The Modèle 1892 was a French service revolver manufactured by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne as a replacement for the MAS 1873 revolver.
History[]
It was the standard issue sidearm for French military officers during World War I, having first been fielded in 1893. It was later used by French police officers until the mid-1960s.
Though originally designed to serve as a commissioned officer's personal sidearm, over 350,000 Modèle 1892 revolvers were produced from 1892 and 1924. It was issued to the French Army, the French Navy, and the Gendarmerie among others.
It is commonly and mistakenly referred to as the "Lebel revolver" after Colonel Nicolas Lebel, though there was not any evidence that he was involved in the development of the gun or its ammunition.
It was later replaced by semi-automatic pistols in 1935, but many saw service during World War II and were brought to the United States of America as souvenirs.
A Modèle 1892 revolver was used in the December 11th, 2018 terrorist attack in Strasbourg, France.
Design Details[]
The Modèle 1892 is a solid-frame revolver with its cylinder on a separate frame that swings out to the right for extracting spent casings and reloading. After reloading, the cylinder is then swung back into the frame and locked in place with its case-hardened, right-hand loading gate. The left-hand sideplate of the frame can be swung back on a hinge to give the user access to the weapon's internal components for maintenance.
It could fired either in single-action by cocking back the hammer and pulling the trigger, or in double-action with a full trigger pull.
The weapon is carried in a large closed leather holster that held an additional 12 rounds of ammunition hidden below the flap.
The Mle 1892 is known to be a mechanically tight, accurate, and very well-finished revolver. However, its one drawback is the low power of its 8mm cartridge, whose striking power barely reaches the level of the .32 ACP.
Ammunition[]
Originally chambered in an 8mm black powder cartridge closely resembling the .32-20 WCF round, later models of the revolver used during World War I used the same cartridge, this time loaded with smokeless powder.
References[]
- Small Arms 1914-Present: The World's Greatest Weapons by Martin J. Dougherty & Michael E. Haskew