History:
In Europe among the more prosperous members of each community it had become fashionable to own a small automatic pistol - almost as a form of personal accessory. Those weapons were normally chambered for the new 6.35 mm cartridge and were carried by both men and women, chiefly for protection against highway robbery.
The Webley & Scott management were quick to acknowledge a developing section of the market and proposed to meet the situation by introducing their own contender, as had already been done with the calibre .32 pocket pistol. Sales of the previous introduced 1905 model were certainly encouraging enough for the factory to diversify its production range of automatic pistols with a smaller version. The basic Whiting design had proved itself reliable and, with very little effort, could be adapted for other calibres. The choice of 6.35 mm certainly seemed to be the most appropriate at that time.
Some changes in design compared to the 1905 Model in order to make dismantling less difficult were made by John Carter and Frank Murray (both employees of the Webley & Scott company). The outline was the same, but on a smaller scale.
Once the problems of re-tooling had been overcome, the factory management announced the introduction of their new pistol. According to a statement published in the Webley & Scott Annual Report, manufacture of the 6.35 mm version actually commenced before May 1907. lt was confirmed by a brief notice which was printed in the Army & Navy Catalogue of that year, stating: "A miniature model of the Webley & Scott automatic is in course of manufacture. When ready, a notice will appear in the stores circular". (In fact, the weapon was advertised for the first time in a 1908 catalogue and the earliest recorded sale by that particular retailer took place in February 1908, when pistol No. 10016 was purchased at a cost of 42 shillings & sixpence).
The little pocket model was quite a popular alternative to the calibre .32 version and sold in considerable quantities throughout the initial period of production, from 1908 to 1914. The Army & Navy Co-operative Society Limited became responsible for the sale of over five hundred during those years. Needless to say, it had also been very well received throughout Europe, where many hundreds were distributed via all the main centres - at Paris, Liege, Zürich, Hamburg, Naples, Bucharest and Tambov in Russia. At times, annual sales surpassed even those of the larger pistol.
Output of the calibre 6.35 mm model was most prolific in 1909, when some 9,780 were constructed. As anticipated, it had been purchased by people from all walks of life - from housewives to baronesses, from country vicars to Lords of the Realm. A surprising number of military personnel also became interested in acquiring the pistol and many officers had one to supplement their regulation sidearm.
In 1914, as the realisation of war took its effect on the British population, demand for private small arms increased. Not only the regular suppliers such as the Army & Navy Co-operative Society and general firearms dealers - but also London departmental stores began to retail weapons. By that time, the 6.35 mm pistols were identified as Hammer Models, due to the advent of an internal hammer version in the same calibre.
The decision, in 1907, to introduce a small calibre version of the Webley & Scott pocket pistol had certainly been justified and the ensuing demand from the public enabled the weapon to remain in full production until the beginning of 1915. By that time, of course, Great Britain was at war with Germany, which meant that the Birmingham factory had already diverted its gunmaking facilities to satisfy the arms needs of the British military forces. Immediately after the First World War, when the management at Weaman Street were attempting to resume their commercial trade, several thousands of the calibre 6.35 mm model were produced - alongside similar quantities of the .32 version - simply in order to keep the factory workforce together. Unfortunately for Webley & Scott, there was little demand for small arms at that period, as trade and business in general were badly affected by a world-wide recession. Not all of the blame could be attributed to that particular crisis, however; the " pre-war " styling of Webley & Scott firearms was considered by many to be outdated and there had been neither the finance nor the inclination to modernise their products when weapons were hurriedly placed into production again after the war. As a result, the vast majority of all pocket models were sold off to the trade at ridiculously low prices - sometimes even below the actual cost of manufacture.
The calibre 6.35 mm pistol was still being advertised by Webley & Scott in the August 1926 catalogue but at a reduced price of 37 shillings & sixpence to stimulate sales. By September 1932, total production of those weapons surpassed the 49,000 figure, while large stocks of components had also accumulated from the excess manufacture of earlier years. Thereafter, new orders were fulfilled purely on an assembly basis to use up the surplus. Annual sales at that time diminished to an average of less than two hundred pistols and, during the four-year period from the start of 1932 until the end of 1935, only 783 Hammers Models were sold by Webley & Scott.
All production came to a halt just after the beginning of the Second World War when the factory was once again committed to military production. The price had then risen to 50 shillings per weapon. The last identified serial number for an external hammer model in calibre 6.35 mm was 163109, produced in a batch of thirty pistols fitted-up during December 1939. Total production was 50,342 pieces.
The original retail price of 42 shillings & sixpence for a standard model remained constant until 1916, when it rose to 45 shillings. Spare magazines could also be obtained at that time for one shilling & sixpence. The factory charged an extra five shillings for nickel plating and weapons were produced in that form by special order only. Probably the most extravagant specimens of the Webley & Scott 6.35 mm pistol were those finished in gold plating.
The earliest serial number allocated to the new 6.35 model was No. 7060, which appeared within the first batch of eight pistols (No. 7060-7067) constructed at some period between June 1906 and ihe beginning of 1908. They were followed by a second batch of six pistols (No. 7078-7083) shortly thereafter. Serial production then commenced in earnest with no less than 1,000 models being manufactured in the first really large series (No. 10000-11099) completed prior to June 1908. The serial numbers were within the same sequence as those given to the calibre.32 models and occupied numerical batches which had been specially allocated for production of the new 6.35 mm version. Under that system, no two weapons of the Webley & Scott automatic pistol range carried the same serial number, a policy that was continued throughout the subsequent manufacture of weapons in several other calibres.
Although the 6.35 pistol appeared to have continued unchanged throughout the period of its production run, there were some minor alterations to the weapon. The picture shows the standard (late) pattern.
Technical Datas:
SYSTEM: self-cocking pistol with mass system and external hammer
CARTRIDGES : 6
CALIBRE : .25 ACP
BARREL LENGTH : 53.8 mm , 6 grooves right hand twisting
WEIGHT EMPTY : 305 g
TOTAL LENGTH : 111 mm
TOTAL HEIGHT : 80.5 mm
TOTAL WIDTH : 23.5 mm
TRIGGER : single action
SIGHT : none
SAFETY : safety-lever
FINISH : blued
GRIPS : hard rubber