" overall, with blued barrel with raised sighting rib
engraved MARS PISTOL 8.5mm, round rotating bolt with twin cocking lugs, blued
frame with two long cylinders housing the recoil springs extending under the
barrel, bright hammer, grooved trigger, magazine with lanyard-ring, smooth
walnut grips, and some original blued finish. The Mars pistol was developed in
1900 by Hugh Gabbet-Fairfax, a Birmingham inventor, with the intention of
producing the most powerful military pistol possible. The first twelve
prototypes were made by Webley & Scott under the direction of William Whiting
who went on to design Webley's successful series of self-loading pistols. The
Mars were available in 8.5mm, 9mm and .45 (both long & short chambering), all to
Gabbet-Fairfax's design, and were noted for having exceptional ballistics. The
.45 Long produced a very impressive muzzle velocity of 1,250 fps whilst the
8.5mm produced an incredible 1,750 fps (compare with the contemporary .45 Colt
Auto at 855 fps, .455 Webley Auto at 700 fps and the 9mm Parabellum at approx.
1,100 fps). The British War Office tested the pistol as a possible replacement
for the .455 Webley service revolver but ultimately rejected it due to the
demand for special ammunition and the excessive recoil caused not only by the
powerful cartridges but also by the complex long recoil mechanism, which did not
lend itself to cost effective production. Another drawback of the design was
that the fired cases were ejected out of the back of the pistol directly into
the face of the firer. Having failed to interest the military the design did not
prove to be a commercial success. Gabbet-Fairfax was declared bankrupt by 1903
and production was resumed by the Mars Pistol Syndicate, although this too
suffered bankruptcy in 1907. It is not known exactly how many Mars pistols were
manufactured, most estimates being between 60 and 80, although one pistol is
known with a serial number of 195. To quote a contemporary of Gabbet-Fairfax,
'...he allowed his ideas to wander in the direction of high ballistics, and his
pistols accordingly took on the form of young cannon.
A very rare pistol in good working order and excellent condition not
for sale
the following pistols are sold, kept only for information
Gabbet-Fairfax Mars Self-Loading / Semi-Automatic Pistol
serial # 16, cal. .45 Mars, 9½" barrel marked on the rib
MARS PISTOL 0.45
