I believe DWalt is on the right track. In a private exchange, I recently wrote the following to a fellow SWCA member:
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September, 1945, would have been the first month of postwar work, the war having concluded in August. Retooling surely took some time as well as redeveloping the network for civilian distribution. Hence, we don't see civilian shipments beginning until February, 1946.
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So far as I have been able to determine, the first large postwar shipment to a civilian destination was of .38 M&Ps to the Cleveland Police Department in February, 1946. Major shipments to distributors did not occur until the following month. I am aware of one that left the factory on March 1.
Incidentally, the revolvers sent to the Cleveland PD were in the S815xxx range. It seems obvious to me that an inventory of the M&Ps had been built up between September, 1945 and February, 1946. This is what allowed such large numbers of guns to go out the door in March and April.