Forgotten over the years ... Francott's revolvers
Revolver Francotta caliber .500 (12,7 mm) and cartridges for it - this is something!
Or maybe Francott's systems,
Lying at the bottom of the holster
Where Abadi's door is the gate
Gateway to other worlds!
Count them, behind the door of Abadi:
One two three four five six.
There is an address on every shell
On the pool - even more so there is!
Adam Lindsay Gordon
Lying at the bottom of the holster
Where Abadi's door is the gate
Gateway to other worlds!
Count them, behind the door of Abadi:
One two three four five six.
There is an address on every shell
On the pool - even more so there is!
Adam Lindsay Gordon
History firearms weapons. Not surprisingly, this poem by Lindsay Gordon about the Bulldog revolver also mentions a Francott revolver. After all, this company also produced "bulldogs" and enjoyed well-deserved fame in the European arms market. It still exists today, but it produces hunting weapons. But there was a time when, along with him, this company produced both rifles and revolvers - that's what we'll tell you about today.
Very nice pocket pistol, with four barrels and two percussion flintlocks, as well as two triggers under the trigger guard, 1810
By turning this lever, you can choose from which barrels to shoot: upper or lower ...
Two upper ignition holes and two lower ones. Thanks to two triggers and two triggers, the owner of such a pistol could fire two shots in a row, and then add gunpowder to the shelves and fire two more!
And the history of the Francott rifle house began at the end of the 1799th century. Sometime between 1805 and 1805, Joseph Francott began construction in Liege, a "portable weapons factory" that had opened in 1810. The firm began to produce rifles and pistols for Napoleon's army, but also made civilian products - self-defense pistols and hunting rifles. In XNUMX, the company was headed by his son Auguste Francott, who already had two sons: Charles and Ernest, who continued the business of their father and grandfather. At the same time, Charles was engaged in actual weapons, and Ernest improved the production base of the enterprise.
Double-barreled primer "clutch pistol"
And this is how the trunks were unscrewed with the help of a bullet. A simple and original solution that no one had thought of before Francott!
The firm also produced peperboxes. And what!
Let's count the trunks? There was no need to shoot from such a weapon: it was enough just to point "it" at the enemy!
In 1891, Ernest's son, named after his grandfather Auguste, continued the Francotte & C ° family business and, moreover, intensified technical development, having received dozens of patents for various components and mechanisms for revolvers and other weapons. The last of the Francott family was also August (1901-1984), who entered the business in 1926 and ran the firm from 1944 to 1972. Moreover, the company "Auguste Francotte" ("August Francott") exists to this day, and although it cannot boast of large volumes of production (it employs only a few dozen people), it nevertheless produces weapons of very high quality.
Francott's 12-round hairpin revolver. Floral engraving on the frame, cylinder, barrel, trigger guard and some other small details. Very nice wooden overlays made of two dark walnut plates. The octagonal barrel is 6,25 inches long. Manufacturer's markings on the top of the barrel: “A. FRANCOTTE A LIEGE ". The left side of the barrel is marked “E. LEFAUCHEUX IN-er BREVETE "
Well, in the 1890th century, the name Francott literally thundered across Europe. Suffice it to say that by 150 the company had offered at least XNUMX revolver models to the market! It is interesting that this company acted after the example of the current Japanese and Chinese. That is, she bought licenses for the well-proven Adams, Trenter, Smith and Wesson revolvers, and then began to produce them with minor changes, achieving a very high quality of workmanship. For the latest revolvers, a new system of locking the frame was patented using two levers to the left and right of the drum, which became a recognizable "chip" of Francott's revolvers, made under license from Smith and Wesson.
Francott's hairpin revolver 1863 of the Lefauche system. Caliber 11 mm. Weight 1 kg 469 g.
