As mentioned a while ago (.... before company from out of town, plus various other aspects of life, got in the way ....
) I finally present herewith a view of the primary-issue Canadian military handguns in my collection ....
Unlike Canadian primary-issue military rifles, which were always of British design until the mid-20th century, standard-issue military sidearms of this country's military forces have always been American-made .... or, at very least, American designed. The explanation for that phenomenon lies largely in the fact that, as military weapons, handguns are of fairly limited functionality and use. As a result, they have generally not been of much priority to Canadian military leaders nor to the governments funding military supplies, until some military emergency causes an urgent need to arise .... at which point, proximity, ready availability and convenience of a source for handguns have usually been the main concerns .... as will be seen time and again as your read through this presentation.
I should also comment on my intentional use of the word "issue" in relation to these pistols. In the British military (and hence also the Canadian military) until well into the 20th century, commissioned officers were required to supply all of their uniforms, weapons, and other kit at personal expense .... with the result that they merely had to ensure that they stayed within the requirements of the Dress Regulations and so on. In particular, they have always had a considerable latitude in the type of handgun carried so, while some officers chose to acquire a commercially-manufactured version of the current "service pistol" adopted for issue to "Other Ranks" (i.e. enlisted men and NCOs) many others chose models and designs based on personal preference. On the other hand, officially adopted "service" handguns were acquired as government property, with an expectation of uniform design and manufacture, and were intended to those enlisted personnel who were deemed to need a handgun .....
One other point needs clarification: from before Confederation in 1867 (which created the nucleus of the Dominion of Canada which exists today) until some time after WWII, Canada's military forces have always been designated as "Militia", so you will see me consistently use that term or derivatives like "militiaman", rather than "Army", "soldier" or the like .... On the other hand, whenever Canada has sent troops outside the country (for the first time in 1899-1902 for the Boer War, and then later on, during WWI, WWII and the Korean War) it has been as a separately constituted force, such as the "Canadian Expeditionary Force" in 1914-1918 or the "Canadian Army Overseas" (1939-1945), and then the tendency has been to refer to the men as "soldiers" ..... Go figure ....
The first "standard issue" Canadian military service pistol was actually by the pre-Confederation United Province of Upper & Lower Canada, which in 1855 was pushed by the British government into taking on greater responsibility for organizing and maintaining an effective Militia, including acquiring and supplying arms to them (rather than simply relying on requisitions from Imperial Stores.) Among the weapons obtained were some 800 Model 1851 Navy revolvers, produced in Colt's short-lived London factory, for issue to Troops of Volunteer Militia Cavalry. Each was marked (on the left side grip scale) with either "L.C" or "U.C." (i.e. Lower Canada or Upper Canada) over a letter (designating the specific Troop of issue) over a "rack number" given to each of the pistols issued to that Troop. My example is "U.C." marked, revolver number 4 of Troop B (St. Catharines, on the Niagara Peninsula) -
Thirty years later, Canada was plunged into the North-West Rebellion of 1885, resulting in mobilization of thousands of Militia and sending them west to deal with the uprising. The only handguns in military stores were such of the now quite obsolete Colt cap and ball revolvers that remained serviceable. A rather odd quantity of 1,001 Colt Model .45 calibre 1878 Double Action revolvers were hastily acquired through the New York outfitters, Hartley & Graham. The order specified nickel-plated revolvers, and it has been established that, to comply with that requirement, the vendor had a number of revolvers already in their inventory plated, which had originally been shipped from the Colt factory with a blued finish, and mine is one of those. In 1899, these same revolvers were used to arm the first contingents of Canadian troops sent to the Boer War in South Africa ....
