GunFunZS]

I bet one could shave down 308 win brass for the purpose.

[@kreigwulfe2679]

Source on the video please?

[@justinhutyler2385]

Awesome video as usual, love all the great history and demonstrations of so many pieces. FYI, main spring activates the hammer, striker, etc. I grunt every time the recoil spring is referred to as the “main” spring lol. I hope nothing ever stops all of the superb content and fantastic education you guys provide. I think you could do Forgotten History, also. Stories and battles most aren’t aware of. Thank you.

[@nathanstein589]

Sliced bread was invented in 1928, so members of the Royal Navy trail must’ve thought it was the coolest thing since the Webley 1913

[@randywatson8347]

I admire the precision machining of it

[@22tanmay]

There are thousands of those .32 first and later versions still in use in India. Built like tanks.

[@raymondwiltshire2296]

Really like this channel. Ian is a very knowledgeable person, and presents his information in a very easy to listen to way. Thanks Ian.

[@postit2me1moretime]

As someone who just managed to get a hold of one of these, this is why I love your content and have for a while. Watched this as soon as I got home to better familiarize myself with the history and mechanics. Now I just need to get a bead on some ammo for it...

[@Maximilian178]

This gun looks quite well made. Weird that they did not adopt it more widely. Though considering all the high quality machining that had to go into it and the massive metal-parts it used I guess it was also a quite expensive gun to make. Also...that damn large bullet. If they had (just figuratively speaking) designed this around 9mm Luger they could have scaled things down significantly.

[@freman007]

A surprising number of people have been killed with .22LR. But given its age perhaps that isn't that surprising.

[@dubsy1026]

such a beautiful gun

[@dubsy1026]

probably the most beautiful ever made

[@dubsy1026]

Æinarr Krigsson the box gun? Nah

[@dubsy1026]

+Christian Meyer ugly? Sleek barrel, perfectly angled grip, elegant slide. Not remotely ugly

[@dubsy1026]

Well I would disagree, but I can see why you'd say that

[@SgtKOnyx]

Tiffany Colts or nothing

[@richpurslow3283]

Its like a mixture of two weapons that wernt even around yet, the colt 1911 and wather P38. And i have to say its pretty damn nice too.

[@Mrgunsngear]

great lesson here

[@Behindtheadrenaline]

Norway also tested one of these at their military trials around the same period, it had minor flaws but because we live more north, the rust test did not do good on this gun, we ended up with the 1911.

[@BobSaint]

I actually like the mechanism, it looks easier to produce then Browning's lugs. Remove the magazine disconnector option, bring the slide up to the muzzle and then put the recoil spring around the barrel, remove the handguard safety and You've got a pretty modern looking gun. The ejection port would still be on the top, but would it be that much of a problem today?

[@jgedutis]

Up all night with back pain. At least when I decided to give up and just get up, I found a new Forgotten Weapons video to help me start the day off right with history.

[@JerryEricsson]

Fentanyl my man, I am on 100 mcg/h patch with a backup of hydrocodone four time per day, keeps me moving and reduces the pain to bearable.

[@jgedutis]

I have been dealing with doctors not wanting to treat pain for almost 7 years now. Car accident with damage at C6-C7. The doctor would write enough medicine to cover 12 hours out of a day of chronic all day pain. Sadly there are 24 hours in a day. Do I work or sleep? I finally found a good doctor 3 months ago for the first time, and my quality of life greatly improved. 4mg dilaudid 6 times daily. Costs less than $50 without insurance. Sadly her husband got a job, and they are moving. What will my next round of Russian doctor roulette give me? I want to get in on a pain trial for Tetrodotoxin. Looks promising as a selective sodium channel. bocker.

