S&W U.S. Navy Victory Model

NIGHTLORD40K said:

It amazes me that there was a war on, yet they had time to do that fine checkering on the top of the spur instead of just some horizontal grooves- same with the nice lettering and ejector ball. Compared to the wartime Webleys, the Victories were pretty lavish!
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I think that's the difference between wartime production where your industrial base is well protected from attack and wartime production where your industrial base is a military target almost every night.

Received some Starline brass and 146g RNL bullets last week so I can faten up my reserve ammo for this pistol.

I have one that’s not government stamped. Just wondering if it got missed or what?

MJ said:

Received some Starline brass and 146g RNL bullets last week so I can fatten up my reserve ammo for this pistol.

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The proper load for that revolver would have 200 gr. bullets. (It's the British .380/200 loading.) The sights are regulated for that cartridge.

I just ordered some of that ammo from Matt's Bullets.

(BTW, the British later went to 176 gr. jacketed bullets, since it was believed that unjacketed lead bullets violated the Hague Convention. Nevertheless, they continued to use the lead-bullet ammo in WW2, because supplies were short.)

I can only find the 146g LRN in the correct diameter. I can live with that for now. Seems to work on the rats in the barn just fine. LOL

Oldman11

I have one that’s not government stamped. Just wondering if it got missed or what?

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My non-Victory model is not marked "U.S. Navy" or "United States Property". I believe there was a government agency that saw to it that security guards working at defense plants and important strategic installations were armed with the same S&W revolvers everyone else was using. My revolver does has the letters "G.E. CO." electro-pencilled on the right side plate. Might have been for use at some General Electric Co. plant.

Oldman11 said:

I have one that’s not government stamped. Just wondering if it got missed or what?

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Bannockburn - Does your revolver have the "V" prefix? MIne is not gov. marked either ; nor does it have the "V" ; it is a DSC - Defense Supply Corp. - piece supplied to the Arkansas Ordnance Plant. ( Which , by the way , was staffed primarily by women , and guarded by individuals who took very good care of their sidearms...) The I.D. is nicely stamped on the back strap.

Oldman11 , your wartime S&W was also probably a DSC. Some , not all were I.D.'d by their assigned users. U.S. Navy marked pieces such as the beauty shown by Gunny generally bring a higher premium than the non "V" , non U.S. or Navy marked ones. Mine was inside of $400 ; Gunny did well at his price. The Navy marked revolvers are quite desirable. (That's code for envy on my part , Gunny.)

Waveski

My S&W does not have a "V" prefix or any other markings for that matter. More than likely it's a DSC gun; probably, as I previously posted, sent to a General Electric plant somewhere in the U.S. and marked by them.

Gunny

Now that's more like it!

I have one of these, but a little different;

.38 S&W, 6” pencil barrel, polished & blued, no Navy or other markings except standard S&W marks. Has lanyard loop.

It has proof info and marks stamped on bbl, frame, and cyl. Symbol of a crown and letters BNP, on bbl is: .38” .767” 3 1/2 TONS
700,000 sn range, no V or other prefix. Good to VG condition. Beyond that I don’t know anything about it, a lady I worked with many years ago knew I like guns and gave it to me.

Did any as described like this go to Britain as Lend Lease maybe?

Or maybe just a Brit gun when they were still allowed to own guns?

Interesting thread

Driftwood Johnson said:

I still can't figure out why S&W wanted the hammer to block the sights on the Victory Models. I have lots of old Smiths, and I can see the sights on all of them with the hammer down. Maybe Smith thought WWII service men did not need to see the sights for double action shooting.

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The hammer blocks the sights on this one-- a .32 HE that shipped in August of 1916. (Red background in your honor, sorry about the shadow!)