Picked up this one today for cheap. SN is 917XXX putting it in the circa 1941 period. This is the pre-war hand ejector that was sent to England just before the V prefix began on the war guns. It has the "black magic" finish which is a good bit more uncommon than what was used on the WWII guns. After 5 years of being in the war the magic wore off a little bit. It was loaded with oil and grease which was good. . .kept it pretty nice. The bore and cylinder chambers are mirror bright. The action is tight and perfect (after I got all the dirt and oil off). I probably removed a lot of historic WWII dirt and grunge, but just couldn't leave it the way it was. It is a vet bring back. It is covered with British proof marks which is neat. The surprising thing (to me) was that it had the "Flaming Bomb" on the butt right next to a WB and the serial number. I thought the bomb was just for our stuff. The original finish took a good bit of wear on both sides of the barrel. . .probably from the tight holster. All serial numbers match including the barrel and grips and cylinder. The seller thought it was a Victory model; but, I could tell it was too bright to be that. I paid a whopping big old $275 for it since it was so dirty you couldn't much tell anything about it. Left the parking lot with black hands from carrying the gun. . .pretty happy since I didn't have to go broke today from buying another Smith.

Attached Images

IMG_0134.jpg (107.2 KB, 236 views)

__________________
Dr. B

Nice piece. Looks like a Canadian property marking on upper left frame. This makes it even more interesting in my opinion. Good score! Ron

Mine is 91722X so it must be very early 1942 with the smooth grips. Thanks for that SN info which helps me date it a little better. The proof mark that is all over it is BNP with a crown over it. It has 3 and 1/2 tons and .38" and .767" on the barrel too. I guess that is the caliber and mm. Now I'm wondering if the BNP is a Canadian mark. It has a little arrow in a circle pointing up on the left frame sort of under the hammer, whatever that means? The BNP mark is on the cylinder 6 times. . .one time over each chamber. Any more info is appreciated. It does shoot good too. I took it out in the backyard and shot it 6 times to check function before I started cleaning it up.

__________________
Dr. B

Another question. It has a crossed swords mark with F and 8 and 3 stamped in three places between the blades of the swords on the left side of the frame right in front of the trigger. Anybody know what that means?

__________________
Dr. B

The BNP means Birmingham Nitro Proof. Which simply means it was proof tested at the Birmingham (England) Proof House using smokeless powder proof loads. The crossed swords is another Birmingham marking. The lertter "F" indicates proofing was done in 1955. I don't know what the 8 and 3 mean, probably some indication of the specific proof house employee who did the proofing.

"... It has a little arrow in a circle pointing up..." That is the British "Broad Arrow" ordnance stamping, indicating Crown Property.

The British require proof testing for any guns sold on the civilian market. In military service, there were no proof stamps, but when they were later released as surplus for civilian sale, they had to be proofed to comply with the law.

.38 is the diameter of the bullet and .767" is the case length of the .38 S&W cartridge (which the British called the ".380 Revolver, Mk2"). There should also be a "3-1/2 Tons" stamping, meaning the chamber pressure of the proof round used.

Literally boatloads of these BSRs were imported for sale in the US during the 1950s and 1960s. Many were sold by mail order from several importers, and prices at the time were typically from $20 to $35, depending upon condition and source. The few gun magazines of that period always had ads for them (along with a large variety of other surplus military weapons from anywhere and everywhere). A great many BSRs were re-chambered to .38 Special and had their barrels shortened to make them more attractive to US purchasers. Many were also re-finished (blued or nickel plated), and fitted with cheap plastic grips. You are fortunate that yours escaped the typical desecration of the imported British 38/200 Victories which is so commonly seen. Most who like to shoot anything chambered in .38 S&W will reload to avoid the logistic problems of finding ammunition. It is not difficult to reach .38 Special ballistic performance by reloading the .38 S&W (of course, only for use in solid frame revolvers).

Midway USA has .38 S&W ammo. 145gr LRN Privi Partisan for $20.00/box. Good ammo, measures .358. Remington and Magtech make it too. Easy to get. Perhaps not in 200gr.

Many internet sellers offer .38 S&W - but shipping cost can be a killer in small quantities.

shipping was 12.00 on 2 boxes at $19.27 ea.

Nice pre-victory !! Heres mine, issued to the RAF and carried by a Spitfire pilot. He took it home with him back to South Africa after the war.

I think the armorer was massively hung over when he stamped the RAF and arrow !!

Attached Images

	18868.jpg (46.2 KB, 102 views)
	SAM_0816.jpg (80.0 KB, 108 views)

Hi:

I have the exact twin to yours .. the only different is the serial #816___. The Birmingham numbers plus the crown over the BNP, crossed swords, etc. are all there. It's 5" and .38 S&W CTG. I'm Canadian and the stamp on the frame indicates that they were issued to Canadian officers after they landed in GB. Mine has the walnut grips w/ silver S&W medallions. One thing that I am puzzled with that someone might have an answer for: there is the letter P stamped following the serial number on the base of the grip.

The closet I have seen to your is s/n 918173 and it shipped 2/32. A 5" .38/200.

The closest I own to yours is s/n 877679. A .38/200 as well. It shipped 12/41.



When it shipped it was a blue, 5" bbl, Lend Lease. Someone put on a .38 special 4" barrel and chromed it. Also bored out the cylinder. I bought a Victory 5" .38SW barrel and chromed it. Now its back to a .38SW 5". Just no longer blue. Shoots pretty good.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065