My new S&W Victory Navy rescue

[singlestack2974]

I bought this S&W Navy marked Victory from GB (SN V259574) for around $300.
It came with awful plastic grips which were cracked and missing the thumb piece and lanyard loop.
I bought a set of Victory grips and a thumb piece on Ebay . You'll notice the grips are missing their screw though.
Anyone got an extra screw they wanna sell?
It's in poor condition though.
Finish seems original, stampings are crisp, hardly a turn line on the cylinder and screws aren't buggered.
But whoever stored this Victory must have been cut and bleeding while handling her because of the pitting on the cylinder and frame (near the barrel pin area).
The hammer is chipped (probably dropped).
Can't help but think someone dropped this poor revolver on its hammer and cut himself on the sharp edges of hammer and maybe left blood on the exposed metal.
Looks like it's never been fired or refinished.
Cylinder doesn't even have a turn ring. ☹️












A shot of the chipped hammer.

Can anyone tell me when she was sent out of the factory and if they were ever blued? The finish on this one looks like its blued rather than parkerized.





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[DocB]

Probably sometime in 1942 during the term of the Navy contract, although some shipped in early 1943. The Army took control of all arms contract after late 1942. The case coloring on these guns always amazes me. It doesn't seem to matter how rough the gun is, the hammer and trigger have nice colors.

[jimdvan]

Even with the pitting and the parts you had to buy I think it was a good purchase. History in your hands. Navy stuff is usually more rare than army. Except boats.

[Absalom]

Early 1943. The Navy stamping disappeared after about 3/1943, when all military Victory orders went through the Army Supply Program contracts, including to the Navy which still got most of them, and got the US property stamp.

No blue finish at that point in time. The artificial light in your photos makes the actual color impossible to discern, but the surface texture looks like the original Victory finish.

[KEN L]

Your gun most likely shipped May/Jun time frame 1943. The finish is called midnight black, which is a phosphate type finish. They weren't blued, but some parts were, such as screws extractor rods, lanyard rings. A mint one is a sight to behold!

Don't feel bad about the condition of your Navy, it could be worse!

[digi-shots]

Nice Navy rescue! They all don't have to be pretty... some just have more character than others!

Ken...... not too bad... at least yours has a lanyard ring/swivel

[DWalt]

I list numerous close-by serial numbered Navy-stamped Victories, all of which shipped in 3/1943. Yours probably did also. I'd say the finish on yours is original. It obviously has some pits, but those could have many possible causes. The highest SN for a Navy-stamped example I show is V2675xx. You did OK for $300.