The standard US rifle in the Vietnam War was the M16, which was a .22 caliber. Hollywood’s famed ‘most powerful handgun in the world’ was a .45 caliber. But why did the British Army in the late 1860s request the Webley company develop a massive .57 caliber revolver?
Answer: The Webley No 1. Revolver was adopted for army use in 1872 to provide stopping power against the fanatical and powerfully built adversaries encountered in colonial warfare, some of whom would keep on coming when shot with a .45.
Source: Pistols and Revolvers by Major Frederick Myatt MC
