[*]When was this gun manufactured?
S&W records their guns based on their shipping, rather than production, dates. Based on information collected by my database collaborator, "ordnanceguy," and me, your gun would probably have shipped about March, 1944.
[*]Who was it shipped to from factory?
Virtually all guns chambered for the .38 Smith & Wesson cartridge were destined for Great Britain and the Commonwealth nations, but were shipped from the S&W factory to the Hartford Ordnance District in Springfield, just over the Connecticut/Massachusetts border. (Actually, by this time it had been renamed the "Springfield Ordnance District," but S&W records always seem to refer to it by the earlier name.)
[*]Are the grips likely original and if not, what kind of grips would it have been manufactured with?
Defintely not. Victory Models of this era would have worn plain (uncheckered) walnut stocks (with a matching SN inside the right panel).

HTH!

Steve

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CHL/NRA Instructor/RSO/Referee