World War II WEBLEY & SCOTT No. 2 Mark I* .38 DOUBLE ACTION Revolver Used

Made circa 1938-42 at Birmingham, England

Here we present a C&R Webley & Scott No. 2 Mark I* Revolver made circa the early 1938-42 in Birmingham, England. Since World War I, the British Army has always fancied their large caliber revolvers primarily due to the “manstopping” abilities when firing the large .455 cartridge. These large (and heavy) revolver proved cumbersome in the field and accuracy was in question due to the inherent recoil force. This prompted a British Army review that began in the 1920s to standardize a more compact revolver in .38 caliber. Webley & Scott, already working on a .38 caliber revolver for law enforcement, attempted to sell their design to the British government in the early to mid-1920s and in 1926, the British Army simply took the Webley & Scott design and gave it to the Royal Small Arms Factory which was given the task to modify it into a military service revolver. The final product became the “Enfield No. 2” and was soon adopted into service in the British Army inventory in mid-1932. The formal name given to the revolver was the “British Service, Pistol, Revolver, Number 2, Mark I”.

Production revolvers were produced through three distinct production forms as the Mk. I, the Mk. I*, and the Mk. 1**. The Mk. I was the original production offering with the external hammer spur. The Mk. 1* models were based on the Mk. I but without an external hammer spur. These spurless revolvers appeared from June of 1938 onwards. Beginning in July of 1942 with Great Britain fully at war against the Axis powers, the No. 2 received a third variant in the Mk. I**. For the most part, this was a revised Mk. I* revised for mass production. This resulted in the hammer safety being removed which allowed manufacture facilities to produce the revolver at a faster pace and at a lower cost to the government.

It was the standard British/Commonwealth sidearm in the Second World War, alongside the Webley Mk IV and Smith & Wesson Victory Model revolvers chambered in the same caliber.

The overall condition is good. Painted black. The numbers match. The action is excellent. The bore is bright with strong rifling. Very good grips.

This gun is the second variant Mk I*, which had a spurless hammer and was double-action only, meaning that the hammer could not be thumb-cocked by the shooter for each shot. Additionally, in keeping with the revolver's purpose as a close-range weapon, the handgrips, now made of plastic, were redesigned to improve grip when used in rapid double-action fire; the new handgrip design was given the designation Mk II.[14] The majority of Enfields produced were either Mk I* or modified to that standard.[15]

This World War II WEBLEY & SCOTT No. 2 Mark I* .38 DOUBLE ACTION Revolver is available at our shop in West Chester, PA for pick up or delivery to your nearest FFL! Contact us today to reserve it and make an appointment to pick it up.