Heavy British "Bulldog" ...
Vebley No. 2 five-shot revolver, British Bulldog (circa 1889) (Royal Arsenal, Leeds)
The larger the bullet, the stronger its impact. Even if she does not kill, she is guaranteed to knock down, and this is what the shooter most often achieves. But in long-barreled revolvers, the recoil when firing such bullets was very high. That's when short-barreled British Bulldogs appeared ...
Forget crossbows and pikes -
Retired on time
Cast in stainless nickel
Heavy British Bulldog!
Didn't come off the conveyor belt -
Handmade and plan,
Systems "Vebley" or "Trenter",
Bland Price or even Varnan.
Or maybe Francott's systems,
Lying at the bottom of the holster
Where Abadi's door is the gate
Gateway to other worlds!
Gordon Lindsay
Retired on time
Cast in stainless nickel
Heavy British Bulldog!
Didn't come off the conveyor belt -
Handmade and plan,
Systems "Vebley" or "Trenter",
Bland Price or even Varnan.
Or maybe Francott's systems,
Lying at the bottom of the holster
Where Abadi's door is the gate
Gateway to other worlds!
Gordon Lindsay
Weapon and firms. There is no doubt that the interest of the readership in the "revolving series" is very high. And I myself am interested in all the "tricks" of this topic to understand and admire all these deadly "toys". It should be noted, however, that the series would not have taken place if it were not for the kind attitude of various "overseas" and European "partners" towards us, who, without hesitation and setting any commercial conditions, agreed to provide me with photographs of their samples of ancient weapons. Just like the keeper of the fonts from the local history museum in Perm, where I wrote, and from where I literally immediately received photographs of the Goltyakov's "Galan" they had. It is pleasant to deal with such people and absolutely unpleasant with our museum workers, who either do not answer letters at all, or ... demand some incredible money for their photographs. Well, God be their judge!
One of the readers asked me to write about ... "revolver", and there will certainly be material about it and even, most likely, more than one. But there is no way a suitable epigraph can be found for an article about him. But for the material about the English Bulldog revolver, he was found almost instantly. And if so, then let him go first. So today we will have story about the blunt-nosed, short and very deadly revolver, named after the dog's breed and, as they say, was the favorite weapon (when he needed it!) of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes!
.450 nickel plated "Webley" five-shot "British Bulldog" double action, central action, Model 1872. Design: Philip Vebley and Son. Barrel length 64 mm. Nearby is his patron. Produced for .442 Vebley (11,2 mm), 450 Adams (11,5 mm), .445 (11,3 mm) Bulldog cartridges. There were also 12,7 mm caliber models!
And it so happened that Philip Vebley, together with his son, a native of Birmingham, where they had a small enterprise "Webley & Son Company", already producing revolvers, in 1867 decided to create a special revolver for the Royal Irish Constabulary. Decided and done. And the very next year, the first production Webley RIC model was adopted by the police (constables) in Ireland. The Webley RIC model 1867 revolver was designated "Webley RIC No. 1". And the commercial sample of this model, released in 1872 - "Webley RIC No. 2". The characteristic features of both revolvers were the presence of a pear-shaped barrel with a bar at the top, tightly screwed into a frame, which was one-piece. The drum was smooth; only the late (released in 1883) "new model" - "Webley RIC No. 1 New Model", received its characteristic valleys. The trigger mechanism on all models was double-acting, and the extractor rod was located inside the hollow axis of the drum. Caliber .442 (М1867), then .450 and even .476. The barrel length of the first model was 112 mm and 89 mm for the second. Weight, respectively, 900 g for the first and 800 g for the second. The revolver received a rather peculiar name "Ulster Bulldog" and served in one way or another in the British police ... more than 50 years, becoming one of the most popular and recognizable samples of Vebley's weapons.
