Welcome to the forum. The first V-prefix serial numbers went out in 1942, and the production clip was pretty fast. I bet your gun is from 1943.
I agree that your victory was polished and nickeled, probably in a postwar refinish. Note that the gun is marked on the barrel for the .38 S&W cartridge, which is not the same as the .38 S&W Special. The United States provided hundreds of thousands of lend-lease guns to Commonwealth countries during WW2 that were chambered in the .38 S&W round, which shot a heavier bullet from a case that carried less powder. After the war, when many of the lend-lease guns were reimported to the US, they were refinished and had their chambers lengthened to take the .38 Special cartridge, which is slightly longer. Test your gun to see if all chambers take a .38 Special round; if so, the cartridge conversion was probably done at the same time as the refinishing.
There are tiny case diameter differences between the .38 S&W and .38 Special rounds, so the brass of .38 specials can sometimes swell slightly in converted guns. Split cases are even reported on occasion. That doesn't mean they are unsafe to shoot, but you should be aware of the situation. The manufacturing tolerances were loose enough that sometimes you will find a .38 Special revolver that can chamber .38 S&W cartridges; theoretically you shouldn't be able to stuff a wider cartridge in a thinner hole, and most of the time you can't. But we're talking about only thousandths of an inch here.
Nice family heirloom. Keep it in good shape for future generations. Thanks for posting.
