Today on Gus’ Gear I have an example of the German Model 1883 Reichsrevolver. It is a shorter version of the earlier M1879 revolver. They are chambered for a 10.6x25R cartridge. This was chosen to counter the Russian Smith & Wesson that was chambered for the .44 caliber cartridge. The German arms were usually chosen to play keep up with the weapons of prospective enemies on the field of battle. The 1883 Reichsrevolver is a six shot single action weapon that weighs a substantial 2 pounds (.9 kg). It is a shortened and lightened version of the 1879 which weighed 2.9 pounds. The 1883 model was produced until 1908 when it was replaced by the Parrabellum pistol, but it continued in service until the end of the war.
The view of the left side shows the safety lever just above the trigger. This revolver has a substantial cartridge but was not designed to be useful in combat. It is loaded one cartridge at a time through a loading gate on the right side, but it lacks any way to extract the spent cartridges. The addition of a safety lever but the omission of a method of extraction shows that the German military was more concerned with the wastage of ammunition rather than the ability of the soldier to reload his weapon. It should be noted that the safety lever is pretty much useless as it only engages if the weapon is not cocked, it then blocks the hammer so it cannot be cocked. If the weapon is half cocked, the safety can be engaged and that will prevent the shooter from pulling the trigger and dropping the hammer, but if the hammer is not half cocked, the firing pin can rest on the primer of an unfired cartridge, making the possibility of an accidental discharge if the weapon is dropped or the hammer is bumped. The weapon was manufactured at the Erfurt Arsenal in 1893.
The holster shown with the revolver is a reproduction that I recently acquire after I discovered that the holster that the pistol originally came in was a French simplified holster for the Mle 1892 revolver. The search for an original is on, but I suspect I will have to buy another revolver to get a holster.
The right view shows the loading gate at the back of the cylinder and the lack of an ejection rod on the revolver.
This revolver has been marked to three different units during its service life. Marked to the Second Reserve Artillery Regiment Headquarters, to the 21st Reserve Artillery Regiment with both markings crossed out and then to the 84th Artillery Regiment. These black powder handguns were obsolete by the time the Great War broke out, but they were used by rear guard as well as Artillery troops during the war due to shortages of weapons.
Field stripping of the revolver would normally be the removal of the cylinder to facilitate cleaning, that is done by depressing a spring loaded button on the right side of the frame in front of the cylinder and pulling the cylinder pin out. It is assumed that the cylinder pin could be used as an extractor rod to remove a stubborn cartridge case, but that would be a poor option during the heat of battle. The left side plate can be removed with three screws that hold it in place, a good view of the hammer, trigger, cylinder pawl and cylinder lock with the side plate and grip panels removed.