[@JerryEricsson]

Well I have had 5 major back surgeries trying to fix some damage from an accident, they finally gave up on the surgical repairs after inserting titanium bars up my spine to stop any movement over 4 joints, that left me in a lot of pain still, and the doctor I have believes in trying to improve my standard of life using drugs to get me moving again. This is where I am right now on the narcotic scale, The accident was in 1993 so I have been dealing with it ever since. I am guessing it has a lot to do with my doctor, however previous doctors who treated me before I moved home were doing the same, but with milder drugs. Yes I think a lot of it has to do with age, I am 66 today, as well as location, I live in South Dakota, and perhaps because I am white? I don't know about the last, our small town is all white, well there is one Mexican fellow who happens to live next door to me, and a couple addopted a couple of black children. OH there are a few Indians who come and go as the reservation is just down the highway about 10 miles.

[@51WCDodge]

I believe the RFC when that was formed also went gooey over the Webley Self loader, much easier to handle and reload in a plane. Webley have released an 6mm BB version of the MkIV revolver built from original drawings, how about bombarding them with requests for a similar remake of the Self Loader?

[@andrewince8824]

*Mark VI. 😉 I'm with you. I'd love to see more older and unusual weapons in airsoft. Everyone has an AR-15 pattern rifle and a Glock nowadays. There's no sizzle anymore .

[@cadetkohr5508]

Army: It has to meet all of these requests in order for us to even _think_ about adopting it. Navy/Marines: Is it reasonably priced and something we don't have or better than what we have? We'll take a thousand see how we like it.

[@rilledulu]

AS always it is pure joy to watch your videos Ian! Thanks!

[@mantistoboggan5171]

damn, ian, i saw a comment in a previous video, relating to this, but, daaaaaaaaaamn, you are a brilliant speaker. just the fact that i have not seen you have to amend any video you've done with a subtitle, telling the audience that you got something wrong...... until here is brilliant. you could speak about subjects that you are not even as incredibly versed in, like you are this subject. you've exceptional knowledge of everything you present..... but your ability to speak about something, without any editing/cutting, is incredible. man, you're a badass at this shit. you should venture into other fields, just because of your incredible ability to speak at length on a specific subject, without fucking up.

[@johnthomas-km2bf]

I find this channel to be the classiest one on youtube.

[@BigLisaFan]

Had one years ago and it went when I sold my Webley collection off. Still have 2 rounds of ammunition somewhere. Some were used by the Royal Flying Corps as well. Just missed out on another recently much to my dismay.

[@Dex99SS]

So incredibly modern in overall conception and purpose, for such an old pistol. Definitely done differently, but achieving such similar ideas. Pretty neat, they really are super simple in design. I'd love to see what they shoot like, the feel... accuracy, ability, etc.

[@Brawler_1337]

You should look at the Schwarzlose 1897 pistol. It really is quite remarkably modern for its era.

[@sarkybugger5009]

What an amazingly simple design.

[@ChibabaDave]

It pains me that n the UK it is very difficult to own or shoot wonderful piece of history like this.

[@lordsummerisle87]

@El Matadores Sadly no. All 0.455" centrefire pistols, with limited exceptions, are explicitly never considered as antiques under Section 58 of the Firearms Act. However there is a narrow exception for heritage pistols, where a pistol of exceptional historical or cultural significance can be held on a firearms certificate subject to very strict, limited storage and usage limits.

[@andrewince8824]

I think that has something to do with Hungerford (1987) and Dunblane (1996). While it is a shame that sport shooters can't access cool pistols like this, it's probably for the best. I for one kind of like not getting shot.

[@ryanharmon389]

@@andrewince8824 Just because if it's allowed means you could be shot, doesn't mean you would be though

[@njones420]

@@ryanharmon389 thing is, it worked...there wasn't a mass shooting in the UK for over 24 years after this, and we've *never* had another school-shooting. (sorry, I know this channel isnt the place for politics)

[@MaximRecoil]

@@njones420 "thing is, it worked...there wasn't a mass shooting in the UK for over 24 years after this, and we've never had another school-shooting." Is that a joke, or are you really that daft? The UK has only ever had one school shooting (and I'll pretend that it was real rather than staged), and that you've not had another one means that "it worked"? What, then, was it that "worked" to prevent school shooting for hundreds of years before "it"? That's like a man getting struck by lightning, and after that he always carries a good luck charm in his pocket, and years later he proclaims that "it worked" because he hasn't been struck by lighting since he's been carrying the good luck charm with him. I'm going to point out the obvious here: correlation ≠ causation, and in this case, you don't have anything even close to a strong correlation. The UK has never had a significant gun crime problem, not even 100+ years ago when they had hardly any gun control laws. There isn't a single example in the history of civilization of gun control laws "working." In all cases of places with low gun crime and high gun control laws, they had low gun crime before the high gun control laws too.

