I noticed the same thing. At that time, only those Victories chambered in .38 S&W had 5" barrels, and those with 4" barrels left the factory chambered for .38 S&W Special. Those are two different cartridges. Are you sure that the original factory barrel stamping says .38 S&W Special CTG, or is it possibly .38 S&W CTG? So something is amiss in your description or else your Victory is not in its original as-manufactured configuration. The barrel length is measured from the front face of the cylinder to the muzzle.

The closest SN on my list to your V390652 is V389892 which shipped in 9/43.