Details of the revolver 1863
Drum. The recesses for the studs of the cartridges are clearly visible
Francott also made improvements to the Lefauche system, after which he put on the market many thousands of Lefauche-Francott revolvers. Moreover, at first they fired with hairpin cartridges, and then with a minimum amount of labor, they were converted into central combat cartridges. Francott's 1871 11mm model was produced for the Swedish cavalry and for Denmark; the 1882 model of 10mm caliber was produced for cavalry, and the 1886 model of 9mm caliber was produced for officers.
Revolver of 1870. Caliber .455 (11,5 mm). Length 292 mm. Barrel length 165 mm. Next to him are the cartridges intended for him.
Revolver 1870 Right side view. There is a flat safety spring under the drum. Francott's 1865 patent
Revolver Francotta caliber .500 Vebley or Eley - 12,7 mm, 1877
Drum with cartridges
In 1875, the Serbian War Ministry approached Smith & Wesson with a proposal to supply 2500 "1874 Model" revolvers (better known as the "Russian model"). The company was busy fulfilling the order of the tsarist government, there the bill went to tens of thousands, so the Serbs were refused. But ... Francott's firm was contracted to fulfill the order!
The exact number of revolvers ordered by the firm is unknown, but there is no reason to believe that the actual order differed from the official offer. Since the Serbian army officially adopted these revolvers in 1875, they are commonly referred to as the "Model of 1875". However, the revolver itself was developed by Francott back in 1869, and chambered for the central battle. Based on this, this revolver can be considered the oldest service revolver in European production, designed for such ammunition.
"Model 1875"
In the same 1869, the famous Austrian Gasser revolver was released, which in 1870 was adopted by the Austro-Hungarian army.
Both revolvers have a number of similar characteristics, the first of which is the ejection rod for the sleeves, which was in its own casing attached to the barrel, which provides it with better protection against possible impacts.
The most notable similarity, however, is the external flat safety spring visible on the right side of the frame. This flat spring has a transverse pin at the end, which locks the trigger in this position, so that in the event of a fall, the revolver cannot fire. This system was patented by Francott in 1865 and can be seen on countless revolvers.
Francott also used a sturdy frame with a screw-in barrel, which made the weapon much more durable. Moreover, such a frame provided a longer line of sight, since the rear sight could be placed on the top bar behind the drum. Another innovation was a coil spring around the ejector rod, which pushed it back after use.
Large caliber FRANCOTT WEBLEY-PRYSE FRANCOTTE revolver in .450 caliber. Opens with a pedal located on the left side of the case. The drum is five-chamber. The handle ends with a metal cap, ring and hinge. Released between 1877 and 1893. Another example worthy of being mentioned in Gordon's poem ...
The main difference between the Gasser revolver and Francott's Serbian model is the locking system. While the Gasser drum had protruding locking cams, Francott preferred the locking recesses cut into the drum itself. This solution was then used in the development of later revolvers.
When the so-called "cycling" came into vogue, Francott's firm immediately began to produce them, not one step behind other manufacturers, and copying Galan's revolvers. Galan is believed to have invented and patented the first such revolver in 1894 to protect cyclists from street dogs. In the end, the "velodog" began to be classified as a weapon of self-defense. A feature of this type of revolvers were closed hammers and a folding trigger, as well as an elongated cylinder chambered for 5,5 mm caliber. Later, there were "cycle tracks" in calibers .22 and 6,35-mm.
Francott's Velodog with gold inlay on the barrel and automatic unloading system. Caliber 6 mm
It had a drop-down frame and a discharge mechanism similar to the Smith and Wesson revolvers. A hammer model of this revolver was also produced
Gold-encrusted hammerless "velodog" by Francott, caliber 6,35 mm
Velodog for very long .22 caliber rounds
By the way, it was Francott who was noted for the production of large-caliber "bulldogs" with very long barrels and front sight located in the middle of the barrel, for export to countries where large-caliber revolvers with short barrels were prohibited. But it was permissible to import revolvers with long barrels. So they were imported, and then they were cut off to the desired size on their own.
The Francott company was engaged in the development and production of extremely original pistols. But that will be a slightly different story ...
PS The author and the site administration would like to express their gratitude to Alain Daubresse for the opportunity to use his photographs.
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