Colt 1851 Navy Revolver

Colt Navy Revolver
Colt 1851 Navy
Type	Single Action Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1850-1873
Used by	United States Confederate States of America Great Britain Russian Empire Austria-Hungary Poland January Uprising in 1863 Prussia captured from Russian Army
Production history
Designer	Samuel Colt
Designed	1850
Manufacturer	Colt Patent Firearms Hartford, Conn.
Produced	1850–1873
Number built	c. 250,000
Variants	Square backed Navy, London Armory
Specifications
Weight	42 oz.
Length	14 inches
Caliber	.36
Action	Single action

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. It 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.

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". (ibid, Wilson) The cylinder was 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.

Famous "Navy" users included Wild Bill Hickok, John Henry "Doc" Holliday, Richard Francis Burton, Ned Kelly, Bully Hayes, Richard H. Barter, Robert E. Lee, John O'Neill, and Quantrill's Raiders. Usage continued long after more modern cartridge revolvers were introduced in 1873.

Characteristics

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 86 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, Quantrill's Raiders and (fictionally) Rooster Cogburn. Usage continued long after more modern cartridge revolvers were introduced.

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  Combustible paper cartridges; six to a box

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

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  Safety peg between cylinder chambers

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  Post 1850 Colt Revolvers

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  Loading sequence for percussion revolvers

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  Early Colt Navy Mod 1851, Second Model squareback trigger guard

See also

• Colt Army Model 1860
• Colt Dragoon Revolver
• Colt M1861 Navy
• 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

Bibiliography

• 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 9780762745081. 
• 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 83-016269 
• Keith, Elmer (1956). Sixguns: The Standard Reference Work. New York: Bonanza Books. 
• Norris, Keith (1990). Australia's heritage sketchbook. PR Books. ISBN 9781875113378. 
• Roberts, Gary L. (2011). Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 9781118130971. 
• 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