Here is a revolver called "Top Break", type "Smith and Wesson" manufactured by "Varnan". Could be simple and double acting. Drum for six chambers. It is opened by pressing the "pedal" located on the console on the left behind the drum. The bore has eight grooves and a crescent-shaped front sight on the barrel. Caliber .450. The handle ends with a cord ring. Belgian patent 1874 No. 035536
Didn't come off the conveyor belt -
Handmade and plan,
Systems "Vebley" or "Trenter",
Bland Price or even Varnan.
(Adam Lindsay Gordon)
Handmade and plan,
Systems "Vebley" or "Trenter",
Bland Price or even Varnan.
(Adam Lindsay Gordon)
Weapon and firms. Last time we reviewed Henri Piper's revolver, with which he competed in a competition in Russia against Leon Nagant. However, in the same Belgium there were other firms that produced revolvers. And if it were not for the specific requirements of the Russian War Ministry, then it could well be that not a revolver or even a piper, but some completely different revolver could become the service weapon of the Russian army. There was plenty to choose from! One of these revolvers, produced in the same Belgian Liege, was the famous "varnan", which we will talk about today ...
To begin with, there was a whole dynasty of gunsmiths in Belgium, the beginning of which was laid by Leonard Joseph Varnand, who was born in Cheratta in 1810. He had many children, and all of them were somehow connected with the production or sale of weapons. But the most famous were the two brothers Jean and Julian, who created the Varnan Brothers firm in Hogni (Belgium). For about half of the XNUMXth century, they were weapons manufacturers who worked for third parties and produced various sporting weapons.
Then Jean Varnand began working on revolver projects and was able to improve the double-action locking mechanism, which was widely used by other weapons manufacturers. From 1872 to 1893, the Varnan brothers developed and patented a whole series of several breakthrough revolvers of the Smith and Wesson and Vebley Bulldog types. Moreover, varnan revolvers were made both by the firm of the two brothers and by other manufacturers.
Diagram of the "varnan" revolver device: A - "pedal", revealing the frame of the revolver
Jean Varnand received his first patent in 1875. The essence of the patent was that when the body of the revolver was broken, the extractor came into motion, which threw the spent cartridges out of the drum. Moreover, Varnan managed to come up with a device in which he bypassed the patent of "Smith and Wesson", and it was not at all so simple. After that, it was this mechanism that began to be installed on all varnan revolvers, which made it possible to discharge and load them much faster than revolvers with the “Abadi door”.
In this case, the main difference was the following: in the drum of the Smith and Wesson revolvers, a central rod protruded, which removed the sleeves with an emphasis on their rims. In "varnan" the extactor was a ring with holes for sleeves in the back of the drum. And it was pushed out of the drum by means of four plates. That is, the structure was both quite rigid and durable. The rotation of the drum was also carried out by the "gear" on the same ring. The design was a little more complicated than that of Smith & Wesson, but it was quite workable and could even be positioned for advertising purposes, as more convenient to operate.
Revolver "varnan" 1883 with extended extractor
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the brothers had already devoted themselves to automatic weapons and received many patents for self-loading pistols, but without much success. Their first attempt to abandon the revolver took place in 1890, when they patented (British patent no. 2543/1890) a Varnan-Creon pistol with a Martini-type bolt and a Volcanic-style tube magazine, but this weapon was never produced. ... The first automatic model of their pistol appeared thanks to the design that received the British patent No. 9379/1905, but only in fact it became the pistol of Pieper, who bought this patent from the brothers.
Revolver of Jean Varnand caliber 9 mm, decorated with engraving. Marking on the top of the barrel: "Best Safety Patent JW 1883". The locking mechanism corresponds to Varnan patent No. 75740, dated 1886. Thus, the word “security” most likely refers to foreign patents obtained by Varnan outside Belgium. Well, they placed it on the barrel, of course, for advertising purposes. Moreover, judging by the brands, it was made after 1893, that is, it could well compete on a competitive basis with the Piper and Nagant revolvers in Russia.
In order for the revolver to "open", it was necessary to press this round "button" on the lever on the left ...
The Varnans also managed to be noted in the field of creating the so-called "Montenegrin revolvers".
And it so happened that in Montenegro, which became an independent state, the local king Nikolai ordered all men to be registered in the people's militia and have revolvers under 11,25x36 mm cartridges from the Verdl carbine as a weapon. The distinctive features of the Montenegrin revolver are a huge cylinder, which housed 11,25x36 mm cartridges, more powerful than their contemporaries such as the .45 Colt and .44 Russian.
An interesting feature of these revolvers was the rounded grip, reminiscent of that of the 1896 Mauser pistol, a huge drum and a long barrel. Many firms from different countries have supplied such weapons to Montenegro. Someone was more fortunate, someone less, but Emil Varnan, one of the Varnan brothers, not only managed to design his "Montenegrin revolver", but sold it in Montenegro.
Varnan's Montenegrin revolver with a 9,5-inch barrel and bone grip pads. Its peculiarity was two symmetrical levers ("Francott's latch") on the right and left with grooved heads, by pressing which the revolver frame was opened
By the way, the varnan revolver was also popular in Russia. In fact, it was the same Smith and Wesson, but in a lighter version. And the officers of the Russian army were allowed to buy them instead of the heavier "smiths".
"Francott's latch"
The firm also had such a revolver, with a folding drum. Moreover, he leaned back for a special handle under the barrel
Quite an original design. Although, how much worse it is than others, without trying this mechanism in action, it is difficult to assess
Drum fully unfolded for loading
Diagram of a folding drum device from the patent of the Varnan brothers
Emil Varnan, in addition to the "Montenegrin revolver", was noted for the creation of a large-caliber revolver "Bulldog" or "Pappy". Caliber - .320. The barrel is short, round with a crescent-shaped front sight
"Abadi's door" on the right side. Discharging method according to the principle of a revolver "revolver". The trigger is curved, without the trigger guard, folds under the body for easy extraction from the pocket. Handle grips in walnut with diamond cut and fixed with a central screw
And this is a drum for him
Varnan pistol scheme from a 1900 patent (two versions)
As already noted, the brothers tried to produce pistols as well. Several samples were created, caliber 6,35 mm. " This model appeared around 1908. And then around 1912, the Varnan brothers made a 7,65 mm pistol, a model based on the M 1903 Browning. However, it had no commercial success, since the war immediately began, and such pistols simply fell out of consumer demand.
Another schematic from a 1900 patent.
This is how the block with the barrel and the spring was thrown back ...
... like that with the shutter inside the shutter frame. An open shutter is somewhat convenient. The cartridge case can be easily removed. It is easy to lubricate. Easy to remove: he threw the barrel forward and pulled it forward along the guides. There was another option, where the bolt frame was folded back, which was carried out as a separate part.
If we look at the diagrams from British Patents 9379 and 9379A of 1900, it will be obvious that the Varnan brothers' pistol was in many ways similar to the Browning M1900 pistol. His barrel was in the same way under the return spring, and the bolt had a drummer. But, unlike the Browning design, the Varnan brothers' pistol could have two reclining blocks on the frame: a block with a barrel and a spring and a block with a bolt. Why there were such "tricks" is understandable. The goal was one - to bypass Browning's patent and enter the market with its own automatic pistol. But it is unlikely that such a complication of the design could benefit the weapon ...
PS
Photos - Alain Daubresse.