[@blackcountryme]

Webley (Webley and Scott) were from Birmingham England, and only just in Birmingham, the top end of West Bromwich.. In the end made good quality Air rifles, now sold to a Turkish company and all gone.

[@chocolatte6157]

Thanks. I liked that video. I am always impressed with the inventiveness of the old timers.

[@GRMGR1]

That's a very cool design especially considering how early it was

[@georgesheffield1580]

WEBLEY was know as an excellent designer and builder . Britain hag a bunch of top notch engineers at the time ( 1860 - 1915) and put their designs to success .

[@7come11two]

It's a beautiful design, really, and they're nicely machined, but the design sure makes one appreciate the 1911 pistol.

[@wilemelliott]

now I'm wondering how much it would cost to manufacture a "modernized" version in .45 ACP [adjusting to use commonly available 1911 magazines], 9mm, 10mm, etc... Its really a well thought out gun

[@slthbob]

they are everywhere my friend.... I have a Para Ord .45.... they started their business by making double stack frames and mags for the 1911... :) what we see today is an amalgam of the tech applied back then.

[@Shiruvan]

'Check out my classy glocks'

[@JerryEricsson]

Still drooling over this fine piece of steel, God how I would love to have one of these, didn't get it for my birthday 7 year ago. Ah well I can still dream of owning one of them....

[@FatherDyer1990]

I like how both of today's videos really complimented each other. 👌🏼

[@kyleno4mk27]

I've known of these pistols for years, and of course always wanted one. However this is the first time I've really gotten to see them in scale. That's a big pistol, that's a big big pistol.

[@anthonycochran6492]

Thank you Ian for this channel. I find your approach to these firearms fascinating and quite informative. When I am working again, I will be supporting Forgotten Weapons monetarily. :-)

[@littlebigheroman]

Now THAT is a combat pistol

[@azlanameer4912]

Sir, its .32 1919 model is still with me as family lagacy. .32 disassembles by pulling the triger gard. Thanks for making this video.

[@thegoldencaulk2742]

My question is why did the Army have so much say in adoption when the British Navy was the more prominent branch of the military? When the Army complained about this pistol, everyone should've told them to get stuffed. Even the RAF would grab plenty of 1911 pistols to supplement their supply of revolvers... this is why people make jokes about the army.

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

Mong.

[@norwegianwiking]

TheGoldenCaulk possibly the Navy was considered subject matter experts on things that float and great big Fekk-off guns, and the Army was considered the SME on hand-held shooty-things. Considering that, at the time, the Navy were the ones who'd board ships and do most CQB, their POV might have been more valid for trench warfare.

[@51WCDodge]

The Royal Navy was the Go Ahead service, constantly playing with things like the new fangaled infernal combustion engines, and even those damm flying contraptions. The horse and musket had been good enough for the Army General Staffs Father's and Grandfather's. Great Scott Sir! they only stopped the buying of commisions some thirty years before!

[@rds978]

It simply boils down to who is going to spend the most money. In most cases getting a small arms contract for the Navy is a few thousand units. If the Army adopts a particular weapon the orders can easily run into hundreds of thousands of units and in some cases even millions of units.

[@richpurslow3283]

It is really quite annoying how slow the army was to adopt anything that smacks of usefulness. I quite like the old vickers mk6 light tank, got books on it and all that (bit of a nerd at heart haha) and one thing that crippled that little tank was a lack of a decent gun. I thought why didnt they put an auto cannon on it. Anyhow they did have a prototype with a two pounder (40mm) gun on it which went for testing but they didnt adopt in the end because armoured reconnaissance vehicles dont need them aparently. If they'd have had these or at least mixed them in with the machine gun armed ones they might have had a better show for their efforts. Bit off topic i know but it shows you what the army was like in adopting anything that was A)different from the norm B) a step forward in tech.

