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09-01-2017, 01:20 AM
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Civilian Contractor Victory Models - Where did yours letter as being sent??
I have two V-Models in my collection, one went to the Navy and is marked as such, the other which wears S/N V93056 was lettered by Roy as going to a contractor by the name of Pressed Steel Car Company in Chicago, IL.
The company built railroad cars prior to WWII and helped the war effort by producing some of the finest AFV's (Armored Fighting Vehicles) of the war.
I was able to locate a soft cover book written by Kenneth Nielsen entitled "Pressed Steel!" An Amercian Company's Contribution to Victory in WWII.
The photo on the cover is of the sole surviving M12 Gun Motor Carriage which is on display at the US Army Artillery Museum at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
Let us know where your civilian contractor Victory Model's went, and fill us in on what the contractor did for the war effort.
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Tom Graham SWCA #2303
Last edited by THREEDFLYER; 09-13-2017 at 09:33 AM.
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09-01-2017, 06:33 AM
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I have one that went to Westinghouse.
Gun is also stamped Westinghouse.
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George Jamison
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09-01-2017, 06:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THREEDFLYER
the other which wears S/N V93056 was lettered by Roy as going to a contractor by the name of Pressed Steel Car Company.
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Hi Tom:
Sounds like a neat gun with some good history. Can you tell us the exact shipping date, geographical destination and whether it bears any significant markings?
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Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215
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09-01-2017, 07:12 PM
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Mine shipped to the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company in San Francisco, CA.
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09-01-2017, 07:12 PM
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Tom, Small world. During the Korean war I spent some time at the Artillery School OCS at Ft. Sill and while waiting for orders I was given the job as Assistant Curator at the Museum. There were 100s of pieces of artillery, ordnance, self propelled guns, like the M12, etc. etc. From the battlefields around the world. Allied ordnance, as well as Jap. Nazi, Italian, Russian ordnance, etc. We had to identify them, build display ports & signs for outside displays and so forth, to organize some order to all the materials. ( Drag races up & down the parade grounds with the little German full tracked prime movers vs. Kubelwagens, etc. ) New hard surfaces and sidewalks relocations required removal of Geronimo's grave monument to a new location about 20 feet away. ( No, we didn't dig him up - he's still there, but not where the monument is ! ) Ed.
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09-02-2017, 06:38 PM
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Early Pre-Victory
The Factory letter refers to mine as a 1905 4th, Military Production. Serial #764871. Shipped 4/10/41 to Stone & Webster, Elwood, IL. One of 75 for the Kankakee Ordnance Works. 5", 38 SPL, absolutely no extra markings. Not sand-blasted, but very dull black, assume Black Magic. No wear, but appears someone bled on it. Secured through a firm that dealt in LE acquisitions.
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09-03-2017, 04:40 PM
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Mine went to the United States Defense Supply Corporation.
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09-10-2017, 04:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ordnanceguy
Hi Tom:
Sounds like a neat gun with some good history. Can you tell us the exact shipping date, geographical destination and whether it bears any significant markings?
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Finally found my Jinks letter on this one.
The shipping date was September 15th, 1942 and it went to Pressed Steel Car Co. in Chicago, IL.
As for markings, I do not recall anything significant, but I will pull it out of the safe and give it another once over.
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Tom Graham SWCA #2303
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09-12-2017, 04:39 PM
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Thank you, Tom.
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Charlie Flick
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09-12-2017, 10:41 PM
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Added some photos to my original post of the Victory that went to Pressed Steel Car Co.
You can see the ordnance bomb stamp on the butt to the left of the swivel.
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Tom Graham SWCA #2303
Last edited by THREEDFLYER; 09-12-2017 at 10:43 PM.
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09-13-2017, 08:15 AM
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I have a DSC gun. SN V12797, It went to Reed Roller Bit Co., Houston Texas, July 7, 1942.
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Don Mundell
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09-13-2017, 09:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Club Gun Fan
I have a DSC gun. SN V12797, It went to Reed Roller Bit Co., Houston Texas, July 7, 1942.
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Thanks for sharing Don, I would be curious just how many Victory Models were shipped to contractors of all that were produced?
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Tom Graham SWCA #2303
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09-13-2017, 03:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DGT
Mine went to the United States Defense Supply Corporation.
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That's interesting, as most civilian guns where ordered through the DSC to be sent elsewhere. Was the DSC the end shipping point? Maybe they had their own guard force?
Also making a place holder for when I eventually letter mine. Maybe I should start a gofundme for the VM and K22 letters.
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09-13-2017, 05:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by codenamedave
That's interesting, as most civilian guns where ordered through the DSC to be sent elsewhere. Was the DSC the end shipping point? Maybe they had their own guard force?
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No. Whether this is unusual or routine entirely depends on the shipping date. After the establishment of the DSC's control over handgun distribution in late 1941, initially the DSC ordered large quantities of revolvers from the factories to be shipped to its central warehouse, to be distributed to approved end users. These guns will letter to the DSC, not the end user, as Roy does not have that information.
At a point fairly early on, based on my (pretty sparse) data points sometime in March 1942, the DSC seems to have decided to get out of the shipping business and simply process requests and authorize direct shipments from the factory to the end user instead. From then on, factory records reveal the recipient and guns will letter accordingly.
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09-14-2017, 12:42 PM
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Victory S/N 11312...
Mine was delivered to Kobe Inc., Huntington Park, CA. Was shipped 6/10/42. Apparently a trucking company. Description provided by the letter matches perfectly, 4 inch barrel, .38 Special, midnight black, smooth walnut grips, and butt swivel. So she's an early one and all original, with no military markings obvious, not even the flaming bomb. The company was involved in fuel transport, so I imagine that was very important in wartime. My father used to tell me about gas stamps and driving limitations during the war.
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09-14-2017, 01:30 PM
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SWCA Member Absent Comrade
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron M.
Mine was delivered to Kobe Inc., Huntington Park, CA. Was shipped 6/10/42. Apparently a trucking company.....
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I seem to remember that we discussed your gun a while back and established that the Kobe trucking company was a different and unrelated concern. Your gun went to the Kobe Inc. in Huntington Park which manufactured gas and oil pump equipment.
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09-15-2017, 12:27 PM
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I mentioned above that the one I presently have was directed toward the Kankakee Ordnance Works in February 1941. The first one I ever owned, back in 1971, was US marked, GHD. The fellow I got it from was once a Civil Defense volunteer. He was issued the gun, a helmet, and a badge. When he quit, they asked for the helmet and badge, but never mentioned the gun. Wonder where it is now.
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