S&W 1917: remembering the Brazilian Expeditionary Force

Hi Douglas, Raimundo here from Rio de Janeiro writing in english in order to our forum friends to understand.I live in Rio and your post was very good.
I had once a model 37 but as I had not yet 3 years of SFPC registration as a collector I had to pass it to another colector.May be someday I´ll buy it from him.
Greetings, Abraço, Raimundo
 
My Brazilian is also outside the SNs - 164XXX. Early Rear Site, Smooth Grips and Eagle Head acceptance stamps. A WWI left over form the parts bin.
 
Douglas,

Thank you for the great posts. Now I will have to get one to go with my 1917.

I did not realize that joining a "free" forum would cost me money!
 
Brasil ?

Douglas, Thank you for the info on 1937's. I have found only a little of the history of Brazil in WWII on the internet.

I have a very small question about the national emblem stamped on the sideplate. Why is "Brazil" not spelled "Brasil" as I have seen it on the national emblem depicted in my encylopedia and on various products from Brazil I have owned, encluding several Taurus revolvers? Did S&W make a spelling mistake?

Dan T.
 
Douglas, very informative posts. I never knew Brazil sent troops to Europe.
 
Douglas, thank you for your informative and interesting post. I recall the Brazilian contingent in Italy, but I was not aware they were in the Suez peace effort.
 
dangt said:
I have a very small question about the national emblem stamped on the sideplate. Why is "Brazil" not spelled "Brasil" as I have seen it on the national emblem depicted in my encylopedia and on various products from Brazil I have owned, encluding several Taurus revolvers? Did S&W make a spelling mistake?

Dan T.
Click to expand...

Dan,

S&W didn't make any mistake. That's was the way that country's name was spelled until 1943, when an orthographic revision was made. Since then, "Brasil" is the correct spelling.

However, I think that, for the guns delivered in 1946, the old spelling would be incorrect.

I hope you had found the links provided concerning Brazil in WWII interesting.

Ray,

Good to see another Brazilian here. I'm a collector for 15 years, so I already have all the requirements needed own this kind of gun.

Greetings from São Paulo.

Douglas.
 
It is interesting to note that Brazil, entered the War in August 1942 and was the only South American country to send combat troops to Europe. Other countries from this region waited until 1945 to declare war and then largely to insure membership in the United Nations. Nine other countries also sided with the U.S. in December 1941, providing assistance to the U.S. in the form of transit facilities and sea and naval bases, with Mexico as the only one to provide some military assistance.
 
THanks for your interesting and informative post. I have a Brazillian contract 1937, and I really like it. It is nice to learn more about them.
 
My Brazilian has S/N 1707XX, and was dated by Roy as in the Apr. 1946 shipment. One of the leftover WW1 frames they "found" in the plant, and used to build the 1946 contract. Mine came with early WW1 concave top grips. It is a great shooter.
 
H Richard said:
My Brazilian has S/N 1707XX, and was dated by Roy as in the Apr. 1946 shipment. One of the leftover WW1 frames they "found" in the plant, and used to build the 1946 contract. Mine came with early WW1 concave top grips. It is a great shooter.
Click to expand...
That is very interesting that it has those stocks. What kind of condition are they in? I ask because many of these were used hard. As Douglas has shown, many saw combat under extreme conditions.
 
Last edited:
Douglas-

Wonderful photos and I loved reading your posts.

I've read the books by jaguar hunter Sasha Siemel, who came to Brazil from Latvia, around the time of World War One. I believe that he and his brother left Latvia when the Russians annexed it. Siemel also used S&W revolvers, mainly in .44 caliber, but also was given a .357 Magnum by the company in the 1930's. His stories of the Mato Grosso are fascinating.

How large was the Brazilian force sent to Italy? (How many soldiers?)

I hope that you will post often. Welcome to the board. :) All of your information was very interesting, although I knew about the P-47 fighters.

Texas Star
 
Last edited:
n4zov said:
It is interesting to note that Brazil, entered the War in August 1942 and was the only South American country to send combat troops to Europe. Other countries from this region waited until 1945 to declare war and then largely to insure membership in the United Nations. Nine other countries also sided with the U.S. in December 1941, providing assistance to the U.S. in the form of transit facilities and sea and naval bases, with Mexico as the only one to provide some military assistance.
Click to expand...


I think that Mexican pilots flew P-47's in the Phillipines. And I knew that Brazilian pilots had these in Italy.

But I have no idea whether either scored any air-to-air kills.
They may have flown entirely fighter-bomber missions.

Of the American countries, Argentina may have been most in sympathy with Germany, perhaps Paraguay. Many Nazis settled there after the war, I think.

