Colt is good, but I want to improve it

John Walsh's multi-shot pocket revolver. Its creator wanted no less to improve the famous "Colt"

His pupils are black, empty,
Like the muzzle of a Colt.
V. Vysotsky. Armed and very dangerous

Military affairs at the turn of the eras. After reading this poem by V. Vysotsky, unfamiliar with history military affairs, a person may well think that the "Colt" is a double-barreled gun, since it has two ... muzzles. But a poet is also a poet because he can see what others do not see, and vice versa. In this case, he meant the black holes in the chambers of his drum. Who knows if they were black though? Indeed, in order to prevent the breakthrough of gases when fired to other charges from the side of the barrel, the bullets inserted into the drum were poured with a mixture of wax and fat, and it was white, well, let's say, a little yellowish!

Today we will return to the topic weapons created at the turn of the era, when the development of technology made it possible to create already such firing devices as Samuel Colt's revolver. Considering his patent applications today, one cannot help but be surprised at his ... resourcefulness.

Here is his first, the very first revolver from the patent of 1848, and for some reason a bayonet is provided on it. And this is in case his revolver suddenly misfires, because the device was too new and revolutionary

Well, here, in fact, there are two samples at once: a trigger revolver and a hammerless gun, in which the drum with charges is rotated by turning the lower lever with a ring under the finger. Not that, so another sample, undoubtedly, the inventor thought, will surely find its way to the buyer

But this patent is simply impossible to look at without emotion.

Consumer care! There is no other way to put it. Firstly, a dispenser for bullets, so that with one scrolling of the box rim, all five bullets hit the drum in one fell swoop! Secondly, there is a powder dispenser so that the same and precisely measured amount of powder is fed into each chamber! And thirdly, we see here a hardener for tight coring of a bullet into the chamber and a bullet for casting bullets from lead. Well, the oil putty should have been kept in a special box and did not forget how to cover each equipped chamber!

1850 patents for the so-called dragoon model. Here we see actually a classic Colt, from which more and more perfect models then went. Now in his revolver there are no longer five, but six charging chambers, and the drum cannot be removed from it. Therefore, the lever for tight driving the bullet into the chamber is installed on the revolver itself under the barrel

It would seem that everything is fine, it’s better not. But Rollin White thinks differently and in 1855 patented his drum revolver, which uses paper cartridges and primers, which are put on the brand tube in turn!

There are five charges in the drum, and it is turned by pressing the trigger with a ring, but there is only one brandtube. That is, every time before you shoot, you take out the next capsule from your pocket, put it on and only then shoot. An economical way, you can't say anything: you can't shoot a lot like that!

Second patent for White's revolver

However, this seemed to him not enough, and on the same day he applied for another revolver, in fact the same Colt, but with numerous improvements. On the drawing he has 9 drawings, called "figures", and they show that he has invented a new one. In the signatures we read: “Fig. 1 is a side view of a pistol constructed according to my invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. FIG. 3 is a side view of the mechanisms by which the drum rotates and is locked and unlocked. FIG. 4 is a front view of a rotating cylinder with a camera and a protective plate that is located in front of it. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cover plate showing the rear side thereof. FIG. 6 is a rear view of a rotating chamber cylinder showing a shutter and a spring casing to protect the charges from side fire explosion from one to the other. FIG. 7 - breech, top view. FIG. 8 is a front view of the magazine and charger. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section of the charger ".

Well, he came up with this: he combined the hardening lever with a toothed rack, which, every time the drum is stuffed, the trigger smoothly retracts back and does not interfere with loading. At the Colt, it had to be retracted and fixed, and then gently lowered, otherwise a shot could have occurred. Moreover, it was not recommended to wear the trigger placed on the primer of a loaded chamber, but to put it on an unloaded one, which, of course, reduced the stock of rounds by one. Everything here happened smoothly and accurately. Then, a magazine for cartridges with bullets and gunpowder, attached directly to the revolver, was provided to immediately push them into the drum after firing. Behind the drum, he put a protective casing so that the flames from the shots would fall into the chambers adjacent to the fired one.

What happened in the end? The result is an obviously overcomplicated design, which did not give any real advantages to the White Colt! That is, it has once again been confirmed that doing it is simple - very difficult, but difficult to do - very easy!

But everyone, however, in his attempts to improve the Colt was surpassed by John Walsh of Walch Firearms & Co. He patented his design in 1859 and showed himself as a very original and distinctive designer. And he did this: he just placed not five, not six, but respectively 10 and 12 charges in the elongated drum of the Colt, placing them one after the other!

