I have been trying to find out if the 38-44 HD was ever issued by a military service (any country), but have been unable to find anything.

Is anyone aware of the HD ever being used by a military?

HD picture, just because...

Not exactly Military service but I once had a HD marked BAC (Boing Aircraft Security Guards) during the war.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I am not aware of any. Patton had his RM so maybe an officer might have chosen one.
Here are a few pre war all LE


And a Houston pre war HD



Hopefully someone knows answer

I don't know if it was used by the military but it was our issue revolver when I joined the PD in 1969.

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Dogs are better than people.

Just curious MDF
What department ?
Blue or Nickel (Texas if that's where you started seemed partial to Nickel) Seems most all of Austin PD HDs were nickel. Most in 4" but I recall seeing one in 6" somewhere

My father carried one as an MP during WWII.

mchom They were Nickel 4inch.

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Dogs are better than people.

Here is an Austin gun after the contract referb by S&W. I tried to get my old gun show partner to sell it to, but no.

Attached Images

Austin pd hd 001.jpg (156.3 KB, 53 views)

Well now that surprises me---unless MP's could carry whatever they wanted (within reasonable restrictions)---and that would surprise me too.

Just goes to show you you don't know everything---every time you learn something new!!

Ralph Tremaine

Also curious... any idea if it was issued or a personal gun?

The main reason I'm trying to find out is that our local range has a "Military" rifle pistol match, where the guns used must have been military issue somewhere in the world, prior to the kickoff of the Korean War. The gun itself doesn't have to have been military, just of a type that was issued, and in the same configuration as issue (i.e. no target sights on a 1911, etc).

I'd like to be able to run one of my HDs in the match, but haven't been able to establish that HDs were ever used by a military.

This one was owned by PFC E (Edward) C Parks of Lee County, Virginia. He was a member of the 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division and was KIA in Korea in February of 1951. Presumably he had this gun engraved while he was in Japan before going to Korea. I doubt that he carried it while on active duty but there's really no way to know one way or the other. Almost certainly was not an issued piece.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Actually it would be a 1917 or a Victory Model.

But the exception was some people took their own handguns in. I read one of the books that was made into the mini series, "The Pacific" and a relative mailed a .38 caliber revolver to a Marine. I read another article where a Police Chief gave a local boy a revolver before he left for the war.

It was a personal gun.

That is personal property and it is a beauty.

What year was it produced? Thank you for sharing.

1937/38 according to the Standard Catalog, I haven't lettered it or bothered the good Dr. Jinks for a ship date.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I believe that was Eugene Sledge and his father sent him a 1917 revolver, probably a Colt.

Skeeter Skelton took a pair of .38 M&Ps to the Pacific with him.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

You should. I just this week got my letter on this .38/44. I'll post a picture this week.

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Come and take it!!

There was a program early in WWII where the Government was buying several types of firearms from civilians for military use.

It was definitely an issue gun. He was a grunt. There is a story behind it. The "leather" they were issued was truly ancient. Stitching was going to hell. He was in the main gate guard shack on night watch with a buddy. They would sit on the desk so they could see the traffic approaching. They would take turns going out of the shack to interact with traffic. In Kansas in the winter that was a thing. So this car comes up, my dad jumps down off the desk. Stitching in the holster fails. Revolver falls to the concrete floor, lands on it's hammer and puts a bullet thru the front door about 5'10" off the floor. Didn't hit anybody or anything. Major investigation. Fortunately the Lt. actually looked at stuff. The hole thru the door was at a very clear up angle. Ding in the floor. Cement powder in the checkering on the hammer. Holster obviously falling apart. My dad came out of it OK and they pulled all those old holsters out almost immediately and replaced them. He told me that story many years ago before his memory started to get foggy so I strongly suspect it is accurate. It is the sort of thing a guy would remember I suspect.

This threads reminds me of a story.

Officers detained a driver who had a Colt Single Action Army. The story is its his father's from the D-Day invasion. He just inherited as his father had just passed. I look at it and its Serial Number was 1234SA so a Second Generation so no way it was on the beaches of Normandy in 1944 as the Serial Number dated it to 1964.

The driver had earlier taken the SAA in a home burglary just an hour earlier.