Looked at the dates in The Winchester Book. Per Madis, there are little or no records kept during WWII. However, Madis reported that 1,290,000 to 1,4600,000 were the serial numbers made during the war. Mine is 1,450,XXX and falls right in there. Per the owner, his dad bought it during the war in 1944. The upper tang has no markings, but has never been touched and looks just as worn as the rest of the gun. Might have been a war time cutback to not mark it. It really is a nice weapon. Per Madis, from 43 to 48, there are no records. Go figure.
Jerry