Revolver by John Walsh, drawing from the patent

That is, from one charging chamber with this revolver, you can make not one shot, as usual, but two, in turn! Accordingly, for this, two triggers were installed on it, and depending on the model, one or two triggers.

Known "naval model" for 12 charges of .36 caliber and pocket - for 10, caliber .31! From 1859 to 1862, about 200 Walsh revolvers "naval model" were manufactured for fleet, so for the modern collector of weapon curiosities this is a very desirable acquisition!

Diagram of a Walsh revolver from the patent: FIG. 8 is a top view of the drum; FIG. 9 - arrangement of the drum chambers, FIG. 10 shows the location of the brand tubes, FIG. 11 - channels leading to the first charges, FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a charged drum, FIG. 13 is a rear view. Two triggers are clearly visible, left and right

By the way, it was arranged extremely simply. The elongated drum had on its outer side nodules through which the channels went from the brandtubes to the first charges, while the second ones, those that were located behind them, so to speak, "in echelon", as in medieval multiply charged petrinals, were ignited by their own brandtubes located as usually. Thus, on the rear side of the drum, the brandtubes were located in two rows with some mixing and the central hammer beat one at a time, and one that was slightly shifted to the right on the other.

Drum close up

This revolver was loaded in the same way as the Colt and all revolvers like it. Measured doses of gunpowder were poured into the chambers from the dispenser, then a round lead bullet was tightly driven, after which it had to be covered with a composition of "3/4 parts of soap and 1/4 oil", after which the powder was again poured into the chamber, the bullet was driven into and covered with the specified composition.

"Pocket model"

When firing, the first (right) trigger ignited the "front" charge, and the second (left), respectively, the "rear". With the simultaneous cocking of the hammers, a mismatch of shots could occur, so John provided for a two-stage trigger system, that is, they did not go down at the same time, and the right one always went down before the left one. True, this excluded a "doublet" - two shots at once, following one after the other.

Two samples of the "pocket model" with the so-called nipple trigger

The design advantage was obvious: the Walsh revolver, unlike the bulky 12-round revolvers of the same Lefoshe, practically did not differ in size from the Colt, but it was possible to make 10-12 shots from it against the usual 5-6.

Barrel stamp: “WALCH. FIRE-ARMS. CO. NEW YORK PAT'D.FEB.8.1859 ". About 3000 units of such revolvers were made. They went on public sale in 1861-1862 and, along with many other revolvers, participated in the Civil War between the North and the South.

Comments

[Ragnar Lodbrok]

"No invention can be perfect right away."
Cicero Marcus Tullius
Colt spent years getting people to talk about his invention.
"The Lord God created people, President Lincoln gave them freedom, and Colonel Colt made them equal."

[Maki Avellevich]

Quote: Ragnar Lothbrok

"The Lord God created people, President Lincoln gave them freedom, and Colonel Colt made them equal."

without Lincoln. only Gd and Comrade Colt.

[3x3zsave]

There are different interpretations of this proverb, I have never read it in the original. One gets the impression that the phrase was thought up by the Russians (hackers (?) )

[Catfish]

Hello Anton!
There are things that are more interesting - I read somewhere that Colt had a doctorate in chemistry, but I have no confirmation of this. Although he studied this science at the university until he was kicked out of there.
However, whether he had a degree or not, that didn't stop him from becoming who he became and doing what he did. (No matter how vicious the Russian hackers )

[kalibr]

You are looking at an unhappy person, by the way. Had three daughters and all died. This affected him so much that he died of a heart attack. The revolier that you have in the photo was created 10 years after his death, already by engineers hired by his waterman. He has nothing to do with Colt himself. There was still a lot of interesting things there after his death, but more about that later ...

[Catfish]

Yes, I remember your book, the story of the "Colt house" and his widow. Namely, this revolver was created after his death, Сolt Single Action Army, Model 1873, SAA), also known under the names Model P, Peacemaker. I inserted a ready-made picture.

A still from the excellent film The Magnificent Seven. The positive bandit Vin (Steve McQueen) is just with this revolver in hand.

[kalibr]

[quote = Sea Cat] Yes, I remember your book, the story of the "Colt house" and his widow.
Konstantin! This is what I am afraid of all the time. Our memory starts to fail us! My book ... not about Colt's house ... but about "Winchester's house" and his widow !!! Although in a general sense it looks like it, doesn't it?

