I got my grandfathers .455 S&W. I was wanting to find out some info on it. Was it Army issued? He was an officer in WWII. If anyone has any information, I sure would like to hear it. Also, what does the C mean that is stamped on the side? Does it have anything to do with my grandfather? Our last name starts with a "c".

Thanks!
Jon[IMG][/IMG]

I got my grandfathers .455 S&W. I was wanting to find out some info on it. Was it Army issued? He was an officer in WWII. If anyone has any information, I sure would like to hear it. Also, what does the C mean that is stamped on the side? Does it have anything to do with my grandfather? Our last name starts with a "c".

Thanks!
Jon[IMG][/IMG]

Was your grandfather a Canadian or British officer?

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Nice looking "war-horse" you have there!

It appears that it was British/UK issued.

The "C^" is a Canadian military stamping.

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

I have one of these, and have read the SCSW entry enough I can recapitulate it here. Quick history on these:

Developed off the 1st model .44 Hand Ejector. First month of WWI, Britain orders them up to supplement their Wobblies. 6000 made with the Ejector shroud and triple lock mechanism - .455 MkII Hand Ejector, 1st Model. Britain decided to delete the triple lock and the Ejector shroud. 69,000 (s/n 6,000 to 75,000) more made end 1914/early '15 until April/May 1917 when production switched to 1917s. Yours would be one of these, called the ".455 MkII Hand Ejector, 2nd Model." 60,000 went to British units, 14,000 or so went to Canadian, and maybe 1000 were civilian and (most) Canadian RCMP and other use.

Those that officers purchased directly bear no proof marks (e.g., were private guns). Those with just an ordnance mark (like yours)likely went into private hands after the war. Gov't surplus ones were rounded up after the war, proof marked, then re-exported. Many were converted to .45acp/.45AR by machining off the cylinder face and ejector for the thicker rim. Some were converted to .45LC by similar means, other by reaming and then recessing the cylinder charge holes. Some stayed .455, but a minority it appears. You should check the cylinder to see what caliber it is - if it's still .455 the S/N will be on the cylinder face and the cylinders unaltered.

I don't believe many of these stayed in service into WWII, though some may have here and there. The US never purchased them or issued them (they had the 1917).

If you search this forum for "455" it should turn up a number of threads on this model with photos and other details.

I have seen a photo of a British SAS man in the Middle East cleaning one. (WW II) They could use any handguns they could obtain, and he must have found it in some arms room there.

No, I didn't mistake it for a .38/200, which they also used a lot.

T-Star

Texas Star - man if you could find that photo, I'd love to see it. Because if I were a man of arms in British service then, and I could choose, this is above all the best choice - webley .455, webley 38/200, or S&W victory, this is the finest of the bunch and I'm sure some discerning folks chose it. It is built to a level the others aren't.

Here you are Kamerer, courtesy of a Webley collector! Actually I have one of these (marked to a WW I officer) and several South African 38/200 M&P pistols as well.

Peter

Peter,
Sorry, That is a 1917 the young Brit/Canuck/NZ'er/or Aussie is holding! Roosevelt sent them 25,000 Mod 1917's during the Battle of Britain.
Compare the TOTAL barrel length to the ejector rod length in each pic, and the RATIO will tell you the young man is holding a 5-1/2" barrel.

STILL an interesting pic, though. Over the years, I have seen many of the BOB 1917's with a full set of English proofs, but I have never seen a pic of one being used by regular troops before.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Nether, He was in the US Army... He served in France, Italy, and North Africa... Do you think he picked it up there?

It is always possible that it is a war trophy and/or gift.
The U.S. would not have issued it to him.
Who was he with?

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

He was in charge of unloading ships as they arrived in Africa... I really don't know much else. He didn't talk much about the time he spent over there. I know his group won a trophy for being the fastest at unloading the ships.

That photo is the one that I've seen. The barrel may indeed be 5.5 inches. The man was SAS, and might, like SOE operatives, have used some Lend-Lease guns not furnished to regular line troops.

T-Star