Webley Air Pistol Batch Numbers

[M.Meijer]

Any more?

Yes, a pair from Holland but both bought separately in Sweden: Mk1 188 and Senior 684
A good initiative that might shed some light on a topic that leaves me clueless sofar.
Regards, Mike

[Garvin]

I have Senior B'ham 4 batch 730 and a Premier "D" series, but no idea where it is.

[Josie & John]

I have Senior B'ham 4 batch 730 and a Premier "D" series, but no idea where it is.

You're worse than me Garvin I need to look for a Premier to double check something but have lost that too. Details of the D would be nice if you find it as the interesting thing with Premiers is they are date coded, so that may tell us a little more about the logic behind these numbers.

Kind regards,

John

[Ormicron]

Premier E477 Date code 1 74

Ormicron

[Carlos-w]

Senior

2246

H stamp on trigger guuard

[Leonardj]

Premier date codes added to my post on pg1.

Interesting - my "E" and "F" series Premiers share a common date code - 1/0.

[Leonardj]

I posted a request for batch number info over on the AVA forum, to perhaps expand upon the numbers already submitted.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/40594...ol+enthusiasts......

Also, not sure if everyone is aware of it or not, but a point worthy of note in my post on the AVA:

As well, with some guns bearing a three digit batch number, you should remove the LHS grip to ensure that the batch number stamped into the front of the gun is not just the last three digits of a four digit batch number. For example, on one of my own Seniors, the front of the gun is stamped with "009" (which could also be misread as "600"), but upon removing the LHS grip, the batch number on the frame reads "1009".

[le frelon]

Hi John, a few more post war to add.

Juniors: 5048, 2558, 3102, 455. Mk 11: 504.

Senior: 054, 972.

Mk1: 435, 250.

Premier: E/coated. 392. Mk 11: 582.


rgds Carl.

[Josie & John]

I posted a request for batch number info over on the AVA forum, to perhaps expand upon the numbers already submitted.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/40594...ol+enthusiasts......

Also, not sure if everyone is aware of it or not, but a point worthy of note in my post on the AVA:

Thanks for spreading the word Len and for pointing out the full batch number appears under the grip. You are quite correct of course. Sometimes the last 2 digits appear stamped on major components such as the trigger guard and stirrup catch.

Thanks also to all for recent updates

John

[Josie & John]

Premier date codes added to my post on pg1.

Interesting - my "E" and "F" series Premiers share a common date code - 1/0.

Thank you Len,
The F seems rather early as most others are dated 1972. At the risk of asking a daft question, is there any possibility of the letter code being a lightly stamped E?

Kind regards,

John

[Leonardj]

The F seems rather early as most others are dated 1972. At the risk of asking a daft question, is there any possibility of the letter code being a lightly stamped E?

I examined the letter stamp with a jeweller's loupe, and there is absolutely no trace of any sort to indicate a light, or mis-stamped "E" - it definitely appears to me to be an "F".
I snapped this close-up pic to support my finding.
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...eriesFPrem.jpg

[Josie & John]

Premier E477 Date code 1 74

Ormicron

Thanks for confirming Ormicron,

The date tells us these pistols were part of separate batches some 6 years apart.

Kind regards,

John

[Josie & John]

Any more?

Yes, a pair from Holland but both bought separately in Sweden: Mk1 188 and Senior 684
A good initiative that might shed some light on a topic that leaves me clueless sofar.
Regards, Mike

Thank you Mike.

I recorded some notes when I spoke with Webley's former Works Manager the late Tom Cooper in 1997 but I did not press him on the logic behind batch or Assembly numbers. I now wish I had done as the only notes relating to this aspect I made were around tracing individual assemblers from the numbers, should a quality control issue be discovered. Tom was a fascinating man to talk to and there is so much more that I wish I had asked on that and several subsequent occasions.

Kind regards,

John

[webman]

There is a definite trend with the numbers recorded. The highest individual number occurs in the model with the largest number of entries. This would support the theory that we are looking at batch numbers, not numbers in a particular batch. If there were a large quantity made of one model, and batch sizes were the same for all models, then there would be more batches required for that model.

I've just added the date codes for my Premiers to my list. They don't appear to have made it to the master list yet. this is turning into a big job!

[Abasmajor]

There is a definite trend with the numbers recorded. The highest individual number occurs in the model with the largest number of entries. This would support the theory that we are looking at batch numbers, not numbers in a particular batch. If there were a large quantity made of one model, and batch sizes were the same for all models, then there would be more batches required for that model.

Hi,

I can understand a duplication of individual pistol numbers within different batches of the same model, but cannot understand why there would be any duplication of the batch number for each batch of the same model if that makes sense.

Perhaps batch number duplication is just another of those little anomalies that seem to surface from the British gun trade every now and then to stop us becoming too complacent.

Regards

Brian