[@Efreeti]

"In an emergency you don't have to fiddle with it, you just wack it."

[@TheShalomstead]

Yes, thank you for sharing with Ian, Mike! I really like old pistols but don’t have the type of income required to become a serious collector. Here’s to hoping the future has lots of beautiful antique firearms for me to behold.

[@MrPanzerDragoon]

This isn't the first video where Ian has mentioned how excited the Navy is about a new weapon. It doesn't matter the country, why is the Navy always so positive and excited?

[@samuelmendoza9356]

From what I can tell, probably of inherit reliance of bigger sitck. Naval vessels are the logical platforms of big stick since they got weight budget and mobile. Hence, from 17th century or a couple centuries before that where they brought ancient cannons to ships, naval combat is reliant on punch and range. Plus, since naval ships are run by machineries, Navy is inclined when it comes to mechanical. Hence, the result is the Navy is inheritly inclined to technical stuffs.

[@Brawler_1337]

Armies of the day had to deal with a number of things that navies did not. First of all, the army typically was dealing with conscripts and poorly trained recruits, whereas naval troops were more likely to be career soldiers who had the training to take advantage of more advanced weaponry. Second, armies had to consider how to keep troops supplied with ammunition, and this thinking led to magazine cutoffs and intentionally gimped magazine capacity. Navies didn’t have to worry about that because they’re taking all their ammo on a ship, so they don’t have to worry about, “Well, how many mules do we need to get supplies to these guys down in east bejesus?” Thirdly, armies tend to be much larger than navies, so switching over to a different standard-issue weapon can be incredibly time-consuming and expensive.

[@balham456]

Another outstanding clip from Ian.

[@LenKusov]

I'd imagine the mag cutoff was probably a big factor in "Well, it says .455 Webley on it, guess I'll give it a shot" since you can easily single-load it. Can't imagine you could fit more than 3 or 4 into the magazine before rimlock and the lack of a curve start messing things up.

[@user-oi8sq6ci8j]

Though it surely is no competition for the 1911, there is something about the aesthetic, simplicity and earnestness that i like about it.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Pretty clever engineering on these - very simple and effective

[@RoscoesRiffs]

I have read these pistols function with .45 acp hollowpoint ammunition as if they were engineered to do so. The hollowpoints are just short enough to function in the magazines. I've never seen one.

[@Buzzard-wq1bw]

I don't know why but I would LOVE to carry this thing :) I've always thought these guns were so cool :)

[@SgtKOnyx]

Buzz Bombs Gaming and guns I tried, who is in your Avatar?

[@Buzzard-wq1bw]

SgtKOnyx it's a girl (that I don't know the name of) by a Japanese artist know by the name "hetza-shock" just look up "hetza shock drawings on google (waring if you find his cool art you will also probably find his......... tentacle...... stuff.....)

[@Buzzard-wq1bw]

SgtKOnyx here are some links to his stuff touch.pixiv.net/member.php?id=46899 danbooru.donmai.us/posts?tags=hetza_%28hellshock%29

[@SgtKOnyx]

Buzz Bombs Gaming and guns maybe not then lol

[@og1ie]

I always enjoy your informative videos. Very professional.

[@SmallHandsBigBite]

The hell, does anyone else see "The Golden gun" from James Bond in this?

[@andrewemery8495]

Yes, plus is was the basis for a plastic toy gun popular in the 1960s ( I think the Navy adopted that as well....)

[@szili76]

I only watch this because of Ian, This man is awsome! Dont care about the guns at all.

[@roeng1368]

The army was always conservative in the equipment they would use. But i suppose changing the sidearms of an entire army would be a daunting task. Webley also did the same thing with some of their single shot target pistols as these semi's, they would receive an order and then assemble the pistol from stored parts. There were no assembled pistols in stock, just parts.

[@prisdefer]

I think Doyle, rather improbably, used one of these in some scenes in series 3 of The Professionals in1980. He normally used a P38, which was also a bit improbable, but a bit more practical.

