Good posting from Old Fuff.
There is one more interesting sidelight to the S&W relationship with the British. In 1939, S&W was nearly bankrupt when the British approached them with a request to make a 9mm semi-auto rifle for them. What was really wanted was an SMG, which the British got later with the STEN, but what S&W turned out was an expensive gun, milled out of solid steel and about as heavy as an M1 rifle (8 lbs. 4 oz. without ammo).
The 1940 Light Rifle (which was S&W's name for it) could not pass the 5000 round endurance test in spite of many redesigns and tries. There were two models, the Mark I and the Mark II, with about 1000 of the former and 200 of the latter being accepted by the British. But the British had paid S&W a million dollars (equivalent to 30 million or more today) in advance and considering that they had little to show for it, they demanded their money back. Of course S&W didn't have the money, having spent it keeping the company afloat and trying to develop the rifle. So Carl Hellstrom, in his first action with S&W, got the British to accept, in lieu of a refund, a product S&W did know how to make, revolvers.
Specifically, S&W agreed to provide their Military and Police model 1905, chambered for .38 S&W, which was the same case dimensions as the British service cartridge. At the time, the M&P was not made in that caliber, so barrel and cylinder changes were required.
Production began on March 11, 1940, with the first revolvers of the British contract being, caliber aside, identical to the current commercial M&P's. The British even accepted some in .38 Special as well, which were taken from stock. Later, as production short cuts were taken, notably skipping the checkering and the S&W emblem in the grips, and the guns were Parkerized. The same gun was later provided to the U.S. in .38 Special. Those guns and guns purchased for the British by the U.S. under Lend Lease were marked "U.S. Property". That marking is not present on guns purchased directly by the British.
In early 1942, S&W was nearing the one million mark for the M&P serial numbers, but their numbering machine could handle only six digits. They considered an "A" prefix, but some advertising genius came up with the idea of using "V" ("V for Victory" was a popular slogan and sign at the time), and the "Victory Model" was born. The first, numbered V1, was produced on April 24, 1942.
It is interesting to note that the term "Victory Model" thus really applies only to those guns whose serial numbers begin with "V", and that the term was never used formally in any contract. S&W later used the term in its advertising, but in all dealings with and by the government, the gun was always called the just the Military and Police or M&P model.
The M&P is now called the Model 10, but that designation was not applied until 1958 and is not correct for a WWII era gun.
Jim
