It was my grandpa’s gun.S&W.38 5” barrel serial V 768xxx. Lanyard loop.

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Welcome to the forums from the cotton and peanut covered plains of the Wiregrass! Your GP's gun is a WWII Victory British Service Revolver that was likely made in 1945.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

It is a very late-war Lend-Lease British Service model likely from January 1945. (as Guy typed faster than I )

It may have been in one of the last shipments going to Britain. In that month, the last contracts for these to go to Britain were cancelled, because the end was in sight, and the Victory serials above your number are .38 Special US variants.

We know yours made it to Britain since it has a beautifully clear set of commercial Birmingham proofs.

Welcome to the Forum.
What you have there is a Victory Model Lend lease gun with British proof marks from around 1943 to 1944 there bouts. Enjoy nice gun. Rick

V768xxx would have shipped very late in 1944, and possibly into early 1945. The "V" prefix was replaced by the "SV" prefix at at close to that serial number, in fact there are "SV" prefixes with even lower SNs than yours. The earliest SV SN I have listed is SV732261, but that seems to be a singular example of being that low. The next lowest SV SN on my list is SV761613. The reason for adding the S was to show that it incorporated the newer improved hammer drop safety.

Thanks for the info. I’m just curious why it’s .38 and not .38 special or .45 like the other ones I’ve seen.

The same revolver was chambered in .38 S&W Special (for U. S. military use), and in .38 S&W for British commonwealth military use. The British called the .38 S&W cartridge the ".380 Revolver Mk 1 (or Mk 2)." Those in .38 Special normally had a 4" barrel length, while the British .38 S&W version used a 5" barrel. Most .45 revolvers would have been relics of WWI, and are of a different design.

Thanks guys.

Nice old revolver. Welcome to the forum from balmy North Dakota

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John

One important note: Many of these British Service Revolvers, while originally chambered in the relatively short, fat 38 S&W/380-200, were later subjected to a deepening of their chambers to accept 38 Special. In most cases, this simply gives you fired brass with a fat base and a slight bottleneck, while others allow cases to swell enough to crack. Regardless, they will still fire modern 38 S&W ammo with perfect satisfaction. I would suggest you stick with that ammo.

Froggie

The SV guns went into production in December, 1944, and none were shipped until January, 1945.

I also show SV732261 as the lowest number located so far. It shipped on June 29, 1945.

But I also have one listed at SV737936 (no ship date yet). The rest are SV761xxx or higher.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318