WWII Handguns

[Jim K]

The cylinder length indicates that it is chambered for the "Velo-Dog" cartridge, a 5.6mm (.22 caliber) round used in the late 19th century by bicyclists to fend off attacking dogs. The "velo" comes from an old term for bicycle, "velocipede." It is a center-fire round, not rimfire, and makers of inexpensive revolvers, mainly in Belgium, met the demand by lengthening the cylinders of already existing revolvers chambered for shorter rounds.

While weak by modern standards, the Velo-Dog was significantly more powerful than the .22 Short and .22 Long then in use.

While a Velo-Dog revolver may have been carried as a personal weapon by a WWII combatant (though it would have been obsolete even then), no such gun was ever adopted or used officially by any nation, any time. That is why it is not listed in any book of military pistols.

Jim

[AlReiter]

Many thanks for everyones input.
Al