The 1851 Navy was a scaled up, .36-caliber version of the 1849 Pocket Model. It immediately found a huge following among soldiers and civilians alike and was eventually adopted by both the U.S. and the British military. By the start of the Civil War, Colt had refined the Navy pistol into a sleek, streamlined revolver with an improved loading lever. The 1861 Navy is often touted as the most handsome Colt ever built.
