The Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver.

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Checkman

member
Joined
Sep 23, 2003
Messages
1,884
Location
Idaho
Yes I know it's a very pricey antique and I know that it failed miserably in the early days of World War One, but geez I wish I could find one. It's just so Victorian, but also futuristic. What's that genre in Science Fiction called? It's like Cyber Punk - okay I remember, it's called Steam Punk. The W-F is the perfect Steam Punk revolver.

I have to confess to having a weakness for the older British military firearms. I'm especially fond of the Lee-Enfield rifles and the Webley revolvers. I own a Webley Mk VI and a couple Lee-Enfield rifles. Though they might be old they're some of my favorites. Other guns have come and gone through my hands, but the British pieces stay.

Anyone here own a W-F? Anyone ever fired a W-F? Anyone ever fired the American replicas/rip-offs in the 32 caliber? Anyone?

Well anyway here are a couple photos I found on the Net. They each sold a few months ago for thousands of dollars. If anyone is familiar with the James D. Julia auction house then you will not be suprised at the prices. That auction house does business with the well heeled gun collector. However I like to go to their web site and drool. Check them out if you've never seen their site.It's like going to the Holland & Holland website. You can look all you want.

http://juliaauctions.net/
 

Attachments

  • 34132.jpg
    34132.jpg
    24.5 KB · Views: 57
  • 34133.jpg
    34133.jpg
    26 KB · Views: 52
Last edited:
Sean Connery, bah--this is the weapon used to murder Sam Spade's partner in "The Maltese Falcon," or at least the (third and most famous) movie version with Bogie.
 
Yes, but does the outfit come with the Webley-Fosbery? :barf:
 
Last edited:
bah--this is the weapon used to murder Sam Spade's partner in "The Maltese Falcon," or at least the (third and most famous) movie version with Bogie.
Click to expand...
Every time I watch that movie I cringe when Bogey rattles off the gun's specs and says it's a 8 shot :banghead:
But I keep tuning in when I see it on ;)



We sold my uncle's last year on one of the auction sites . I fired 24 rds several years back when he bought it . Saved a photo because of the cool factor :cool:

webley1mq9.gif
 
Every time I watch that movie I cringe when Bogey rattles off the gun's specs and says it's a 8 shot
But I keep tuning in when I see it on
Click to expand...

Well, they couldn't make the film PERFECT. John Huston's first movie, Bogie's big break, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr....SOMETHING had to be wrong with it.
 
guy sajer

If you don't mind answering how much did your uncles W-F sell for?

Incidentally that W-F looks like it was in beautiful condition. Was it refinished?
 
guy sajer

If you don't mind answering how much did your uncles W-F sell for?

Incidentally that W-F looks like it was in beautiful condition. Was it refinished?
Click to expand...
We believed it to be a military arsenal refinish . $6k .
 
When fired , the entire top end recoils rearward cocking the hammer and advancing the cylinder readying it for the next shot .

It's a very cool gun , but definately a solution to a nonexistant problem ;)
 
One of my dream guns

If you look closely you can tell the main frame is in tow parts. The upper half recoils backwards and cocks the gun so each trigger pull is single action. It was considered to be very fast and accurate for the day. That funky zig-zag pattern on the cylinder isn't for show, it was to aid in the self cocking feature.
It was the favorite firearm of Walter Wynans of the UK who was quite the firearms enthusiast. He won two gold medals and a silver at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics.
A very few were chambered for the .38 ACP and they were, indeed, of the eight shot persuasion.
Truly a unique and wonderful design. All the closely machined parts that were required for the unique operation doomed it as a service pistol though.
 
About a thousand years ago the police armourer had one in his junk pile - nobody dreamed what later values would be. I persuaded him to let me clean and lubricate it and we managed to find 2 cartridges that fitted, I think .455 but may be wrong.

I loaded and fired it but the first cartridge was a total dud (it was very old ammo.). The second round fired OK and the cylinder recoiled and cycled as it should to re-cock the revolver and line up the next chamber. That was about it. I unsuccessfully tried bribery and begging to get hold of the weapon but stopped short of theft - in retrospect I should not have, as the small african country in which this happened later collapsed and the pistol probably wound up as some thug's souvenir.

I never owned a W-F but at least had the fun of firing one! :)
 
Last edited:
JCMAG

A little more information for you. Though it appears others have answered you I never hesitate to bang my own drum. :rolleyes:

Go to U Tube and you will find videos of both the Webley-Fosbery and the Mateba being fired. Garry James is shooting the W-F and he manually cocks the hammer by pulling back on the upper reciever before firing. However you can also thumb cock the hammer before firing.

When fired the barrel and cylinder, which is one unit, recoils together, thereby cocking the hammer and causing cylinder rotation to bring a loaded chamber under the hammer. The Webley-Fosbery is a break top revolver. The empties are ejected when the stirrup latch is pushed and the barrel levered downwards which opens the action and operates the extractor.

There is a metal stud fixed to the lower reciever or frame it you like. When fired the stud runs in the grooves that are on the cylinder. The movement of the upper reciever causes the cylinder to rotate one-twelfth of a revolution during each stroke, thus completing one-sixth of a turn in the complete recoil cycle and therefore indexing a fresh round in front of the chamber. That is why the zig-zag pattern in the cylinder.

The description of the action is from Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks (7th Edition) Krause Publications. 2000.

Most were made in .455 Webley though a few were made in 38 acp. There was an American company (Union Arms Company) that made a replica in a 32 caliber. It was/is a very accurate design and very well made, but in the early days of WWI it was discovered that the design did not like dirt and mud. Webley stopped making them in 1914. It was a sporting revolver, not meant for the stresses of combat, and the company had it's hands full producing the Webley MK V and the Mk VI. So it went to the wayside.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

L
  • Locked
Enfield .455 revolver question
Replies
4
Views
666
Jim K
J
R
  • Locked
Webley Fosbery
Replies
4
Views
936
Jim K
J
Doug Bowser
  • Locked
My Webley Mark I Revolver
Replies
8
Views
2K
cowboy77845
C
Dave DeLaurant
Webley Fans -- Have You Heard about This?
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
mcb
mcb
Panzerschwein
  • Locked
The Defensive Webley
2 3
Replies
59
Views
6K
gotboostvr
gotboostvr
Back
Top