Spanish Smith & Wesson M1884 ONÁ Revolver .44

 

 

 

• Also known as the Spanish S&W Model 7
• Manufacture: Orbea Hermanos in Spain
• Action: Double Action
• Capacity: 6 round cylinder top break design
• Barrel Length: 5½"
• Weight: 2lbs
• Cartridge Caliber: .44 Russian (11mm)
• Spanish Military Service: 1884 - 1903

 

In 1884 the Spanish S&W ONÁ revolver became the recommended service sidearm of the Spanish army. Like the Model 3, Spanish officers and soldiers had the option to purchase and carry. These revolvers were manufactured in Spain, unlike the original Model 3's manufactured at the S&W factory in the United States. The updated Spanish version would be named Model 7 ONÁ, which had few aesthetic differences, equipped with double action, and a shorter barrel. Once the 1896 Revolution broke out, Spanish soldiers from Spain were shipped off to the islands. Many of these S&W revolvers were captured by Filipino revolutionaries. And after the Span-Am War, many Spanish soldiers joined the Philippine revolutionary government against the United States; taking along with them stock piles of Spanish weapons. The S&W revolver would be one of the many handguns scattered through out the Philippine Islands.

 

The Spanish copied Smith and Wesson revolver became very popular even after the turn of the century. This same exact model revolver would be contracted out to the British Military during World War I. They would continue manufacturing other S&W firearms up to the Second World War.