The 6 shot, muzzle loading percussion arms of .36 calibre, with a 7.5 inch barrel and thumb cocked (single action) Colt revolver was the first British revolver to see mass service from the Samuel Colt factory in London. Of the 23,700 Colts produced from 1854 to 1856, 9,600 went to the Navy.  The Navy found these Colts useful during the Crimean war in arming boats or boarding parties, and since largely sea-borne hostilies with China began during October 1856, that usefulness in the naval Service continued.

The above Colt revolver is the Civilian model, with the fluted cylinder. Flutes are the bullet shaped grooves in the cylinder. The military model and most civilian models did not have fluted cylinders.  Fluted cylinders on the '51 Navy and the '60 Army are quite a rare variation.

This is 1851 Colt Navy .36 calibre, with a silver-plated frame and an un-fluted cylinder.  The absence of cylinder flutes does mark it as being a military pattern although this one, being silver plated would be civilian rather than military. "Oddly, the silver plate (nickel actually) doesn't seem to show up very well in the scan which is just as well,  Says the owner.  "I call it my 'Officer Model' because of the plate but that is not historically correct either." All 1851 Navy models were in .36 calibre although our expert has a reference book which shows a pilot model in .40 calibre that was never manufactured.

Once indistinguishable from its civilian contemporaries, service pistols were officially refurbished during their working lives, identified by their lack of original cylinder engraving, by the bluing of parts originally colour case-hardened, and by a "Broad Arrow over WD" marking on the left side of the barrel lug, and its unchequered walnut stock.

The army issued some to officers and srjt. majors of regiments in the Crimea and also authorized its issue during war time to each lancer, and to Hussar and Dragoon sjts. and trumpeters.  With the Peace, these small-calibre land Service revolvers were quietly abandoned to Naval or Colonial needs.

1860 Colt Army .44 calibre Regarded the most graceful of all Colt revolvers.

The ultimate disposal of all the Colts is not clear.  The Coast Guard got some during the 1860's and some saw use in Australian and Canadian hands, it seems likely that the remaining Colts went for overseas service as well.

This little gem would have been tucked into a ladies muff or a gentleman's coat pocket -- hence the sobriquet 'Pocket Model', never a factory name. What appears to be rust on the cylinder is in fact the standard Colt engraved scene of a stagecoach hold up. On the Navy and Army models was a scene of the Texas Navy defeating the Mexicans in a Naval battle when Texas was a newly declared Republic. 1849 Colt  .31 calibre The "Pocket Model"

Most London produced Colt's had the "Colts London Address" roll stamped on the barrel but Colt being the sound businessman he was, utilized American produced parts in guns assembled in London.  The same held true when he folded his London operation and returned it to Hartford, Connecticut.  Now he assembled revolvers with "Colts London Address" on American made guns!

Part of the fun in collecting Colts is knowing how to recognize a genuine London produced Colt.

To learn more about British firearms, please see the book The British Soldier's Firearm, 1850-64 by C. H. Roads.  It has several references to the Sappers & Miners Carbine and many illustrations.

In the Colony, every ex-patriot American miner was packing at least one Colt and so were the women!  Judge Begbie observed this with great disapproval --in built up areas--  but was fully appreciative of their value in the wilderness.  And there was lots of that! --Todd Birch aka Sjt. Jock McMurphy

Handguns on white background scanned on an 11 3/4 inch by 8 1/2 inch flat bed scanner, and are copyright Feb 2003 by Todd Birch.  Special thanks to Todd Birch for his help and expertise, which has made this a better page.