Lancaster pistol
Encyclopedia
The Lancaster Pistol was a multi-barrelled (either 2 or 4 barrels) handgun
produced in England in the mid-late 19th century, chambered in a variety of centrefire pistol calibres—chiefly .380", .450 Adams
, .455 Webley
, and .577 calibre.
It was a modernised version of the pepper-box
pistol popular in the early-mid 19th century. Unlike these earlier guns, which had percussion cap
ignition the Lancaster was chambered for the more modern brass cartridges. It had a faster rate of fire than the standard-issue Adams revolver and was often fitted with a Tranter
-type trigger to overcome the heavy pull of the revolving striker.
Sometimes classified as a Howdah pistol
, the Lancaster pistol enjoyed popularity with British officers in India
and Africa
during the British Raj
owing to its faster rate of fire and increased reliability over contemporary revolvers.
Its ammunition had greater stopping-power than the contemporary Beaumont-Adams and Colt Navy revolvers, making it ideal for colonial warfare. When facing charging tribesmen like the Zulus or Dervish
es more modern ammunition tended to go straight through the enemy who would keep going. What was needed was a heavy lead bullet that would lodge in their body and bring them down.
It was eventually displaced by the various Webley revolver
s in the late 19th century, as revolvers became more reliable and faster to reload, thus removing many of the advantages of the multi-barrel design. A few were still in use as late as World War I
, and they were well known to be solidly built and easy to maintain.
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
produced in England in the mid-late 19th century, chambered in a variety of centrefire pistol calibres—chiefly .380", .450 Adams
.450 Adams
The .450 Adams was a British black powder centrefire revolver cartridge, initially used in converted Beaumont-Adams Revolvers, in the late 1860s...
, .455 Webley
.455 Webley
.455 Webley is a British handgun cartridge, most commonly used in the Webley top break revolvers Marks I through VI.The .455 cartridge was a service revolver cartridge, featuring a rimmed cartridge firing a .45 bullet at the relatively low velocity of 650 ft/s...
, and .577 calibre.
It was a modernised version of the pepper-box
Pepper-box
The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox is a multiple-barrel repeating firearm that has three or more barrels grouped around a central axis. It mostly appears in the form of a multi-shot handheld firearm...
pistol popular in the early-mid 19th century. Unlike these earlier guns, which had percussion cap
Percussion cap
The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
ignition the Lancaster was chambered for the more modern brass cartridges. It had a faster rate of fire than the standard-issue Adams revolver and was often fitted with a Tranter
Tranter (revolver)
The Tranter revolver was a double-action cap & ball revolver invented around 1856 by English firearms designer William Tranter . Originally operated with a special dual-trigger mechanism later models employed a single-trigger mechanism much the same as that found in the contemporary Beaumont-Adams...
-type trigger to overcome the heavy pull of the revolving striker.
Sometimes classified as a Howdah pistol
Howdah pistol
The howdah pistol was a large-calibre handgun, often with two or four barrels, used in India and Africa in the mid-to-late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, during the period of British Colonial rule. It was typically intended for defence against tigers, lions, and other dangerous animals...
, the Lancaster pistol enjoyed popularity with British officers in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
owing to its faster rate of fire and increased reliability over contemporary revolvers.
Its ammunition had greater stopping-power than the contemporary Beaumont-Adams and Colt Navy revolvers, making it ideal for colonial warfare. When facing charging tribesmen like the Zulus or Dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
es more modern ammunition tended to go straight through the enemy who would keep going. What was needed was a heavy lead bullet that would lodge in their body and bring them down.
It was eventually displaced by the various Webley revolver
Webley Revolver
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 Commonwealths from 1887 until 1963.The Webley is a top-break revolver with automatic extraction...
s in the late 19th century, as revolvers became more reliable and faster to reload, thus removing many of the advantages of the multi-barrel design. A few were still in use as late as World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and they were well known to be solidly built and easy to maintain.