T-Star
 
Last edited:
Ray said:
Hi Douglas, Raimundo here from Rio de Janeiro writing in english in order to our forum friends to understand.I live in Rio and your post was very good.
I had once a model 37 but as I had not yet 3 years of SFPC registration as a collector I had to pass it to another colector.May be someday I´ll buy it from him.
Greetings, Abraço, Raimundo
Click to expand...


Raimundo-

What's this about? :confused: Do you have to have a collector's license for years to own an old .45 revolver?

Are any calibers banned there, as being only for military use?

Are the Beretta 9mm pistols well regarded by Brazilian troops? I know that Taurus now has that factory. Is Taurus as a brand well thought of there?

Is the FN 7.62mm FAL still the army rifle?

We don't hear much about Latin American countries up here.
Even the natural disaster in Chile got minimal coverage. The media is too fascinated with Haiti. (I think I know why, but probably can't post it here.) Most of what I read about concerning Argentina or Chile has to do with their fine wines. But of Brazil, we learn very little, apart from your famous models, like Ana Beatriz Barros, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Adriana Lima, who are famous here, too.

It's good to see you on the board.

T-Star
 
Last edited:
Douglas,

Thank you for a refreshingly informative post (and pictures!). Do you own any more S&W's?

Best Regards,

Jerry
 
Hi Texas Star the brazilian situation is very grim indeed.The original poster already stated the allowed calibers for "normal" civilians.I prefer instead to call them serfs , dupes of a series of very corrupt and criminal governments.This caliber restriction can be traced back to the Getulio Vargas dictatorship ans here I´m not sure - from the late thirties to the early fifties.At some point in that time span certain calibers were excluded for posession by civilians.
Today as the OP affirms, only the ones who register with the army as collectors or shooters can posess non civilians calibers as 9 mm, 45 ACP and all rifle numbers except the 44.40 Win.
Well maybe we are not in the same level of gun control of Cuba but we, sure as hell are going straight for it.
Best Regards and fell free to ask any question, Ray.
 
Last edited:
Texas Star said:
Are any calibers banned there, as being only for military use?

Are the Beretta 9mm pistols well regarded by Brazilian troops? I know that Taurus now has that factory. Is Taurus as a brand well thought of there?

Is the FN 7.62mm FAL still the army rifle?
Click to expand...

T-Star,

Thanks for your compliments but you forgot Gisele Bündchen! Shame on you pal!:)

Seriously, if you want few more details about the draconian gun laws in Brazil, check the message #18 on this very same topic. There you will find a brief explantion how the things work here for gun enthusiasts...

The Fal in 7,62mm (or .308 NATO) is still in use with Brazilian Army. There are several plans to have it replaced for a new generation .223 Rem assault rifle but not much is heard about it. The fact is: the FAL is still highly praised by our soldier. I have several friends that are officers and they all enjoy the rifle and his large caliber. The FAL is also carried by some Law enforcement special units, in their fight agains drug dealers. They also love it.

On the other hand, I never heard any complain about the Taurus pistols. They had been in service since 1976 and worked well. There are a few IMBEL M973 pistols, which is a M1911 clone but in 9mm Luger. It is the same gun that is sold by Springfield Inc. in US.

Taurus company was owned by S&W during several years and only in 1971 it became a entity with Brazilian shareholders majority. Hence, mos of its revolvers still hava a strong influence of those designed by S&W.

Feel free to ask any further questions!

Douglas
 
Sorry for dragging this up. I just stumbled across the post when I googled Brazilian 1937.. Having one of these, I had no idea about Brazils involvement in WWII. What an intersting story. I've just spent the last hr. googling articles on the Brazilian involvement. Some great reads out there that might give anyone with a Brazilian 1917 a little more respect for that country and their revolver. Thanks for this post even if it is a few years late.
 
1-1917 said:
Sorry for dragging this up. ...
Click to expand...
No need to apologize, I'm sure a lot of folks here have never seen this fascinating thread.

It helps explain why the Brazilians in the 1938 shipment often show much more use and abuse than those from the 1946 shipment. Not only were they in use a lot longer, but they also went through a war.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Douglas Jr.
PRESENTATION: BRAZILIAN SMITH & WESSON MODEL 1917 REVOLVER RIG (1942 PATTERN)
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
noonster
N
T
Smith and Wesson model 1917
Replies
10
Views
468
StrawHat
StrawHat
S
Brazilian 1917 Gun Show find
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
Douglas Jr.
Douglas Jr.
A
S&W Commercial 1917 transition pistol
Replies
8
Views
492
handejector
handejector
4
1917 Commercial
Replies
9
Views
652
VaTom
V

Latest posts

Back
Top