I'm trying to identify an old, hand ejector model. I thought it might be a 1905 but the grip is high on the back strap like the model 10. There is no model number on it, a serial number of 190088 (if I'm not reading it upside down). 5" barrel stamped on one side for .38S&W Ctg and British marks (.38 .767" 3 1/2 TONS) on the other. It is speckled with BNP proof marks.
It will chamber both .38 S&W and .38 Special so I suspect that it got bored out somewhere along the line.
There is a hole in the butt that was probably for a lanyard loop.
I'm guessing that this was a lend-lease gun that was imported back in the late 50's or early 60's. It probably doesn't have much monetary value but it looks like a gun with a story to tell.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Attached Images

	S&W 005.jpg (38.9 KB, 407 views)
	S&W 003.jpg (164.1 KB, 359 views)
	S&W 001.jpg (31.8 KB, 372 views)

You are reading the number backwards.
It is 880061.
It is an early British Service Revolver. I'll leave it for the experts on WW II guns.

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I think you're reading the serial number upside down. Should be 880067.
Pretty much everything else you stated is correct, except that it isn't a lend-lease. (I don't think). I believe that the Brits actually purchased a great quantity of these.
Also, it will have monetary value, although I don't really keep up with value for the BSRs, I think, having been bored through for the US 38 Specials, it's probably around $400.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Welcome to the Forum.

The grips are post WW II. They may have a serial number stamped on the inside of the right one.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I was wondering if I was reading it upside down. As luck would have it, all of the digits in this serial number can be inverted! A 2,3,4,5 or 7 would have been nice.

There are some numbers on the inside of the right grip but they are difficult to make out. There are 6 digits in two rows of three. From the ones that I can read, they don't match the serial number on the gun.

Semper Fi Muley Gil.

The serial places the gun in late 1941. I don't know exactly where in the serial sequence the Lend-lease guns started, but yours is close. The finish appears to be original, although the lighting is a bit odd. I believe by that serial the blue finish had indeed been replaced by a utility finish, although the exact chronology of that is still debated.

The British marks are all post-war commercial proofs; BNP is Birmingham Nitro Proof. The marks on the butt are US ordnance inspection marks applied at the factory before the gun was shipped.

Nice old gun with a lot of history

Yes, the finish is a bit odd. I don't know if someone attempted to blue it or what. I just did notice something that I had missed. The top strap is stamped U.S. Government Property.

That would make it a lend/lease gun.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

It could well be the original, as about that time S&W had started replacing the classic pre-war Carbonia blue with a duller finish, variously referred to as "brushed blue" or black oxide, that was a step toward the phosphate finish that was adopted several months later as standard for the rest of the war.

Your photos have a bit of a strange tint from the artificial light. It might be helpful if you could get a picture or two in more natural light.

The marks WB on the butt are the initials of Col. Waldemar Broberg who was in charge of the Ordnance district in which Smith & Wesson was found. They indicate the weapon was inspected and found acceptable for service.

It is what some call a "Pre Victory". They were used by the Brits, and some went to Australia and other British locations. Quite a few of the Pre Victory's were standard blue finish.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Very nice pistol. What else is in "Grandma's Safe" and from this example, she seems to be a very cool Grandma.

Good to know, thanks. That adds to the revolver's story.

Is this gun properly known as a pre-Victory M&P, a 1905 4th Change, a .38/200 British Service Revolver or something else?

I found a good thread on the pre-victory timeline that was helpful (now that everyone has helped point me in the right direction). Pre-Victory and Victory Model Timeline

She doesn't have much in the way of handguns but she has a gallery style .22 rifle and a number of other interesting items. Hopefully, they will be a bit easier to research than this one.

Between Google and my Blue Book of Gun values I was going down a rabbit hole on this one until I got some expert guidance.

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! It is a .38 British Service Revolver. I think Lend Lease started in March 1941. So, your Grandma's gun would have been made a few weeks or months later. The first V series serials began in April 1942, IIRC.

__________________
Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

The S&W historian in his letters calls it the .38/200 British Service Model. It is a variant of the .38 Military & Police, so you can call it that, too. The Model 1905, 4th change is collector-speak; the company stopped using the year reference after WW I. We also casually refer to it as a pre-Victory or a BSR (both anachronistic terms not, as far as we know, used at the time).

So, lots of choices.

There are also differences in what people consider a pre-Victory. My preference is to use pre-Victory as pertaining only to those M&Ps made for military service (US or Commonwealth), not commercial sale. That at least establishes a start date, early 1940, when the first military shipments were made to South Africa. And a Victory is any revolver having a V or SV SN prefix, military or non-military, including those sold on the civilian market made up from leftover SV frames and components sold in 1946.

A 1941 .38/200 British Service Revolver it is! Thanks to everyone for the help. Now I have more to add to the story of the revolver that she bought for $35 when someone walked into her store, many years ago, trying to sell it.
Having been bored out for .38 special, I don't know if I would want to fire it with either .38 S&W or .38 Special but it is a gun with an interesting story to tell.

You should probably check and see if a .38 spl drops in the chamber. A lot of the lend lease guns got reamed by the importers when the came back.

Yes, it will chamber both which means that it is a bit loose for .38 Special both in the chamber and the barrel.

There are a lot of these guns out there that have been shooting 38 special for decades. Now the cases May swell or crack. But it shouldn't be unsafe to shoot. And you can always shoot 38 S&W.

Guy

__________________
Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629