Lancaster pistol

The Lancaster Pistol was a multi-barrelled (either 2 or 4 barrels) handgun produced in England in the mid-late 19th century, chambered in a variety of centrefire pistol calibres- chiefly .380", .450 Adams, .455 Webley, and .577 calibre.

Sometimes classified as a Howdah pistol, the Lancaster pistol enjoyed popularity with British officers in India and Africa during the British Raj owing to its faster rate of fire and increased reliability over contemporary revolvers. It was eventually displaced by the various Webley revolvers in the late 19th century, as revolvers became more reliable and faster to reload, thus removing many of the advantages of the multi-barrel design. A few were still in use as late as WWI, and they were well known to be solidly built and easy to maintain.

References

* Maze, Robert J. "Howdah to High Power". Tucson, Arizona: Excalibur Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-880677-17-2.