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Gallery
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Clock-Type Spring
Patented during the Civil War, the Mershon & Hollingsworth mechanism involved a clock-type spring wound with a fold-out handle.
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Normal Fire
The button on the winding plate is a lock-out latch that allowed "normal" revolver operation.
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Hammer Block
A manual hammer-block latch prevented the hammer from cocking while the spring was being wound.
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Assembly Button
A small tab on the latch engaged a step on the hammer. Note the hand-checkering on the latch assembly button.
Among the machine guns used by all the powers involved in World War I, the Austrian Schwarzlose is often forgotten. But this simple, reliable arm saw service for more than 20 years across two world wars.
For the Union Army during the American Civil War, its officers and cavalry troopers relied on one of Colt's most notable firearms: the 1860 Army revolver.