Dear Mr. 45
Thank you for your post concerning the "velo dog" pistols and cartridges as well as your concern about the accuracy of the information posted on the website "Wikipedia." You wrote: "To be a true Velo-Dog revolver it must be chambered for the 5.7 Velo-Dog cartridge." As "Camping Josh" explained, sources might have been helpful. For example, in a recent article, "Velo Dog Revolver: Snubby Snoopy Sniper," author Chris Eger explains that the French firm of Galand created a small pistol it labeled the "Velo-Dog" along with a proprietary 5.5mm cartridge. (
http://www.guns.com/2012/10/11/velo-dog-revolver/). But he also notes that "by the 1920s near clones were being made by a dozen firms in almost every Western European country." Eger also explains that "the rule of thumb in collecting Velo Dogs is that if it's not chambered for the pooch [meaning 5.5mm], it's not a Dog." Other sources offer a somewhat different explanation for the meaning of the term "Velo-Dog." For example, an examination of the website of the International Ammunition Association (IAA) reveals discussions of at least three "velo-dog" cartridges: 5.5 Velo-Dog, 5.75 Velo-Dog, 5.75 x 30Rmm Velo-Dog, and 6mm Velo-Dog. In the book,
Center Fire Metric Pistol and Revolver Cartridges, Henry P. White and Burton D. Munhall, list six different "Velo-Dog" cartridges (pp. 411-412). Another, more recent source,
Evolucion del arma corta en Espana by Gil Borrallo, devotes an entire chapter to the development of the "Velo-Dog" in Spain and discusses at least five different calibers, including 5.75 x 30mmR, 6mm, 6.35mm, 8mm Lebel pistol cartridge and the .44 Bulldog (pp. 130-144). Most contemporary references to the "Velo-Dog" appear to have been to the smaller calibers. For instance, the U.S. Consul in St. Etienne, France, writing in 1910 for an article entitled "Markets for Firearms," noted "The type of revolver most popular in this region is called the 'Velo-Dog,' in which is fired a long cartridge of 6 millimeters caliber. This type is manufactured in both France and Spain." (
Monthly Consular and Trade Reports, June 1910, No. 357, p. 4). A few years later the "Velo-Dog" even made an appearance before Congress during testimony regarding "The Colorado Coal Miners' Strike," sometimes called "bloody Ludlow" or the "Ludlow Massacre." Lieutenant K. E. Linderfelt, returned to the witness table to clarify a point in his testimony. In elaborating on the death of a member of his command, he displayed a variety of particularly deadly cartridges found in the tent of one of the miners. He showed the Senators several examples, including, as he said, "a shell marked 'R W S' 'Velo-Dog,' which is a French shell, made for bicyclists in France, I understand, with a brass-copper jacket, which poisons." 64th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document 415, 64-1, vol. 8, Industrial Relations, 1916). So, it would appear that historically the term "Velo-Dog" seems to have had a broader meaning than a reference to a single pistol and cartridge.