Really, only for the Singapore police? A bunch of American departments used the .38 Special variant.

I guess some US Departments got a deal on them somewhere. British revolvers in the heyday of Colts, Smith & Wessons, and later Rugers would be rather unusual.

Ehh, I don't think that was a thing. You might be thinking of Enfield revolvers. Those were chambers in .38 S&W or .30/200. Technically those are different rounds, but there is some differences in cartridge pressure. I once picked up a modified Enfield revolver in an auction (yay Murica!' XD) some years ago. They are outwardly almost identical to the Webley, but they are usually chambered in .38 S&W. There is also internal mechanical differences. Also the case length of a .38 special is half as long as the length of a 38 S&W shell casing. There would be no way to fit it in the cylinder of either a Webley or Enfield.

Also I've never heard of either an Enfield or a Webley being issued to any US police or government agencies. We already had more than enough manufactures here to bother importing things from Commonwealth nations and not that many manufacturers making the ammo.

Sorry for me being a bit wordy, I'm just kind of a gun-nerd sometimes. XD

No, no, my grandfather was issued a police Webley during his service in the US, which I still have. It's can't be an Enfield because his revolver is both single and double-action, while Enfields are only double-action.

In his early banking days, my dad could be issued with weapons like this.

He thought it reckless and irresponsible. Then an 18 year old at the railhead, alone with millions in fresh cash?

Very interesting; plus, the design of that Webley revolver is very well done too.

I recall a story about a mystery writer being upbraided for having a revolver have a safety in one of her stories. It was 'Unrealistic'.

She produced one that was NYPD surplus, which the department had retrofitted a safety to.

Same with the Webley-Fosbery as Humphery Bogart mentions in the Maltese Falcon I believe.

I love those things.

Instead of Tank Police, we've got Pone Police. ;)

Very nice!
(and yes, a .38 caliber round is quite capable of ending someone if necessary).

Yeah 38-200 seems to be a very underrated cartridge.

I have one of those! And a couple in .455, too. I love the old Brit stuff.

These pop up quite a bit on the surplus market.

My oh my, how technology/innovation/sheer creativity has changed our world! From firearms to communication!

I for one wouldn't REFUSE a .38, if that was my only option for a 'Duty Pistol,' but that is NOT the caliber I would prefer! :: Glances over at my 1911... Ruger 101 (.38/.357), Ruger 57 (Shush, yes it's caliber is similar, but this baby is SCREAMING outta the muzzle!), Glock 20 MOS, Ruger SuperRedHawk.... ::

Decisions, decisions...

;-P

Ruger, Ruger, Ruger, why do people think they're so wonderful? (* sidles over in front of safe with 22 or so Ruger revolters, semi-autos and rifles *)

I have been a fairly happy user of Ruger products over the decades.

I think I bought my first one about 30 years ago. It was a .357 Magnum, 2.25" snubnose SP101 in bright (polished) stainless with a bobbed hammer. Loaded with the Remington .357 Mag, 125-grain castellated semi-jacketed hollowpoints (like the ones I once carried for work) it jumps a bit and in the evening it creates a flare about 4' long! Self-Protection 101 sounds like a mandatory entry-level college course.

Honestly, I'm not entirely certain how MOST of my 'Collection' ended up being from Ruger? I've fired every U.S. Manufacturer of modern firearms, throughout my lifetime (I'm talking the major ones now), and while I DO adore/love mah Mossbergs in .12, and my newish 'Henry' lever rifles (.357/.44), Ruger is indeed ahead of the pack!...)
I just bought my first Ruger 10/22 (Stainless, fluted heavy barrel), and their new Mk IV target pistols (LOVE that easy break-down! Damn Ruger, why you take so long to do this?!)... I've still got my first rifle, a 'Marlin, Model 60, and its sister rifle (For when I'd go out with friends who didn't have one of their own). Always eyed the 10/22, just never took the leap. With the BMX trigger and a few other little do-dads I'm planning, this thing should be the tack-driver I'm after (For reaching out and ruining many a rodent/raccoon/'possums antics!).

Just,,, I'm a big fan of the 'If something ain't broke, don't FIX IT' mentality, and Ruger has never done me wrong.

:-D

My first go-bang gun (I had several air pistols) was also the Marlin 'Glenfield' Model 60 in .22 with the full-length magazine tube. 'Glen' is apparently the name of the SQRL stamped on the buttstock. I thought it had a bad case of 'wandering zero' but that seems to be the product of a ¢heap ($9.95) Tasco scope I bought with the gun in 1978.

Here's a trade secret to keep under your hat. Rugers are first-rate quality for working-stiff prices. I had a decent job for over 25 years and once I paid off my house and my daughter's education I started buying the things that excited me. I lost that job almost 9 years ago and the S.O.B.s made sure I wouldn't get another one so I haven't bought one since. I seriously need to get to a range, though. I have a pair of weird-caliber Kimber 1911s I haven't even loaded yet.

My only safe-queen Rugers are .22s: a .22 'original' commemorative and a Bearcat commemorative, both in Ruger red-box cases.

My brother has one of these... Interesting piece. I'm not sure why Webley chose to build these on a top-latching, hinged frame (19^th Century design) but I have never heard of a reasonably loaded .38-200 doing an unexpected disassembly on one.

It may have come down to cultural inertia as much as anything else. Outside of a brief relationship with the Schofeld the US Military really didn't get onboard with quick unload and reload thing until fairly late in the 19th century, and by then the swing-out cylinder, solid frame revolver was coming on the market. However by then the UK already almost a decade or more of using the top break revolver design in military use.

Oddly enough, that's exactly the thought that sold J. M. Browning's M1911 to the U.S. military (and why the U. S. Marines retain it today). They hated the .38 Short and Weak so much that when they were offered the .45 ACP they were ecstatic.


_{(In the interest of full disclosure, yes, I did work security at Colt Firearms for three years in the late 1970s).}

I was able to get ahold of a pretty similar gun recently, an Enfield No2 ^^ made by 'albion motors'
like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPn8dGYPoYM