Post-war Webley Air Pistols
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 2:06 pm
This is the final post in a series to briefly outline the development of Webley air pistols from their beginning in 1924 to the changeover from all steel to alloy frames in the mid-1970s.
Webley were fully engaged in supporting the war effort between 1939 -1945 but soon resumed commercial production of air pistols immediately after hostilities had ceased.
The same three models, Mk1, “Senior” and “Junior” were produced with relatively minor changes up until 1964. These changes were mainly limited to the replacement of tin grips with plastic grips and the re-introduction of a vertically adjustable rear sight on the “Junior” and the addition of "splines" or “knurling” to the barrels of the Mk1 and the” Senior” respectively. All three pistols also now carried the Webley name moulded into the grips. Unfortunately, Webley abandoned the practice of serial numbering their products after the war and replaced it with a batch numbering system which made it difficult for collectors to readily identify manufacturing dates. One general dating aid is provided by the address stamped on the side of the pistols which included the “B4” postal code before 1958 after which the factory relocated from their Weaman Street premises.
POST-WAR WEBLEY "MK1"
POST-WAR WEBLEY "SENIOR"
POST-WAR WEBLEY "JUNIOR"
POST-WAR WEBLEY "JUNIOR"
Note fairly crude engraving applied by Webley apprentices to mask minor casting blemishes.
In 1964 Webley consolidated the best features of the Mk1 and the” Senior” into one pistol to be called the” Premier” rather than marketing two similarly performing pistols. The "Premier" was basically a “Senior” which retained the trigger adjustment screw from the Mk1. It was still a high quality all steel pistol available in both calibres but underwent a number of minor changes during its development with each being identified by a letter A-F usually stamped below the trigger guard on the left hand side of the frame. The all steel "Premiers" were made between 1964-1975 after which Webley had completely changed their manufacturing processes and materials replacing machined steel with mainly cast alloy and traditional blueing with a black epoxy enamel coating.
The post-war “Junior” was the first model to utilise the more modern manufacturing methods when the Mk2 was introduced in 1973.
RARE FOUR PIN "A" SERIES WEBLEY "PREMIER"
Many Webley air pistols are found with a chip at the bottom rear corner of the grip where the little locating pin on the frame locates. Great care is necessary when easing the grips from the frame to avoid this happening.
Post-war Slant Grip Mk1s are not especially rare and can usually be bought for under £100 unboxed.
The post-war “Seniors” are more sought after and nice examples fetch £150-£200 again unboxed.
“Premier” values vary depending on series with the earlier (A-C) variants being the most expensive ranging from £130-£180 unboxed.
My personal interest in Webley air pistols lessened with demise of the all steel models but Webley continued producing new alloy framed models such as the “Typhoon”, “Hurricane” and “Tempest” from the mid-seventies until the company went into liquidation in 2006.
I don’t profess to be an expert on collectable air pistols so my apologies for any inaccuracies that may have crept in during the preparation of these posts which I hope have been of some interest.
I have tried to share something of the development of “Made in England” spring air pistols in this and earlier posts from 1910 until 1975 using examples from my own collection. It would be great to see some pictures and hear about the air pistols owned by other members of the forum.
Regards
Brian
Webley were fully engaged in supporting the war effort between 1939 -1945 but soon resumed commercial production of air pistols immediately after hostilities had ceased.
The same three models, Mk1, “Senior” and “Junior” were produced with relatively minor changes up until 1964. These changes were mainly limited to the replacement of tin grips with plastic grips and the re-introduction of a vertically adjustable rear sight on the “Junior” and the addition of "splines" or “knurling” to the barrels of the Mk1 and the” Senior” respectively. All three pistols also now carried the Webley name moulded into the grips. Unfortunately, Webley abandoned the practice of serial numbering their products after the war and replaced it with a batch numbering system which made it difficult for collectors to readily identify manufacturing dates. One general dating aid is provided by the address stamped on the side of the pistols which included the “B4” postal code before 1958 after which the factory relocated from their Weaman Street premises.
POST-WAR WEBLEY "MK1"
POST-WAR WEBLEY "SENIOR"
POST-WAR WEBLEY "JUNIOR"
POST-WAR WEBLEY "JUNIOR"
Note fairly crude engraving applied by Webley apprentices to mask minor casting blemishes.
In 1964 Webley consolidated the best features of the Mk1 and the” Senior” into one pistol to be called the” Premier” rather than marketing two similarly performing pistols. The "Premier" was basically a “Senior” which retained the trigger adjustment screw from the Mk1. It was still a high quality all steel pistol available in both calibres but underwent a number of minor changes during its development with each being identified by a letter A-F usually stamped below the trigger guard on the left hand side of the frame. The all steel "Premiers" were made between 1964-1975 after which Webley had completely changed their manufacturing processes and materials replacing machined steel with mainly cast alloy and traditional blueing with a black epoxy enamel coating.
The post-war “Junior” was the first model to utilise the more modern manufacturing methods when the Mk2 was introduced in 1973.
RARE FOUR PIN "A" SERIES WEBLEY "PREMIER"
Many Webley air pistols are found with a chip at the bottom rear corner of the grip where the little locating pin on the frame locates. Great care is necessary when easing the grips from the frame to avoid this happening.
Post-war Slant Grip Mk1s are not especially rare and can usually be bought for under £100 unboxed.
The post-war “Seniors” are more sought after and nice examples fetch £150-£200 again unboxed.
“Premier” values vary depending on series with the earlier (A-C) variants being the most expensive ranging from £130-£180 unboxed.
My personal interest in Webley air pistols lessened with demise of the all steel models but Webley continued producing new alloy framed models such as the “Typhoon”, “Hurricane” and “Tempest” from the mid-seventies until the company went into liquidation in 2006.
I don’t profess to be an expert on collectable air pistols so my apologies for any inaccuracies that may have crept in during the preparation of these posts which I hope have been of some interest.
I have tried to share something of the development of “Made in England” spring air pistols in this and earlier posts from 1910 until 1975 using examples from my own collection. It would be great to see some pictures and hear about the air pistols owned by other members of the forum.
Regards
Brian