Webley Junior
Webley Junior Pre War - Earliest Known Model.
Courtesy of Leonardj.
This Junior bears the SN of "J121", which is described by M. H. Newcomer, in Part III of his article on Webley Air Pistols, back in the June 1978 issue of Guns Review, as being the "earliest known Junior".
Another reference to this same Junior can be found in the 3rd Edition of the book Airpistols, by Dennis Hiller.
Webley Junior (cased prewar tin grip)
Webley Junior schematics
See here:
Webley Junior tin grip concentric underlever conversion
With thanks to John G, author of the Encyclopedia of Spring air Pistols, who says at p.457:
This major modification of a Webley Junior pistol has been carried out very thoughtfully by an unknown, and most probably professional, enthusiast, resulting in a compact concentric trigger-guard cocking pistol, which might be considered as a hybrid between the Abas Major and the Anson Star. To achieve the conversion, the cylinder has been removed and turned upside-down so that the cocking link channel is now under the cylinder. The old breech block has been cut off and the air transfer port sealed, probably by the new rear sight. The smoothbore brass barrel runs concentrically with the cylinder and the breech is accessed for loading by unscrewing a breech inserter pin. The trigger guard underlever appears to have been cast, or skilfully forged, from steel, which would have been beyond the capabilities of the average amateur. The pistol performed well and was quite powerful for its size and age.
REFERENCE
AG (JA) Feb 2015, p.79. Illustrated discussion of the pistol
He adds:
It would be great if it could be proven to be a genuine Webley prototype, but the lack of any mention of it in those Webley records that have survived speaks against this. Even so, the fact that the patina on all the parts seems to match, and is very similar to that found on other well-weathered unboxed 'tin' grip Juniors, does suggest that the modification was probably done before the War, when the original pistol was not very old.
The other interesting point is that if it was made pre-war, then this pre-empts the Abas cocking design.