[@m1garandlvr420]

It always makes my heart hurt when I hear about guns/parts being melted away for scrap

[@MegaBoilermaker]

Typical short-term moronic mentality.

[@donaldpetkus1637]

I feel the same about scrapping historic naval vessels.

[@MegaBoilermaker]

@@donaldpetkus1637 As a Naval Architect I share your feelings.

[@mr.bobcyndaquil4214]

At least it wasn't done because of some political bullshit like what often happens today.

[@andyleighton6969]

...and if they'd just waited another few months in 1939; i suspect the market would have "opened up".

[@azlanameer4912]

I got this pistol. It was 1918 model. That was .32. Very neat and smooth in firing. A stranger came. He saw and snatched it just by bowing down and touching my feet. 😢😢😢

[@Mythicalmage]

Quick question: was shagreen, that is shark or ray skin, ever used on firearms for, say, the Royal Navy or the like? I believe it was used on some British Military sabres, but I'm curious if they ever brought that over to firearms.

[@SgtKOnyx]

Rob Wilson not as a standard duty pistol, but an officer's pistol might have, as most of the requirements were: ammo

[@Regolith86]

Might have been used for some holsters. Can't think of anything else you'd use it for.

[@TheHaighus]

@Regolith Shagreen is naturally grippy due to the texture of the sharkskin- it isn't simply leather. It was used in sabre grips because it was supposedly grippy even when blooded.

[@alganhar1]

@TheHaighus: It is, myself and a few old re-enactment buddies have tested it using pig and cows blood. Its important to note it is directional though. Shark skin is made up of what are called dermal denticles (sorry, the Marine Biologist in me), basically look at it under a miscroscope and the scales look like rows of teeth with the terminal spines facing the tail (though they are actually scales, not teeth). Long and short is that the roughness of shagreen is *directional*, stroke from head to tail and it is actually surprisingly friction free, stroke from tail to head, and with some larger sharks you can actually do your skin some surprising degree of injury. Makes for a very drag efficient skin, and also for a fine sandpaper and sword hilt material! Works well with sword hilts, not sure how it would work with handguns though, seems to be that there would be forces running both directions of the grain as the weapon fires, recoils and returns, so you may end up with a grip that retains well during recoil, but slides out of your hand when the weapon returns to 'rest'. I do not shoot handguns though, so beyond that couldnt really comment.

[@xriz00]

Ian, I wanted to ask a technical question. The main spring is an ingenious use of a V spring coupled with leverage. What I wanted to verify was; that the bottom of the V spring moved back and forth as the lever connected to the slide was cycled.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

No, the bottom ov the V spring is fixed in place (pinned to the frame).

[@elpoderdelasgalaxias]

Beautifully clever engineering.

[@sicsempertyrannis688]

The British navy: the only branch of the British armed forces that actually adopt cool and functional stuff

[@trenthuff7145]

Great video. Very well done, as always. Enjoyed it, thanks.

[@zzxxooooxxzz4964]

Another great video by Gun Jesus.... I had once read somewhere that someone had changed the extractor on a 455 webley auto not sure the exact model but by doing so was able to use 45acp ?? Anyone else ever heard something about that? Just curious if it could be done i mean in theory it should be able to since people have done it in their revolvers so barrel diameter should be fine...

[@jamesmcevoy679]

These semiauto were used by "The Black and Tans" in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence 1919 to 1921

[@rb26gtr98]

Yeah well the Irish had tommyguns !

[@jamesmcevoy679]

@@rb26gtr98 i know i have several pics IRA volunteers with Tommy Guns I've read that one was smuggled into to Ireland by a New York Cop when he came home on holidays

[@reality9]

The British Army was right to reject this as they had the absolutely superb Webley Green revolver and good Webly Mk6. These were full power revolvers, highly reliable in the worst mud, almost as fast to shoot and reload as a 1911. Also, the WG had such a smooth double action that anyone could shoot it rapidly and accurately. The WG was, and probably still is, the best battle revolver ever made. Why give that up for an unreliable auto that weighs more and only has one more round?

