Colt 1851 Navy Revolver

Colt Navy Revolver
Colt 1851 Navy
Type	Single Action Revolver
Place of origin	United States (Also made in London, England)
Service history
In service	1850–1873
Used by	United States Confederate States United Kingdom Canada Austria-Hungary Russian Empire Ottoman Empire Poland Prussia captured from Russia Native Americans
Wars	American Civil War American Indian Wars Austro-Prussian War January Uprising
Production history
Designer	Samuel Colt
Designed	1850
Manufacturer	Colt Patent Firearms Hartford, Conn.
Produced	1850–1873
No. built	272,000
Variants	Square backed Navy, London Armoury
Specifications
Mass	2.6 lb (1.2 kg)
Length	13 in (330.2 mm)
Cartridge	.38 Short Colt (conversions)
Caliber	.36
Action	Single-action revolver
Muzzle velocity	840 ft/s (256 m/s)

The Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber (i.e., .36 cal), later known as the Colt 1851 Navy or Navy Revolver, is a cap and ball revolver that was designed by Samuel Colt between 1847 and 1850. It remained in production until 1873, when revolvers using fixed metallic cartridges came into widespread use. Total production numbers were exceeded only by the Colt Pocket models in concurrent development, and numbered some 250,000 domestic units and about 22,000 produced in the Colt London Armory.

Characteristics

The designation "Colt 1851 Navy" was applied by collectors, though the popular name "Navy Revolver" is of early origin, as the gun was frequently called the "Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber".

The cylinder of this revolver is engraved with a scene of the victory of the Second Texas Navy at the Battle of Campeche on May 16, 1843. The Texas Navy had purchased the earlier Colt Paterson Revolver, but this was Colt's first major success in the gun trade; the naval theme of the engraved cylinder of the Colt 1851 Navy revolver was Colt's gesture of appreciation. Despite the "Navy" designation, the revolver was chiefly purchased by civilians and military land forces.

The .36 caliber Navy revolver was much lighter than the contemporary Third Model Dragoon revolvers developed from the .44 Walker Colt revolvers of 1847, which, given their size and weight, were generally carried in saddle holsters. It is an enlarged version of the .31 caliber pocket revolvers that evolved from the earlier Baby Dragoon, and, like them, is a mechanically improved and simplified descendant of the 1836 Paterson revolver. As the factory designation implied, the Navy revolver was suitably sized for carrying in a belt holster. It became very popular in North America at the time of Western expansion. Colt's aggressive promotions distributed the Navy and his other revolvers across Europe, Asia, and Africa. As with many other Colt revolvers, it has a six round cylinder.

The .36 caliber (.375–.380 inch) round lead ball weighs 80 grains and, at a velocity of 1,000 feet per second, is comparable to the modern .380 pistol cartridge in power. Loads consist of loose powder and ball or bullet, metallic foil cartridges (early), and combustible paper cartridges (Civil War era), all combinations being ignited by a fulminate percussion cap applied to the nipples at the rear of the chamber. Sighting consists of a bead front sight with a notch in the top of the hammer, as with most Colt percussion revolvers. In spite of the relative crudity of the sighting arrangement, these revolvers and their modern replicas generally are quite accurate.

Usage

Famous "Navy" users included Wild Bill Hickok, John Henry "Doc" Holliday, Richard Francis Burton, Ned Kelly, Bully Hayes, Richard H. Barter, Robert E. Lee, Nathan B. Forrest, John O'Neill, Frank Gardiner, Quantrill's Raiders, John Coffee "Jack" Hays, "Bigfoot" Wallace, Ben McCulloch, Addison Gillespie, John "RIP" Ford, "Sul" Ross and most Texas Rangers prior to the Civil War and (fictionally) Rooster Cogburn. Usage continued long after more modern cartridge revolvers were introduced.

Canadian issue 1851 Colts (London made) are stamped in the wooden grip "upside down" with letters U_C (for Upper Canada, now Ontario, Canada) or L_C (for Lower Canada, now Quebec, Canada), a letter code for the unit, and the number of the weapon in that unit. e.g.

U_C
 D
21

This decodes as Upper Canada, D = Toronto Cavalry Troop, 21st pistol.

The Ottoman Empire used the revolver as late as the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 even though it was quite antiquated compared to the Russian's Smith & Wesson Model 3

Combustible paper cartridges; six to a box

The cylinder arbor serves as a bullet seater on models without loading levers

Safety peg between cylinder chambers

Post 1850 Colt Revolvers

Loading sequence for percussion revolvers

Early Colt Navy Mod 1851, Second Model squareback trigger guard

See also

• Colt Army Model 1860
• Colt Dragoon Revolver
• Colt M1861 Navy
• Remington Model 1858
• Colt's Manufacturing Company
• Colt Paterson
• Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
• Colt Single Action Army
• Saturday night special for history of attempts to ban handguns other than Army and Navy models such as M1851 Navy
• Walker Colt

Bibliography

• Bates, Johnny; Cumpston, Mike (2005). Percussion Pistols and Revolvers: History, Performance and Practical Use. Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse. 
• Burton, Sir Richard Francis (2003). First Footsteps in East Africa. The University of Adelaide Library. 
• Herring, Hal (2008). Famous Firearms of the Old West: From Wild Bill Hickok's Colt Revolvers to Geronimo's Winchester, Twelve Guns That Shaped Our History. Globe Pequot. ISBN 978-0-7627-4508-1. 
• Hounshell, David A. (1984). "From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States". Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-2975-8. LCCN 83016269. 
• Keith, Elmer (1956). Sixguns: The Standard Reference Work. New York: Bonanza Books. 
• Norris, Keith (1990). Australia's heritage sketchbook. PR Books. ISBN 978-1-875113-37-8. 
• Roberts, Gary L. (2011). Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-13097-1. 
• Wilson, R.L. (1985). Colt: An American Legend. New York; London: Atabras, A Division of Abbeville Publishing Group. 

External links

• The Colt Revolver in the American West—Model 1851 Navy
• The Colt Revolver in the American West—Model 1851 Navy with Johnson-Holbrook Shoulder Stock Device
• The Colt Revolver in the American West—Presentation Model 1851 Navy
• The Colt Revolver in the American West—Model 1851 Navy
• The Colt Revolver in the American West—Presentation Model 1851 Navy
• Smithsonian Article on the M1861 Navy
• Shooting Characteristics of the M1861 Navy