Very interesting gun.

First of all, it is one of the, if not the earliest Lend-lease marked guns I have encountered. An 873-serial is quite low for the property stamp. It is not a Victory, as it was made before the V-prefix started, but collectors would refer to this as a pre-Victory. It is legitimately a variant of the M&P or (collector speak again) Model 1905, 4th change.

There was an early shipment directly to Australia around May 1941 (one member here has a gun that lettered to that shipment), but Lend-lease guns were sent from the factory to Hartford depot, and further distribution to overseas destinations is outside our documentable knowledge. Shipments may have gone to countries other than Britain directly, but I also have a pre-Victory with markings showing it first went to Britain and then to the Australians.

I'm not sure whether the D-arrow-D in this case is an Australian mark. All the D^D stamps I've seen on Aussie guns were applied post-war, in the 50s, on top of the Lithgow refinish and on the other side of the frame in a much smaller size. But Charles Pate says that the arrow mark on Australian guns may be found in several places, so anything is possible. This one has not been refinished and I see no other marks. I do not see the Canadian arrow-in-a-C either.

Do you know anything else about its history?