Webley Mk V

Webley & Scott Ltd. · Revolver · Out Of Production · 1913

Also known as: Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No 1 Mk V, Webley Mark V, Webley .455 Mk V

Overview

The Webley Mk V is a British top-break, double-action/single-action .455 service revolver, officially adopted on 9 December 1913 as the standard sidearm of the British Empire on the eve of the First World War. It was a refinement of the earlier Mk IV 'Boer War Model', its most important change being a cylinder made roughly 0.12 inch (3 mm) wider to safely handle the newer nitrocellulose (cordite) propellant cartridges then replacing black powder. Like the rest of the Webley family it uses a stirrup-type barrel latch: thumbing the lever forward frees the barrel to hinge downward, driving a star extractor that ejects all six spent .455 cases at once for a very fast reload. The hammer can be fired double-action with a long trigger pull or thumb-cocked for a lighter single-action shot. Standard barrel length was 4 inches, though 5-inch and 6-inch barrels were also produced in 1915. Because the First World War broke out only months after its adoption, relatively few Mk V revolvers reached the front before the improved Mk VI - with its squared target grip and standard 6-inch barrel - superseded it in 1915, making the Mk V one of the scarcer and shorter-lived marks in the Webley service line.

Specifications

Weight (empty)	1000 g (35.3 oz)
Overall Length	235 mm (9.25")
Barrel Length	102 mm (4.02")
Height	140 mm (5.51")
Width	40 mm (1.57")
Action Type	Double Action
Firing Mechanism	Double Action Single Action
Trigger Type	Double Action Single Action
Magazine Capacity	6 rounds
Magazine Type	Revolving Cylinder
Muzzle Velocity	190 m/s (623 fps)
Muzzle Energy	307 J (226 ft·lbf)
Effective Range	46 m (50 yd)
Maximum Range	180 m (197 yd)
Rate of Fire	20 rpm
Barrel Rifling	Right Hand
Rifling Twist	508 mm (20.00")
Number of Grooves	7
Frame Material	Steel
Barrel Material	Steel
Stock Material	Checkered Vulcanite
Finish	Blued

Calibers

.455 Webley · primary — also known as .455 Webley, .455 Eley, .455 Enfield, 11.6x19mmR

Features

Firing modes: Repeating
Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder
Safety mechanisms: Rebounding Hammer, Stirrup Latch
Features: Break Top Action, Simultaneous Extraction, Automatic Ejection, Six Shot Cylinder, Widened Cylinder For Nitro Loads, Fixed Front Sight, V Notch Rear Sight, Lanyard Ring, Stirrup Barrel Latch

Variants

Webley Mk IV (Boer War Model) - Predecessor
Webley Mk VI - Successor

Service history

Operators

British Army · adopted 1913 · as Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No 1 Mk V
Royal Navy · adopted 1913
Commonwealth Forces · adopted 1914

Conflicts

World War I (1914-1918)

Production

Production years: 1913-1915

Produced only briefly before the Mk VI superseded it in 1915; total output is uncertain and modest relative to the far more numerous Mk IV and Mk VI marks.

Origin

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Designer: Webley & Scott

Discontinued: 1915

Notes

The Mk V's defining feature is the widened cylinder introduced to cope with the higher chamber pressures of smokeless cordite loads, which the black-powder-era Mk IV cylinder had not been designed for. Standard-issue barrel length was 4 inches (102 mm); some 5-inch and 6-inch examples were manufactured in 1915 during the transition to the Mk VI. Empty weight is approximate and interpolated from the closely related Mk IV and Mk VI service revolvers; the 4-inch Mk V is lighter than the 6-inch Mk VI (which weighs about 1090 g).

Background

Adopted on 9 December 1913, the Mk V was Britain's official service revolver for barely a year and a half before the First World War overtook it - and even at the outbreak of war more of the older Mk IV revolvers were still in front-line service than the newer Mk V. Its one enduring engineering legacy was the widened cylinder that let the top-break Webley safely digest the modern cordite cartridges, a change carried straight over into the iconic Mk VI.