My father was a Churchill tank commander - front row centre above. His belt appears to be loaded with different items to those either side who obviously have revolvers of some sort. What type of revolver would they have been issued with and would the tank commander have had additional items on his belt or is it that the others cannot be seen?
I wish that photo was a bit bigger so that I could get a closer look at the pistols and especially the butts protruding from the holsters. The most common revolvers in service were the .38 Enfield No. 2, the .38 Webley Mk IV (which was quite similar to the No. 2), the American made .38 Smith & Wesson Military & Police, and the older .455 Webley Mk VI. The No. 2 Mk I* Enfield had a bobbed or spurless hammer and was supposedly designed initially for use by vehicle crews. The Enfield and Webleys had squarish butts (often bakelite on the No. 2) while the Smith & Wesson had a more rounded butt.
Coincidence ? Two very similar postings on the same day....... Go have a look at this thread http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/26918-service-revolver-1940/ Ron