Again, the Combat Masterpiece was once a state-of-the-art fighting tool. Another reason for the 2" gun was so that LE who competed in PPC would have the perfect gun for the snub matches/off-duty.

So, in the 1950s or 60s a serious cop might have an battery something like this:

1. Combat Masterpiece (Model 15), 4" bbl: Duty
2. K-38 (Model 14), 6": Bullseye and PPC competition
3. Model 18, 4": practice, sporting use
4. Combat Masterpiece (Mod 15), 2" bbl: Off-duty, PPC competition
5. K-22 (Mod 17): Bullseye competion, practice.

Basically, this cop could master the same basic gun for all applications. Same basic trigger, weight, grips, sight picture, etc.