An automatic revolver also known as semi-automatic revolver, is a
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
that uses the recoil energy of firing for cocking the
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
and revolving the
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
, rather than using manual operations to perform these actions. Despite the misnomer "automatic", such revolvers are actually ''
semi-automatic''. The weapon will not continue discharge continuously; the shooter must manually operate the
trigger
Trigger may refer to:
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;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
to discharge each shot.
Examples of genuine semi-automatic revolvers are extremely uncommon, and the term is inaccurately applied to
break-open revolvers with a
mechanical linkage
A mechanical linkage is an assembly of systems connected to manage forces and movement. The movement of a body, or link, is studied using geometry so the link is considered to be rigid. The connections between links are modeled as providing i ...
ejector
An injector is a system of ducting and nozzles used to direct the flow of a high-pressure fluid in such a way that a lower pressure fluid is Entrainment (hydrodynamics), entrained in the jet and carried through a duct to a region of higher pre ...
that automatically empties spent (and unspent)
casings from the cylinder upon opening of the breech.
History
An automatic revolver was communicated to Moses Poole, a patent agent, in 1841. The exact identity of the inventor of this weapon is unknown but in all likelihood it was a Frenchman by the name of Philippe Mathieu, who had patented, amongst several different types of revolver, an almost identical design two years previously. Another automatic revolver was communicated to British patent agent William Edward Newton by the Americans Mershon and Hollingsworth in 1854. Both of these weapons used clockwork as the power for achieving automatic operation. In 1863 a gas piston-operated revolver was designed by a Spanish gunsmith named Orbea.
The
Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver was designed in 1895 and became the first commercial and best-known semi-automatic revolver.
Description
A standard revolver is a manually operated weapon, using the action of cocking the hammer to advance the cylinder in a single-action, or the action of pulling the trigger to advance the cylinder and cock the hammer in a
double-action
Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer.
* Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action ...
. The idea behind an automatic revolver is to automate both actions, removing the need to manually cock the hammer between shots while retaining the lighter trigger pull of the single-action.
This is accomplished by use of a reciprocating
slide
Slide or Slides may refer to:
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* Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998
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on the upper part of the frame, the motion of which is used to rotate the cylinder and cock the hammer in much the same way as is used in the majority of semi-automatic pistol designs.
Examples
* The Norwegian
Landstad revolver, designed and introduced in 1900. Its very unusual design featured a flat cylinder with two chambers, in which the bottom chamber was loaded from a sideways-inserted magazine that also functioned as the left grip plate. During firing, the revolver's reciprocating bolt would extract and eject the round from the top chamber after firing, load a round into the bottom chamber, and then rotate the cylinder. The revolver would then be ready to fire again. It was chambered for the 7.5mm Nagant cartridge, which at the time was also used in both the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
versions of the
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
Nagant M1895 revolver.
* The
Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver was the first commercial example, introduced in 1901. It was recoil-operated, and the cylinder and barrel recoiled backwards to cock the hammer and revolve the cylinder. It was distinctive in that cam grooves were milled on the outside of the cylinder to provide a means of advancing to the next chamber—half a turn as the cylinder moved back, and half a turn as it moved forward. .38 caliber versions held 8 shots, .455 caliber versions 6. Around 4,750 were made in total.
* The
Union Automatic Revolver
The Union automatic revolver (also known as the Lefever revolver) was a .32 caliber revolver. It was designed by Charles F. Lefever (, 1909) and manufactured by the Union Firearms Company of Toledo, Ohio.
It was produced in limited numbers un ...
of American origin. Only around 65 examples made.
* The
Zulaica Automatic Revolver
The Zulaica Automatic Revolver is an automatic revolver of Spanish origin. It was produced for a very short time. The weapon was fed from a 6 round cylinder and chambered in the .22 LR round.
Overview
M. Zulaica y Cia., Eibar, Spain. began manufa ...
M. Zulaica y Cia., Eibar, Spain. began manufacturing 'Velo-Dog' type pocket revolvers in the early 1900s. In 1905, Zulaica patented an unusual
.22LR
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smoothb ...
automatic revolver design, but few were ever manufactured and even fewer have survived. Zulaica started manufacturing 'Eibar' type automatic pistols under French army contracts in 1915 and 1916, and continued to market them commercially up to the 1920s.
* In 1997, the
Mateba
Mateba, a contraction of the Italian words Macchine Termo-Balistiche (Thermo-Ballistic Machines), was an Italian machine manufacturer based in Pavia, Italy. It is better known for its low-barrelled revolver pistols that it produced under the lead ...
company developed a type of recoil-operated automatic revolver, the
Mateba Unica auto-revolver, which uses recoil energy to auto-rotate a revolver cylinder holding 6 or 7 cartridges, depending on the model. The company has made several versions of its "autorevolver", including longer barreled and even rifle-like variations, usually chambered for
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
ammunition, but also available in larger calibers like
.44 Magnum and
.454 Casull
The .454 Casull () is a firearm cartridge, developed as a wildcat cartridge in 1958 by Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer. It was announced in November 1959 by ''Guns & Ammo'' magazine. The design is a lengthened and structurally improve ...
.
See also
*
Revolver cannon
A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon, commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, like those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to fur ...
References
External links
The Gun Zone: Webley-Fosbery Automatic RevolverWebley Fosbery Automatic Revolver Model 1900
{{DEFAULTSORT:Automatic Revolver
Firearm actions
Handguns
Revolvers