Revolver "Trenter" M.1868 (commercial model). Photo by Alain Daubresse
Interestingly, this revolver was very similar to another English revolver - "Trenter" M.1868 (commercial model). Moreover, the British War Office actively purchased them for the army during the war with the Zulu. And it is understandable why: they were simple in design, produced in single and double action, and also favorably differed from all others in their caliber, the designation of which ("450") was knocked out on their barrel.
Revolver "Ulster Bulldog": "Vebley" RIC No. 1 (early model). Caliber 11,2 mm. Weight 900 g. Drum for six rounds. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Now it is difficult to say who influenced whom more - the father and son of Vebley on the Trenter or Trenter on the Vebley, but in the end, both of them had their own large-caliber revolver. And here Vebley, and this was already 1872, decided to further improve this revolver. To reduce its metal consumption, it has a very short barrel, just 2,5 inches (64 mm) long, for very large .442 Vebley or .450 Adams cartridges, five-round drum. The revolver was named "British Bulldog" - under this name and went down in history. Later, Vebley's firm also produced smaller revolvers chambered for .320 and .380 calibers, but they were not named "British Bulldog".
Cartridge caliber .450 Adams
Henry Vebley registered it as a trademark only in 1878. From that time to the present, this term has come to denote any double-action short-barreled revolver with a folding ejector and a short handle of a characteristic shape. They were intended primarily for wearing in a coat pocket, so many of them have survived to this day in very good condition, since they were practically not used.
American Bulldog advertisement
An important advantage of this revolver was also the fact that it did not have ... not a single patented part, that is, it was all "made up" of "cubes", the validity of the patents for which had passed. That is, it could be produced by any manufacturer, and they could differ only by the emblem. For example, Vebley had a blunt winged bullet, while others, say, having slightly changed the design, could put their own brand on almost exactly the same revolver.
"The last stronghold of Caster." Figure: Liliana and Freda Funkenov. Perhaps only they most accurately conveyed everything that happened in that fatal battle, and used for this all the available information
The famous illustrator Giuseppe Rava, for example, armed "his Caster" with something incomprehensible at all ...
However, even the Americans themselves, in their drawings, made literally in hot pursuit of these events, disagreed on what Caster was still armed with in his last battle. Library of Congress
Revolver "Bulldog" of the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street. Mentioned in the story "Lonely Cyclist"
So "Bulldog" began to be produced by several firms in different countries at once, and it quickly gained "worldwide" popularity. And even in America. For example, US Army General George Armstrong Caster, in a battle with the Indians at Little Bighorn, was armed (there is such data) with just a pair of revolvers of this type. And the employees of the railway company "Company of the South Pacific Railway" were armed with revolvers "British Bulldog" as a standard weapon until 1895.
An advertisement for a German "Bulldog" made at an arms factory in Berlin. New York Public Library
Vebley & Son's Bulldog for the military police. Caliber .450. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Such was the "door of Abadi" on it - "the gate to other worlds"! Photo by Alain Daubresse
And this is a very indicative mark with handcuffed hands, indicating for which "organization" this revolver is produced. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Copying "Bulldog" has acquired a downright incredible scope. Its numerous copies and variants (authorized and unauthorized) at the end of the 44th century were produced in Northern Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Pakistan, France and the USA. In the United States, copies of it were produced by such well-known firms as Forehand and Woodsworth (Worcester, Massachusetts), Iver Johnson (Jacksonville, Arkansas) and Harrington and Richardson (Worchester, Massachusetts). Belgian and American models (for example, "Frontier Bulldog") were made for .442 Smith and Wesson American or .XNUMX Vebley.
Forehand & Woodsworth's Bulldog. Photo by Alain Daubresse
The original device of the revolver "Forehand and Woodsworth" under the patent of 1871
Revolver "Harrington and Richardson". Outwardly, it looks like the Bulldog, but has a caliber of only .32. Photo by Alain Daubresse
The 7.65mm Iver Johnson revolver, in fact, is also not a Bulldog. Border Guards Museum in Imatra, Finland
The .44 Bulldog cartridge, by the way, was quite popular in the United States, although it was also less powerful than its American counterparts, which could also be fired from .442 Vebley revolvers. In 1973, the Charter Arms Company introduced its Bulldog revolver. This is a "snub-nosed" five-shot revolver for concealed carry or a "last chance" weapon. It was named after the original, but looks quite different from it.
