| Adams revolver | |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Type: | Revolver |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Is Uk: | yes |
| Service: | 1851–1868 (percussion) 1868-1880 (breechloader) |
| Used By: | United Kingdom & Colonies Confederate States |
| Wars: | Crimean War Indian Mutiny of 1857 American Civil War numerous British colonial conflicts |
| Designer: | Robert Adams |
| Design Date: | 1851 |
| Manufacturer: | Deane, Adams&Deane Robert Adams of London |
| Weight: | 30 oz (0.85 kg), unloaded |
| Length: | 11.5 in. (292 mm) |
| Part Length: | 6.5 in. (165 mm) |
| Caliber: | 0.44inches |
| Action: | Double-action |
| Velocity: | c550 ft/s (168 m/s) |
| Range: | 35yd |
| Max Range: | 100yd |
| Feed: | 5-round cylinder (percussion) 5-6 shot cylinder (breechloader) |
| Sights: | Fixed front post and rear notch |
Adams revolver, also known as Deane-Adams revolver,[1] is a black powder, double-action, percussion revolver. Introduced in 1851, it was the first revolver designed and produced in United Kingdom. It was heavily used by British officers during Crimean War (1853–1856) and Indian Mutiny of 1857. It was the precursor of more advanced Beaumont-Adams revolver, designed in 1856.[2]
Since the production of the first Colt revolvers in 1836 up to 1851, American Colt's Manufacturing company held an absolute monopoly in revolvers' production in United States and Europe. Between 1853 and 1857, Colt has even established his own factory in London, supplying British customers with cheap, mass-produced revolvers with interchangeable, machine produced parts. Colt has even got some government contracts, selling 4,000 revolvers to the British Navy in 1854 and 14,000 to the British Army in 1855.[3]
As Colt's English patents expired in 1851, British designer Robert Adams made his own version of revolver and patented it the same year, making a successful presentation of his design in the Great Exhibition of London in 1851. Both weapons were tested by the official British military commission for the adoption in the British army, although none was ultimately selected, due to very large price per revolver, equivalent to several single-shot percussion pistols commonly used in the military at the time.
Unlike contemporary Colt revolvers, whose hammer had to be cocked manually before every shot, Adams revolver had a double-action trigger mechanism. That means that pressing the trigger was simultaneously cocking the hammer, rotating the cylinder and firing the shot. That feature, so called selfcocking revolver, enabled for a very high rate of fire, although it required a heavy pull on the trigger, which made it almost impossible to aim the weapon except at the point-blank range. Also, it was not possible to cock the hammer manually, and the hammer had no thumb projection, which is one of the single traits of Adams revolver. However, British military commission had found the double-action trigger mechanism as superior to the Colt's single-action.
Adams revolvers had a solid, one-piece frame with integral barrel, all made of a single piece of steel, which gave them inherent strength and durability, although it was somewhat more expensive to produce, as it required skilled workers. British military commission found this far superior to the Colt's multi-part open frame revolver design, which was seen as inherently weaker and prone to break under pressure.
Although Adams revolver was rejected as the official British military weapon, its fine characteristics were well appreciated by the British public, soldiers and civilians alike, and many officers privately purchased the revolver on their own expense, along with the most popular contemporary revolver, Colt 1851 Navy. That way Adams revolvers saw heavy combat in Crimean war (1853–1856) and Indian Mutiny of 1857. In these conflicts, Adams revolvers were deemed better than Colt's, due to their higher rate of fire at the close range (due to double-action trigger) and better stopping power (due to their larger caliber, 0.44 vs 0.36 in Colt Navy). In the words of witness, in 1860 one officer of the 88th Regiment wrote a letter to Robert Adams, praising his pistols:
In April 1896, Lieutenant Colonel G. V. Fosbery commented about an incident during the Indian Rebellion of 1857:
However, early Adams revolvers had three widely reported deficiencies, which were resolved in later models:
Beginning in 1867, Adams Patent Small Arms Company of London started the conversion of the existing percussion revolvers into the breechloaders using .450 Boxer centerfire cartridges, and simultaneously, the production of new breechloading revolvers began.[4]
The adaptation of the old percussion revolvers included several operationsː
Along with the adaptation of the old ones (so called Mark I), the production of new breechloading revolvers, named Mark II, began in 1867. The main difference compared to the conversion revolvers was the 6-shot cylinder and a somewhat improved cartridge ejector.
In 1872 a new model was produced, named Mark III. It was very similar to its predecessor, but had a shorter cylinder and a more durable cartridge ejector. New ejector rod was mounted on a yoke under the barrel and mostly housed in the hollow cylinder arbor, so it could be pulled out and swung to the right when needed. From 1868 to 1880, all these revolvers (conversions and new breechloaders) were adopted as official sidearms of the British Army and Navy and were in use until the 1880s.[5]