What was the most common sidearm of South Africa during the war?

Discussion in 'Weapons, Technology & Equipment' started by GatoGato123, Oct 16, 2021.

  1. GatoGato123

    GatoGato123 Member

    Hello everyone,

    I have been trying to figure out what type of revolver was the most common one used by the South African Union Defence Force during the second world war. Could any of you help me solve this?
     
  2. TTH

    TTH Senior Member

    That is a poser, as they say, and a quick cruise around the internet doesn't give me a firm answer to your question. As you doubtless know the No.2 Enfield in .380 was the standard British revolver of WWII, but the No. 2 was always supplemented by other types both in the British and Dominion armies.SA forces used the Webley Mk VI .455 in WWI, and some of those were doubtless still around in 1939. SA police purchased some Webley automatics between the wars, the Metropolitan Police model in .32 and the so-called South African model in 9mm Browning Long. As late as the 1980s, the SADF still had No. 2 Enfields and Webley Mark IV .38s in the inventory. According to a discussion on gunboards.com, the SA army began to obtain Webley Mark IVs in the 1930s and as early as 1940 it also began to receive quantities of the Smith & Wesson Military and Police model. From all this it seems possible that the order of quantity in the SADF was 1) Webley Mk IV 2) S&W Military & Police 3) Enfield No. 2 4) Webley Mark VI. That is no better than a guess based on a very quick internet survey, though. To answer this question definitively would clearly take some real digging. Photo evidence or equipment states from units might help you.
     
    dryan67 and Dave55 like this.

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