I admit I'm not up on the older Smith & Wessons, but that photo is rather blurry.
Could it, instead, be a European copy of the S&W? Spain and Belgium were particularly bad for ignoring international patents and producing nearly exact copies of American and British firearms.
These copies varied in quality from okay to dangerous to fire.
I've seen some Spanish copies of Smith and Wesons that were obviously pot metal. The giveaway is typically the lack of Smith & Wesson markings, but there is usually a reference on the barrel to Smith & Wesson and the cartridge, spelled out or an acronym.
I'm not disputing you, DickM, but considering that the poster's father brought it back from Europe, it could very well be an inferior copy.