As a followup to my post above (#29) I obtained a letter on my Victory.

As Goony surmised the revolver was shipped in 1942 (July 11th to be exact). It was delivered to the US Navy in Norfolk, VA.

Thing is, there are absolutely no markings on the piece to indicate it was a Navy gun; were those markings added after the gun was received or were they applied by S&W? The gun shipped with a butt swivel but the hole has been filled in - and rather well, I might add.

Might this have been bought as a personal weapon by someone in the Navy?

I would like to obtain the correct grips for the gun; is an ad in the "Want to buy" section of this forum the best source?

Thank you.

Ned