Gabbett-Fairfax Mars Pistol
Webley & Scott Ltd. · Pistol · Prototype · 1900
Also known as: Mars Automatic Pistol, Webley-Mars, British Mars Pistol
Overview
The Gabbett-Fairfax Mars was the most powerful handgun in the world at the turn of the 20th century, designed by Hugh Gabbett-Fairfax and built in small numbers by Webley & Scott. It used a rare long-recoil action with a four-lug rotating bolt that stayed locked through the full rearward stroke, unlocking only at the rearmost point; the trigger had to be released before the next round would chamber. It fired bottlenecked proprietary Mars cartridges (in .45, .360/9mm and 8.5mm) with ballistics far exceeding any contemporary, but its violent recoil, rearward case ejection and complex, hand-fitted construction doomed it.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 1360 g (48.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 311 mm (12.24") |
| Barrel Length | 241 mm (9.49") |
| Action Type | Long Recoil |
| Firing Mechanism | Single Action |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Trigger Pull | 45 N (10.1 lbf) |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 381 m/s (1250 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 1040 J (767 ft·lbf) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .45 Mars Long · primary — also known as .45 Mars
- 8.5mm Mars — also known as .335 Mars
- .360 Mars — also known as 9mm Mars
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Cartridge Elevator Feed
- Safety mechanisms: Bolt Hold Catch
- Features: Rotating Bolt Four Lugs, Manual Bolt Release, Hand Fitted Non Interchangeable Parts, High Bore Axis, Rearward Case Ejection
Service history
Operators
- British War Office / Royal Navy (trials)
- French Army (trials)
Production
Estimated total produced: 80 · Production years: 1898-1907
Roughly 56-80 made, all handmade; the Mars Automatic Pistol Syndicate went bankrupt after British and French trials rejected it.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Designer: Hugh Gabbett-Fairfax
Discontinued: 1907
Notes
Sources disagree on the feed system: secondary references describe a detachable box magazine while Forgotten Weapons describes a cartridge-elevator/lifter feed; recorded here as cartridge-elevator with detachable-box magazine_type as the closest schema match. Energy figures calculated from bullet mass and velocity. Trigger pull ~10 lb (~45 N). All examples were individually hand-built with non-interchangeable parts.
Background
A Royal Navy tester reputedly said that no one who fired the Mars once ever wished to shoot it again; cases were flung back toward the shooter's face and the recoil was brutal. It survives as the textbook example of an early automatic pistol that was ballistically magnificent yet mechanically hopeless.