Five-shot revolver "Bulldog" caliber .320. "Liège Firearms Manufacture". Photo by Alain Daubresse
Revolver produced by the Belgian company "Massen-Lallemand". Caliber .500 Vebley. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Some revolvers from this company had a folding trigger and a mother-of-pearl handle! Photo by Alain Daubresse
The Bulldog revolver went down in history as a weapon of political assassins. So, it was from him in the United States on July 2, 1881, at the Baltimore-Potomac railway station, President James A. Garfield was shot dead. His killer was the lawyer Charles J. Guito, who decided in this way to take revenge on Garfield for not giving him any position in his government, and he so wanted to be ... an ambassador.
"Attempted Assassination of President Garfield". Graphic illustration from Frank Lescher's newspaper. Library of American Congress, Washington
Interestingly, at first Gito wanted to buy a Bulldog revolver with an ivory handle, because he believed that this revolver would look better in this form when it was displayed in a museum, but still decided to save money. However, the store owner turned out to be a good seller and cut the price for him. As a result, Guito paid $ 10 for a revolver, a box of cartridges and another penknife, and the next day he went to the banks of the Potomac River in order to learn how to shoot from his revolver. As a result, he shot at Garfield and wounded him (he died only on September 19 as a result of purulent inflammation), and his revolver, as he assumed, was placed in the Smithsonian Institute museum, but after some time it disappeared. Only his photograph remains.
Revolver Gito. Smithsonian Institute photo
Lindsay's poem mentions Emil Varnan's Varnan firm, and this is no coincidence. She also produced "Bulldogs" (some were called "Pappy" - "puppy") Caliber .320. Short rifled barrel with a crescent-shaped front sight. The loading door, as on all Bulldogs, is on the right side. The trigger is folding. Drum for six rounds. Made in 1893, and the Varnan company was even very advanced in terms of mastering new military products. For example, Warnan's patent for a revolver with a right-swinging drum is known. And it was also "Bulldog"!
Drawing from Warnan's patent for a swing-out revolver 1883
One of the numerous models of Varnan revolvers with a folding trigger. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Six-shooter drum of the Varnan revolver. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Five-charge drum of the Varnan revolver. Photo by Alain Daubresse
Revolver Giovanni Zanardo (inventor from Belgium of Italian origin), five-shot, with a hidden hammer and a folding trigger. Photo by Alain Daubresse
And here is a drum from him. Photo by Alain Daubresse
It was from the "bedog", although it is not known what production, that she shot at the St. Petersburg mayor F.F. Trepova Vera Zasulich and wounded him in the stomach. Having received two bullets, Trepov, however, survived and died only 11 years after this incident, in which, by the way, he himself was to blame.
Advertising "Bulldogs" in Russia ...
Revolver "bulldog" made by Francisco Arismendi caliber .320 intended for export to Germany or Austria-Hungary. By the way, in Austria-Hungary, according to the law of 1852, it was allowed to import revolvers with a barrel length of at least 18 cm. However, this law concerned only customs formalities. It was not forbidden to have revolvers with short barrels inside the country! Photo by Alain Daubresse
As a result, the popularity of "bulldogs" became so high that in the same, for example, Germany, they were banned from import. They believed that the short barrel of this revolver makes it a "criminal" weapon. But then there were manufacturers who easily bypassed this ban. They began to produce and import into Germany long-barreled "bulldogs" with a front sight located in the middle of the barrel, and their own buyer could cut the barrel of his revolver to the desired length! And so that the sawn-off end did not go to waste, they began to make ... thread on it from the muzzle end! The second revolver was imported into the country without a barrel. The barrel was sawn in half along the front sight, and its other half was screwed into the second revolver!
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