I have what I believe to be a Victory model S&W 6 shot 38 revolver' It has a lanyard ring and is a 4 screw model. The serial numbers read as follows.
v 779586 p on the barrel
p v 779586 on the cylinder
s v 779586 on the frame
There are spaces between the letters and the numbers just as I have written them. I don't understand the significance of the letters and why they are arranged differently on the barrel,frame,and cylinder.

Please delete this message. See next post.

You have a late wartime Victory Model. The Serial number is V779586. The "p" stand for "proof" The "s" was stamped to indicate the gun has had the later wartime Safety hammer block installed. The p & s are not part of the serial number. Earlier Victory Models had the older style 2nd model safety block that could fail if the gun was not kept clean. A WW2 Navy sailor was killed when he failed to keep his Victory Model clean from Cosomoline, dropped it and was mortally wounded by a round when it fired. The Navy requested S&W to redesign the safety block, which was done, and later guns were stamped with the "s" to indicate the change. Ed.

Welcome to the Forum.

Is the SV 779586 located on the butt? If so, it has been upgraded to a newer internal safety.

Does the caliber marking on the barrel read ".38 S&W special" or ".38 S&W"? These are two different calibers.

There should be four screws in the sideplate and one in front of the trigger guard. That would make it a 5 screw.

How long is the barrel, measuring from the front of the cylinder to the end of the barrel?

Pictures are always helpful.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Probably not, at least not in the sense it was upgraded after initial production. By SV 779586, the SV-series production was in full swing, and it would have been manufactured with the improved hammer drop safety. There were no SV-series revolvers produced which were chambered in .38 S&W, only .38 Special.

I would be surprised if V 779586 turned out to be a 5" BSR as it falls into early 1945 when BSR production had effectively stopped.

Although reality does not appear to confirm perfectly to the general rule, V769000 is presumed to be the start of SV production with the new safety as Ed described above, and your gun seems safely beyond that line; someone else may have more current data, but to my knowledge there have been no confirmed SV-serialed BSR's.

You can confirm the safety installation by the presence of an S stamped onto the sideplate, above the right grip panel.

Thanks for your response. There is a S above the right grip.

The barrel is marked 38 smith and wesson special ctg