Hello all! I inherited a .38 S&W, V3509xx from my dad, all matching numbers on the cylinder, barrel and frame at the handle bottom, does have the circular loop attached on the bottom of the handle as well. The barrel has .38 on it TWICE on the same side, like someone didn't sandblast the original stamping off completely, then 38 S&W is just to the right and clearly stamped. Any help is appreciated and photos are attached. Thank you!

Attached Images

	38SW barrel stamping.jpg (32.6 KB, 48 views)
	38SW bottom sn.jpg (15.7 KB, 36 views)
	38SW cylinder sn.jpg (33.8 KB, 38 views)
	38SW grip.jpg (30.1 KB, 24 views)
	38sw frame top.jpg (23.5 KB, 24 views)

Welcome to the forum!

You have a “Victory” model British Service revolver from WWII that was supplied under the Lend Lease Act. It’s chambered for .38 S&W, which is not the same as .38 Special. The addition barrel stamps are British proof marks, which were required for the gun to be sold commercially after the war.

A couple more photos showing the entire gun and the top of the frame would be nice!

__________________
"I also cook."

The gun is originally from mid-1943.

From the sight that‘s partially visible, it looks like it is a shortened conversion, cut in front of the barrel lug. And from the looks of the cylinder, the chambers have been reamed to fit .38 Special.

As already said, the second .38 is part of the commercial post-war proofing, in this case London proof house.

PS: Just noticed the Cogswell & Harrison marking on the frame. That fits with the style of conversion.

Thanks so much for the replies. I added additional photos. Also here's a strange one for you: The barrel measurement from cylinder front to end of barrel is 3.5". Not 2, not 4 or 5..3.5. Odd for sure.

Not odd to us. That was the usual length to which C & H cut down the original 5” barrels, which is why these conversions are preferable to most done here in the US, where the barrel was commonly cut down to the standard 2” snubnose length; that meant that the front underbarrel lug went away and the ejector rod was no longer supported. While that doesn’t make the gun unsafe, the longer cut barrel with lug like on yours offers extra stability.

Wow..such a depth of knowledge. This stuff fascinates the **** out of me anyway, and knowing it's WWII lineage is so cool to me as a WWI buff. I agree on the stability too; I also inherited a Colt .38 Detective Special with a 2" barrel..laughably inaccurate but as we know, designed for hidden backup in close range situations . God knows how old the Colt is...that's my next COVID quarantine project! Thanks again all, Chris.

I worked with an officer who shot his 2" Dick Special one year on the state police qualification, which that year included a 50 yard target. He shot a 92% with that little gun!

The problem with a snub gun is the short sight radius.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Holy ****, now that's some shooting. Guess some of those Hollywood movies aren't so unrealistic when they show those seemingly unmakeable shots (any superhero movie or similar John Wick-ish movies don't count naturally!). Funny story on the same vein as yours...my dad told a story about my 30something mom being on a bridge in Titusville FL one day messing around with this very same .38 S&W we've been discussing...back in the 50's..and a state trooper rolls up. He asks her why she's there, and she said she was sighting in the pistol on some water targets. About the time she said that, a water moccasin starts cruising across the shallow stream. The trooper pulls out his pistol and says "let me show you some shooting" and unloads his revolver on the snake. He hits nothing. The snake quickly hits the bank on the other side and stops. My mom takes her .38 S&W and blasts it in the head on the first shot from roughly 40 yards. She looked at him and said, "guess it's sighted just fine, have a nice day officer." He simply holstered his gun and walked off, apparently grumbling something about "smartxxx"!!