[Catfish]

I beg your pardon, I like that ensign with a "right angle beguiled." And, in general, yes, their fates are somewhat similar.

[Undecim]

There are more interesting things - I read somewhere that Colt had a doctorate in chemistry
Didn't have.
Although he studied this science at the university until he was kicked out of there.
He never studied at any university.

[Catfish]

Was there a degree, or was it rubbish too?

[Undecim]

Did not have. He received all his knowledge of chemistry in a dye shop at his father's factory.

[Catfish]

Excellent! And there was no degree, and the colonel was "fake", but he created a revolver (we will not go into details) and went down in history.

[Undecim]

He was an inventor. They have to be born. Otherwise, no university will help. True, sometimes a person is not an inventor, but he thinks he is an inventor. Then the trouble. Flat bullets - saws - from this opera.

[kalibr]

Quote: Undecim

Flat bullets - saws - from this opera.

But their patentability was confirmed to me by very famous inventors, and the possibility of functioning was confirmed by people in uniform. I just don't want to mess with it.

[Undecim]

But their patentability was confirmed to me by very famous inventors
Vyacheslav Olegovich, patentability, it is not a confirmation that the patented sample will fulfill its functions. Almost anything can be patented. If a patent was issued for a ladder for evacuating spiders from a bathtub, then for bullet-saws is not a problem at all.
And shoulder straps are not a qualification feature in relation to the creation of weapons.

[kalibr]

Quote: Undecim

And shoulder straps are not a qualification feature in relation to the creation of weapons.

Well, why do you cling to words? It is clear that I was not asking the first lieutenant I met on the street. At the Penza Art School we have a very strong department of small arms ... And again, a formal patent is one thing, but ... an interesting development is another. The inventors I know know this.

[Undecim]

Can you name your friends as an example?

[kalibr]

One came up with a device for pressing an important part into a Kalashnikov assault rifle. A defect in this operation affected the accuracy, but was detected only during control firing. At every 10th. He came up with ... and everything was OK. Received for this ... 7 thousand rubles. The second honored inventor ... I don’t know what he deserved, but he is the most famous

[Undecim]

One came up with a device for pressing an important part into a Kalashnikov assault rifle. A defect in this operation affected the accuracy
Logically, this is a gas chamber.

[kalibr]

Hard to say. He told me, but he didn’t emphasize “what”, but “how much” and ... that he didn’t like their approach.

[Undecim]

In the sense of "how much" about the amount of reward, or about the clearance during landing?

[zenion]

One lady asked a pianist - is it true that you have to be born to become a pianist? The truth is, the unborn cannot hit the keys.

[icelord]

I very much certainly ask pardon. But Samuel Colt has nothing to do with the "peacemaker". This has already been done by his widow, (with the help of Mason and Richards of course)

[Catfish]

Sorry is not required, you need to carefully read the comments. Just below my post with a portrait of Colt, there is a comment by Vyacheslav:

The revolier that you have in the photo was created 10 years after his death, already by engineers hired by his waterman. He has nothing to do with Colt himself. There was still a lot of interesting things there after his death, but more about that later ...

And then my answer:

Namely, this revolver was created after his death, Сolt Single Action Army, Model 1873, SAA), also known under the names Model P, Peacemaker. I inserted a ready-made picture.

So you wasted your time on your comment.

[icelord]

Alas, this is so, I wrote immediately after reading your comment, then I got distracted, and when I realized that I wrote in vain it was no longer possible to delete

[Catfish]

Okay, none of that matters. Communication is important. It happens to me and myself, then I have to unsubscribe and apologize.

[icelord]

Good day Dear. No, Americans always say so too)))

[John22]

In fact, Colt used other people's inventions. In the USA he patented them under his own name. And then he implemented them through other talented people. But the name remained.

[Far B]

Having read this poem by V. Vysotsky, a person unfamiliar with the history of military affairs may well think that a "Colt" is a double-barreled gun, since it has two ... muzzles. But a poet is also a poet because he can see what others do not see, and vice versa. In this case, he meant the black holes in the chambers of his drum.

Is it too difficult to assume that Vysotsky meant two Colts? Drum chambers, Christmas tree-sticks ... As someone Occam used to say, you should not create entities beyond what is necessary

[kalibr]

Quote: Dalny V

Is it too difficult to assume that Vysotsky meant two Colts?

