The
Webley Revolver was, in various marks, the standard-issue
service pistol for the armed forces of the
United Kingdom, the
British Empire, and the
Commonwealth from 1887 until 1963. The Webley is a
top-break revolver with automatic extraction; breaking the revolver open for reloading also operates the
extractor, removing the spent
cartridges from the
cylinder. The Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in 1887, but it was a later version—the Mk IV—which rose to prominence during the
Boer War of 1899–1902. The Mk VI, introduced in 1915 during
World War I, is perhaps the best-known model. Webley service revolvers are among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced, firing the
.455 Webley cartridge. Although the .455 calibre Webley is no longer in military service, the
.38/200 Webley Mk IV variant is still sporadically in use as a police sidearm in a number of countries.