[@dustinewing7974]

Such a cool looking pistol.

[@blipblip88]

That looks like a very well-engineered gun. I would like to own one because I admire how nice it looks. I don't have any pistols and am looking to start trying some out as a new hobby. Thanks for the posting, sir.

[@nickp1370]

I often wonder if the guys in charge of equipping the armies of the world make decisions based solely on their mood that day... Royal Navy Officer: Bloody Marvelous pistol boys, let's go get a pint! Army Officer: My wife hasn't touched me in years, and we don't need your fancy new "pistol" (makes air quotes).

[@mrbeast85]

My great grandfather was in the 4th Kings Own (Royal Lancashire) Regiment during WWI. I'm not sure which battalion he was in, so I suppose there is a remote possibility he might have known the officer that owned that pistol.

[@EmpPeng2k7]

Fantastically simple guns, thanks for the vid

[@MrRandomcommentguy]

among the coolest looking automatic pistols ever

[@lagancider6153]

A favourite with the Black and Tans...

[@jeffreyabelson7171]

They make good looking weapons!

[@wbnerd]

It seems like the royal navy was ahead of its time even before Churchill's assignment. He was signed at oct. 11, feb 12 the pistol was adopted. And then tanks and dreadnoughts.

[@rubennasser6907]

Excellent video! But the 455 Webley Automatic launched a 225 gr bullet at about 700 fps, NOT 955 fps...Where did you get your info?

[@neutronalchemist3241]

Infact "cartridges of the world" credit it of an energy barely above that of a .380 ACP. If that's the case, the gun is neat, but seriously overweight and overengineered.

[@spsix7047]

The info is correct for the ORIGINAL cartridge. The ballistics were soon reduced to about 700-800 fps , because people kept using them in revolvers ( very dangerous) . This meant that the .455 auto pistol had marginal functional reliability with the lower powered ammo, especially in muddy trenches. ( that's why the RFC mainly used the Army ones). I know because I have owned and fired one of these for many years. My cases are made from cut down 45 Long Colt cases. The rim is reduced and an extractor groove cut in. The bullet is the one for the Ruger Old Army BP revolver (Lee 90384) 220 grain..it is .456" sized down to .455". I use 4.0 grains of Bullseye, which is just enough in a clean gun on a clean range. This pistol has a true .455" groove diameter, unlike the Webley Mk VI 455 revolver which actually has a .452 groove diameter (like a 45 ACP) and an even smaller cylinder mouth. So you can see how dangerous it was to use the hard jacketed hot .455 Auto ammo in a revolver ( the bullet was far too big for the bore ! ). The Webley Auto will, at a pinch, shoot 45 ACP ammo as the massive extractor holds the shorter ACP case in place whilst the primer is struck. However accuracy is terrible as the .452" ACP bullet is only a rattling good fit in the .455 bore. With the right ammo my Mk 1N is extremely accurate and reliable when clean. The fit and finish is very good ( too good). Unlike the 1911, a small amount of dirt will stop a Mk 1N especially when using its reduced power ammo. The sights are v.good, but natural pointing 'cos of the grip angle is poor. Not the thing for snap shooting in a trench at night !

[@FredCheckers]

So who smoked a bowl and asked for a magazine cutoff on pistol? Volley fire at 20 yards?

[@andrewince8824]

Now listen here, ruffian. Even as the foe advances we must stand staunch. We cannot have men shooting randomly, they must be disciplined in their conduct. By god, man, how can we look the Zulus and Maori in the eye knowing our glorious chaps were no more professional than they? If you were in my regiment you'd learn a thing or two. 😉

[@joewalter7523]

Nifty. That slide-return system seems an awful like that of the Beretta Tomcat, though with a leaf spring as opposed to the rod/compression springs on the Tomcat...

[@jameslawrie3807]

I'd buy a modern one of these in a heartbeat

[@rednecksniper4715]

Looks like a pretty damn good pistol for the time period

[@cheapolegunguy]

Another great video Ian, thanks.