Ron64
Congrats on your acquisition of the S&W Model 39-2! Looks to be in great shape and with most of the paraphernalia that used to come with the guns.
Another interesting bit of history concerning the Model 39 is that in 1950 it was supposedly designed and built according to NATO specifications for the next service pistol in 9mm. The U.S. Army ran various tests and evaluations in the early '50s (there were also three other competitors: a Colt Commander, an Inglis Hi-Power, and some sort of prototype from High Standard) but by 1955 the Army lost interest, canceled any further tests, and continued on with the M1911A1. This left S&W with the commercial market and law enforcement contracts in which to sell it's pistol. In the mid to late '60s S&W finally managed to get a large order from the Illinois State Police for the Model 39 and more city's police departments followed suit with purchasing the 9mm.
The Tripartite Conference in November 1952 recommended the United States, Great Britain and Canada standardize the 9mm Parabellum cartridge for use with a handgun. In addition, the Tripartite Conference further recommended the countries involved seek a new, lighter and cheaper handgun to fire the new round of ammunition. In May 1952 the U. S. Army tested various types of lightweight
pistols and revolvers to determine their
suitability for use by the Army Field Forces. On 30 March 1953 the Army recommended the Colt Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1, be reclassified as limited standard, and the Colt Automatic Pistol, 9mm Commander Model, Lightweight be standardized for Army Field Force use. This recommendation was disapproved when the Secretary of the Army cancelled the development of a lightweight pistol because of the present number of caliber .45 pistols on hand.
The High Standard pistol was the T-3 and was actually developed in 1952 under contract (DA-19-059-ORD-25) to the Army to the following specifications:
a. The semi-automatic pistol shall not weight more than twenty-nine (29) ounces with the magazine, without the cartridges.
b. The over-all length shall not exceed seven and one half (7-1/2) inches, which length shall be measured parallel to the axis of the bore.
c. The Pistols, which the Contractor shall endeavor to fabricate hereunder, shall be capable of firing the 9mm Parabellum cartridge using barrels which shall be fabricated to Remington special chamber and rifling specifications.
d. The magazine capacity shall be 7 to 10 rounds in Single Row.
e. The trigger shall be double action and similar to the previous T3 Pistols.
f. The design shall be such that the Pistol may be fired with mittened hand.
g. The Pistol shall function in temperature from minus 65 F and 165 F, and the Pistol shall also function satisfactorily, using either the 9mm or Caliber .34 barrel and ammunition respectively.
h. The Pistol shall be capable of being field stripped without the use of any tools.
