Recent content by ordnanceguy

Greetings: I assume that the top strap marking is actually ð U.S. PROPERTY G.H.D rather than "United States Property". Except for 2 inch guns the latter top strap marking was used only Lend Lease .38-200 5 inch guns. Accordingly, your V346829 was likely shipped in the June-July, 1943 time...

We'll be there. It remains the best show in Florida. Always lots of nice Smiths to be seen. Regards, Charlie

Hello Lyle: Nice Victory. Thanks for adding its data to the Victory Model Database. I will look forward to learning about your other Victories when you post them. Your S&WHF is a little bit confusing in that it implies a direct military connection which I don't think was the case. The...

I saw a box of that stuff for sale at the S&W Collectors Association Symposium in June. I did not need it so did not make a note as to which member had it for sale. Sorry, not much help but that stuff is pretty scarce so communicating with collectors is probably a good bet. Regards, Charlie

Perfect, bdgreen. Thank you. Charlie

Thanks, Jack. I'll update it. Charlie

Neat guns. Do you have a shipping destination for SV812256? It has been listed in the Victory Model Database since it was sold at auction some years ago, but no shipping date or destination was known when it was added to the Database. Thanks. Regards, Charlie

s3dcor: Nice job on the ammo boxes. Genuine examples are not impossible to find but can be difficult to locate. Your RCAF rig should end up looking like this all-Canadian rig in my collection. . Is your revolver marked RCAF like my example is on the left side aft of the cylinder latch? Can...

Hello Arisaka: I congratulate you on a nice catch. Your new Victory will indeed letter as having shipped to the OSS at Rosslyn VA. I am happy to hear that my research allowed you to recognize this one for what it is. Knowledge is power, as they say. It took me many, many years of work...

Hello Yessir: Your revolver likely shipped in the April-June, 1943 time frame. It was a Lend Lease contract gun. The hammer and the trigger have been refinished from the original case color hardening. That suggests to me that the entire piece has been refinished. The holster is not USGI...

In addition to Kevin's comments above, unless I miss my guess I believe that the person who bought the revolver is a collector who knows more about the alloy guns and the Aircrewman revolvers in particular than perhaps anyone else on the planet. In my view that gun is totally legit and was a...

Hello Lyle: Gosh, we have not seen you around these parts in years! It is nice to have you back. I hope that you stick around. On the Coast Guard guns, you wondered about the quantity shipped to it during WW2. I don't know the total and I am sure that it would take considerable digging to...

I think this pre-Victory went to New Zealand.

Hello Historian 13: Thanks for your PM. I have returned from my travels with the family and will try to answer the questions you posed. I hope this does not come across as hopelessly pedantic but the first question to ask is what is an OSS Victory? Is it one that factory records will show as...

.444 Magnum: That's a stumper. I am a Miami native and have lived here all my life. I have never heard of Keys or Keep Wholesale. However, I ran a corporate record search for you and found that back in the early 1960s (a time of tremendous change in Miami with the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay...