S&W's Pistol-Carbine for the South Australian Police
Forgotten Weapons
•
9m 5s
In 1880, the South Australian Police service was introduced to the Smith & Wesson No3 New Model revolver at the Melbourne Exhibition. They took a liking to the design, and promptly ordered 250 of them, nickel plated with 7” barrels and detachable shoulder stocks (as well as 30 more with 6.5” barrels and no stocks). These would be issued to mounted officers of the police, for whom they would be a sort of universal weapon - a pistol for close range use, and the stock to allow accurate shooting at longer ranges when called for. An interesting set of holsters was issued with the guns, intended to be carried on the saddle. One is made specifically to carry the shoulder stock, and the other to carry the pistol - but with a pair of flaps such that the gun can be secured in the holster with he shoulder stock still attached.
These revolvers remained in South Australian inventory until 1953, when the were sold as surplus to an American firm, who subsequently sold them to the collector market.
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Glock Meets 1911: The Alchemy Arms Sp...
Alchemy Arms was a company formed in 1991 making parts and accessories for both the Glock and 1911 platforms. Its founder, William McMoore, got the idea to combine elements of both pistols to make the perfect hybrid. It was essentially a Glock slide and striker-fired system attached to a 1911 sty...
-
Tribuzio Ring-Trigger Squeeze Pistol
This palm-squeezer type pistol was designed by Catello Tribuzio (sometimes spelled Trabuzio) of Turin around 1890. It is a very simple design, including a clever dual purpose ejector that also acts as the sear for firing. This example has a 7.65mm bore, although sometimes these are described as 8...
-
Toolroom Prototype Smith & Wesson No....
Good inventors are always trying out new solutions to problems. Those solutions may or may not work (hence Thomas Edison’s 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb), but the attempts can often give us interesting insight into the designer’s intentions. In this case, we have a toolroom S&W No3 revolve...
