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In the period between about 1890 and 1910 a number of self loading pistols were submitted to the War Office by designers from several countries. Even though there was no real requirement, in order to deter inventors of pistols that were clearly not suitable for military service the Small Arms Committee laid down a basic specification for any self loading pistol to be adopted by the army.
The principal points were:
Calibre to be at least .4 inch
bullet weight to be at least 200 grains
Muzzle velocity to be at least 1200 fps.
One of the submissions that met these criteria was the Webley and Scott .455 inch Model 1904 pistol and cartridge.
Two slightly different cartridges had been developed for the Webley & Scott Model 1904. Both were semi rimmed but differed in case length and bullet type. These both differed from the round eventually adopted by the Royal Navy and later by the army and are shown below.
Model 1904 Type 1
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The earliest type (from this Kynoch drawing dated May 1904 had a case length of .845 inches (21.5mm) with a soft nosed 225 grain bullet.
Note that this was superseded by drawing AB.10/56.
Model 1904 Type 2
This Kynoch drawing dated less than one month later in June 1904 had a round with a case length of .88 inches (22.35mm) and using a similar bullet.
Propellant charge was 9.0 grains of Cordite.
There is also reference to a 235 grain full jacketed bullet with a propellant charge of 8.6 grains of Cordite.
Both types had a muzzle velocity of 1040 fps.
Model 1910
Although not an official Webley designation the term is used to describe the cartridge shown in the Kynoch February 1910 drawing, again slightly different from those above, having a longer case length of .925 inches with a narrower extractor groove and a fully jacketed bullet..
Ball Mark I
Following further trials and minor changes to the cartridge, the Royal Navy adopted the .455 inch Webley and Scott self loading pistol in 1913.
"Cartridge S.A. Ball Pistol Self Loading Webley & Scott .455 inch Mark I" was approved to design CIW1606 in April 1913 and shown in LoC Paragraph 16406 dated June 1913. "Webley & Scott" was later dropped from the title. In 1941 a nitrocellulose version of the cartridge was approved as "Cartridge S.A. Ball Pistol Self Loading .455 inch Mark Iz".
The case was semi rimless and Berdan primed with 0.4 grains of cap composition. Service cases normally had three fire holes but it is believed Eley were given permission to deliver one million rounds in 1914 with only two fire holes. Production after 1926 had a purple primer annulus.
The nose of the bullet was hemispherical in shape and it had a nickel plated copper envelope with a lead antimony core. It weighed 224 grains and was secured in the case by coning.
Propellant was 7 grains of Cordite size 1/.05 and muzzle velocity was about 700 fps.
During WWI the Ball Mark I was manufactured by Eley Brothers and Birmingham Metals and Munitions Co. on government contract. Subsequently only Royal Laboratory and Kynoch made the round in Great Britain but it was also manufactured by Kirkee during the 1930s.
Although the Webley & Scott S.L. pistol was predominately a Royal Navy issue, the cartridge was also used in the Colt Government pistols ordered for the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force in WWI which continued in service throughout WW2.
This Kynoch drawing of October 1911 broadly represents the cartridge adopted in 1913. One difference is that it is shown with only two fireholes.
Right: 1918 bundle wrapper for seven .455 inch S.L. cartridges mad by Eley Brothers in September 1918. Note the overstamp "NOT FOR REVOLVERS" and the manual deletion of the "N" at top right which originally indicated Royal Navy issue.
Proof
No Proof round was approved for the .455 inch S.L. pistol but one possible WWI round exists.
One of the more interesting aspects of the .455 inch Colt Government Model pistols is the fact that they were proofed by British military inspectors at Colt. One of the contracts specifically states that the proof ammunition would be supplied by the British government and yet there are no known British military proof rounds surviving.
One possible explanation lies with a cartridge that has been a mystery for many years. This is a .455 inch Self-loading round of typical British military appearance headstamped “C 17 I” with a blackened case. The manufacturer of these is unknown, “C” not being a listed British small arms ammunition manufacturer. The bullets for these rounds were manufactured by Birmingham Metals and Munitions Company and bear their typical “B” impressed on the base of the bullet. Also, the powder load of these rounds is unusually heavy and of a different type of propellant.
The meaning of the blackened cases is unknown, although it has been used in the United States to denote Proof rounds.
Given that fact, is it possible that these are the elusive rounds used to proof the British contract pistols at Colt? Although it would provide a neat solution, it is very unlikely that the "C" denotes "Colt". On the other hand no satisfactory attribution of the meaning of the C has ever been put forward. There is further circumstantial evidence to support this theory as both examples of this round and the similar dummy round (see below) are known to have been found at the Colt factory.
During WW2 it is known that RSAF Enfield were proofing pistols using commercial proof rounds made by Kynoch. These are identified by a gilding metal envelope and a purple stripe across the case head.
Drill Dummy
There were no drill or dummy rounds approved for the .455 S.L. pistol but examples exist that appear to be official.
The first is a dummy variation of the "C 17" round (see above under "Proof"). This has the headstamp "DUMMY C 17 " and a plain brass case with snapped cap. Examples of these dummy rounds are known to have been used at the Colt factory in WWI.
These are also nickel plated versions of the standard ball round with military headstamp and a drilled cap.
A further type exists made of turned and blued steel. Nothing is known of this round and it may be of WW2 vintage.
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