Model 1889-1895 Colt "New Navy" Revolver
By Patrick McSherry
The 1895 Colt revolver with holster and cartridge
box (Photo courtesy of the Doug Howser Collection)
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GENERAL:
The Model 1889, 1892-95 Colt "New Navy" revolver was the standard sidearm
used by U.S. Naval personnel in the Spanish American War.
BACKGROUND:
The U.S. Navy begans its search for a new handgun to replace the aging
converted 1851 Navy revolvers in 1887. These revolvers had been converted
to .38 cal. center-fire in 1873, but were still outdated. The Navy decided
to replace the weapon with the Model 1889 .38 cal. Colt revolver, and
ordered five thousand of them. The weapon did have a problem in that the
cylinder did not have locking notches, which could lead to misfires. Most
of these weapons were reworked to correct this problem. In 1892, a new
model of the "Colt New Navy" was issued which no longer suffered from this
problem. The barrel was also shortened. Minor improvements were again
apparently made in 1895.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The major complaint against this weapon, once the cylinder locking
mechanism was corrected, was the trigger rebound spring. Often, the spring
would not pull the trigger back into position after the previous shot. The
gun had a tendency to foul, and it quickly became difficult to force a
round into the cylinder.
The weapon was sturdily built however, and showed a good resistance to
rusting, a major consideration for the Navy.
Revolver Drill aboard the Battleship MAINE
TECHNOTES:
| Action: |
|
Revolver, double action, with a swing-out
cylinder |
|
|
which rotated in the counter-clockwise
direction. |
| Total length: |
|
11.5 inches, two bands |
| Length of barrel: |
|
6 inches |
| Rifling: |
|
5 grooves |
| Weight: |
|
2 pounds, 1 ounce |
| Ammunition: |
|
.38 cal. long and short, and .41 cal. long and
short. |
| Magazine capacity: |
|
6-shot |
| Weight of projectile: |
|
9.6 grains |
| Muzzle Velocity: |
|
1,100 feet per second |
| Sights: |
|
Knife-blade sight at muzzle, and V-notch in
hammer. |
| Markings: |
|
Barrel stamped with patent dates. The butt frame |
|
|
is marked "S.N. 38 D.A." with the model year. |
Chapel, Charles Edward, The Collector's Handbook of Values. (New
York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1960).
Ezell Edward C., Handguns of the World. (Harrisburg, PA:
Stackpole Books, 1981).
Gluckman, Arcadi, United States Muskets, Rifles and Carbines.
(Buffalo: Otto Ulbrich Co., Inc., 1948).
Howser, Doug, (pistol image)
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