.455 Webley

.455 Webley is a British handgun cartridge, most commonly used in the Webley top break revolvers Marks I through VI. It is also known as ".455 Eley" and ".455 Colt".
The .455 cartridge was a service revolver cartridge, featuring a rimmed cartridge firing a .45 bullet at the relatively low velocity of 650 ft/s (190 m/s). The result was a cartridge and handgun combination with comparatively mild recoil. The .455 was rated superior to the .45 Colt in stopping power in the disputed United States Thompson-LaGarde Tests of 1904 that resulted in the adoption by the U.S. of the .45 ACP cartridge.
The .455 Webley cartridge remained in service with British and Commonwealth forces until the end of the Second World War.
Variants.
Six main types of .455 ammunition were produced:
In addition to the Webley revolvers, the British and Canadian armies also ordered several thousand Smith & Wesson .44 Hand Ejector revolvers, chambered in .455 Webley, in a rush to equip their troops for the Great War. The urgency was such that the earliest of these were converted from revolvers already completed and chambered for .44 Special. Approximately 60,000 Colt New Service revolvers were also purchased, in .455.
The Italian firm Fiocchi and American firm Hornady are currently the only commercial manufacturers of the .455 Webley cartridge (in Mk II). Hornady, RCBS and Lee produce equipment for reloading .455 Webley cartridges.
.455 Webley Auto.
The .455 Webley Auto Mk I cartridge was produced from 1913 to about the middle of World War II. This is a semi-rimmed cartridge for the Webley & Scott Self Loading pistols.
The early version of the cartridge (c.1904) had a shorter 21.7mm semi-rimmed case with a narrow rim and a pointed bullet. A later improved version of the cartridge (c.1910) was similar except it had a 23.54mm long case and a round-nosed bullet. The Mk 1 service round (c.1913) was identical to the 1910 version of the cartridge except it had a thicker rim.
The Mk 1 cartridge's bullet headspaced on the rim. It was loaded with a 224 grain cupro-nickel-jacketed bullet with a muzzle velocity of 700 feet per second.
Various sub machine guns were tested using this cartridge however none were adopted.
World War One use.
The Webley & Scott pistol was sold to the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Navy during World War I. There were also some Colt M1911 pistols chambered in .455 Auto purchased by the Royal Navy. Although not a standard sidearm or a standard service cartridge, a few Colt M1911 "British service models" chambered in .455 Auto were sold commercially to British navy and army officers through outfitters. The service ammunition came packed in seven-round boxes stamped "not for revolvers" to prevent confusion.
.476 Enfield.
Despite the apparent difference in caliber name, .476 Enfield was quite similar to the .455 Webley. The .476 had a shorter case than the .455 Mark I and could be fired in weapons regulated and marked as safe for the caliber, such as the Webley "WG Army" model. This had a cylinder that was long enough to accommodate the significantly longer cartridge in which the bullet swelled out to .476" beyond the case. It would not chamber in any government-issue .455 Webley Marks I–VI. The .450 Adams (1868), .476 Enfield (1881), and .455 Webley Mk.I (1891) British service cartridges all featured a case diameter of .476 inch [12.09mm].