Quote: Dalny V

As someone Occam used to say, you should not create entities beyond the necessary

[Catfish]

Vyacheslav, hello and best wishes!
Still, the tandem charge inspires some concern, it is more likely that the entire drum will explode on occasion. In my opinion, the simpler, the better and, as someone used to say, "if you didn't get hit by the first bullet, but what the hell are you with the other five?"
For the sake of "fairness" I decided to stick the very first one - "Colt Paterson", because it all started with him.

[kalibr]

Of course, there was a danger of a double shot. It was necessary to carefully coat the space around the bullet ...

[The leader of the Redskins]

I did not think that the usual Western hero, "Colt", had such a thorny path.
Thank you, Vyacheslav Olegovich, we made you happy.

[Mountain shooter]

What a dangerous weapon for a shooter! This revolver has tandem charges. I wonder if they had no accidents? After all, even with ordinary revolvers, it happened when a shot in the leg ...

[icelord]

Of course there were, that's why it didn't take root

[maktub]

As I presented the whole process of recharging ...
After all, the patron is a great thing
Respect to the author!

[Undecim]

In the drawing he has 9 drawings, called "figures"
It is in vain, Vyacheslav Olegovich, to put the "figures" in quotation marks, because according to the rules for the design of graphic materials for an application for an invention or a utility model, each image is numbered and denoted by fig. 1, fig. 2, etc.
In this case, all images are made with black thin lines of the same thickness without feathering and coloring.

[kalibr]

Here it is. Thanks! I'll know...

[Undecim]

Are you applying for an invention?

[kalibr]

No, of course, it's tied to it, although I have two or three certificates for industrial designs. But it was a long time ago.

[Undecim]

But Rollin White thinks differently
His main idea is to drill through the drum! This made it possible to circumvent Colt's patents.

[Bormanxnumx]

The idea at that time was no longer new) because in 1853 there was already a Lefoshe hairpin revolver, Mle1853, with through chambers and a unitary cartridge.

[Undecim]

Lefoshe is Europe. And Colt is America.

[Bormanxnumx]

When it came to litigation, they also remembered Lefoshe's patent from 1854. and White's patent law was rudely ruled by the court.

[Undecim]

Nevertheless, Smith & Wesson bought the patent from him and paid 25 cents from each revolver.

[icelord]

I'm not sure if the hairpin cartridge can be called unitary, so you can write a lot of things in unitary

[Bormanxnumx]

Look at the definition of the term "unitary cartridge" and make sure that all the rules with the hairpin)

[icelord]

In theory, yes, I agree. Therefore, it can be considered unitary. But I think it's better not to mix them

[John22]

Vysotsky was a poet, not a gunsmith. His black pistol with a lead-filled barrel is proof of that. He spent his childhood with him and knew to look at the table - in black. In addition, the Soviet people were disarmed after the war, VOKHRA hid the revolvers from the people and people forgot how the revolver looked from the side of the barrel. The fact that the bullets in the casings of the Nagan were clearly visible, and that of the US revolvers, especially with its large caliber, many did not see. Soviet cinema when shooting blanks finished it off completely. In our cinema, the Colts and Wessons have replaced the Naganas, and this is very sad, by women directors. In the old O Henry film "The Leader of the Redskins" everything was worthy. Apparently Vysotsky, looking into the empty and black chambers of the revolver, came up with such an association.

[icelord]

Not at the Nagan, the bullet is not visible, it is recessed into the sleeve, the sleeve is visible. Here at the Americans, yes, you see

[zenion]

Pictures are good, why are the dimensions not indicated?

[Nikolaevich I]

Oh, I hoped that Vyacheslav Olegovich would forget about Walsh's revolver and at the end of the "revolver series" I would pull him out into the "light"! The hope is not destined to come true! Of course, there were also clever ... smart revolvers ... like a 10-round revolver with a 5-round drum! But you can't call it "Colt modernization" ... its own design!

[Nikolaevich I]

PS If we mention something similar to the "Kolt", then, probably, it is worth mentioning the ENUI-8 and ENUI-2 revolvers! Moreover, when I first got acquainted with such revolvers, the author in the article presented ENUI-8 as "Mexican creativity based on the Colt!"

[Nikolaevich I]

It so happened that in a hurry I did not look at the date the article was posted on the VO page! And, as they say, at the wrong time "blurted out! I just explain: the very end of the year ... New Year's rush!