In 1900, after the Model 1878 Colts had all been issued, Canada began ordering Colt New Service revolvers, at first chambered in .45 Colt but then the British authorities (who were paying the bill) requested that the further revolvers acquired be chambered instead in .455. MY most recent acquisition is one of those revolvers, with a Canadian Department of Militia & Defence marking -
In 1914, upon the outbreak of war between Germany and the British Empire, Canada again had to mobilize a large military force .... but had not acquired any new handguns since the Boer War. Sparing no expense, Canada immediately ordered 5,000 commercial- Government Model semi-automatic pistols, taking well over half of Colt's commercial production of the model for 1914. Unlike the many pistols of this model also acquired by Britain, which were chambered for the .455 Webley Auto cartridge, the Canadian pistols were chambered in .45 ACP. Relatively few of these pistols have Canadian military markings, because such a high proportion of them were in fact sold on by the Canadian government to officers, at which time they became the purchaser's private property. The lovely example in my collection, still retaining most of its original high-polish fire blued finish, is one of these, having been the personal sidearm of Major W. A. Mitchell, who served at the Front as a Company Commander of the Divisional Supply Train of the 2nd Canadian Division -
Beginning in 1915, Canada next acquired a total of 14,500 Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector revolvers (also known as the "New Century" model) chambered in .455. Although a S&W Factory Letter confirms that my example was sold to the Canadian Government in 1915, it bears no military markings, and thus was likely also sold on to an officer, although I have no specific information in that regard ....
After the massive military commitment of the Great War, it is no wonder that Canada had no real need to acquire new military sidearms in the next couple of decades. One exception was the acquisition of handguns specifically for the fledgling Royal Canadian Air Force, first established in 1920 although being granted the "Royal" accolade until 1924. The sidearm chosen for this branch of service constitutes the sole exception of any significance to the "American-only" tradition for Canadian military handguns - the Enfield Revolver No. 2 Mark I .380 calibre adopted by Britain in the late 1920s - and "significance is a relative concept, because the initial order for the RCAF was 235 revolvers, in October, 1935, followed by an order for an additional 350 revolvers in October of 1937. By the end of WWII, however, about 3,500 of these revolvers had been acquired. My example is 1936-dated, with a clear Canadian Broad Arrow and RCAF marking -
When the Second World War got under way, Canada again had to make a rapid decision on a suitable military handgun, and chose the Smith & Wesson Military & Police Model revolver chambered in .38 S&W, since the standard British .380 service revolver cartridge at that time is simply a military version of that round. Tens of thousands of these revolver were acquired by Canada during the war. Early examples, such as the one in my collection, display excellent commercial-quality fit and finish, but as the war progressed the finish and quality deteriorated to the familiar "Victory Model" level -
The final chapter in this saga deals with the only primary-issue military handgun to be produced in Canada: the 9mm Browning-FN High Power pistol manufactured by the John Inglis Company of Toronto in 1944 and 1945. That production came about because China (an Ally which had been at war with Japan for years before that nation's entry into the Second World War on the side of the Axis powers) had adopted a model of the High Power pistol produced in Belgium, but after the German invasion of that country could no longer get the pistols. They requested that production of the pistol be undertaken in an Allied country .... and the rest is history. The model they wished to have reproduced was a long-range sighted version fitted with a shoulder stock, and many such "No. 1" (or "Chinese Model") pistols were produced .... many of them in fact passing into Canadian and British service when delivery to China proved to be problematic in the face of the Japanese blockade. However, a simpler version with a fixed rear sight and no provision for attachment of a shoulder stock (the No. 2 pistol) was produced for British and Canadian service, and was adopted by Canada as its military sidearm in late 1944 - remaining our primary-issue handgun right up to the present day! My example of the No. 2 "Canadian Model" Inglis pistol, manufactured in 1944, was acquired from a friend whose father was a highly decorated Canadian Army officer during WWII -
I also own an example of the No. 1 "Chinese Model" pistol which was in Canadian service. In order to standardize on the simpler model, Canada disposed of a considerable number of this model as post-war aid to various allied nations, and then ultimately retrofitted all of those remaining in our supply system with the simpler, non-adjustable rear sight of the No. 2 pistol. This particular pistol was one of a batch given in 1950 to Belgium, where it was in service for many years before being surplussed and finding its way back to Canada -
With the sole exception of the RCAF-issue Enfield revolver, you will have noted that there isn't a Webley or other British handgun in the entire lot! As many of you know however, I do have a special fondness for Webleys (and other such British revolvers) and also have a number in my collection. Perhaps i can put together a display of those one of these days.
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