The end of WWII did not mean the end to production of the S&W Military & Police in .38 S&W; the company continued to produce the model under contracts with Commonwealth countries like the Union of South Africa. When Model numbers were assigned in the 1957/58 time frame, the M&P that chambered the .38 S&W round became known as the Model 11 to differentiate it from the Model 10 in .38 Special. For all practical purposes, the Model 11 is simply a postwar short-action variety of the British Service Revolver.
As with other short-action K-frame revolvers, the guns evolved in the space of a few years. Oddly, the screw-count sequence is jumbled in time. The Model 11 should be a four-screw gun, though I have not seen one to confirm that fact. The 11-1, introduced in 1961, reversed the ejector rod thread. The 11-2 (1962) is said to have widened the front sight from 1/10 inch to 1/8 inch. The 11-3 (also 1962) saw the loss of the trigger guard screw. The 11-4 is a known labeled variety, but the authors of SCSW state that it is not clear what change was involved in the assignment of that designation. The Model 11-4 that I show here is actually a four-screw gun instead of the three-screw variety one would expect from the model numbering pattern. I suspect there are five-screw Pre-11s, but I have not seen one.
An interesting feature of the gun is that the barrel is marked not just with the caliber information, but also the recommended 178 grain Commonwealth loading that became standard after WWII. The 200-grain round that was the standard British military load at the outset of WWII was modified when the heavier bullet was feared to be out of compliance with rules of war. The serial number on this gun is in the range associated with the last South African order of 1965, but the gun is not marked with the S.A.P. seen on guns actually shipped to the South African Police.
The company had some overrun production that it kept in inventory after fulfilling the overseas order. Those few guns, measured perhaps in the low hundreds or several dozens, were sold off slowly in the next few years, mostly in the US and Canada. This gun was sold from retained inventory in December 1970. Whoever bought it never returned the registration card, as that is still with the gun. EDITED TO ADD: This revolver was shipped 7 Dec 1970 to Charles Greenblatt Co., New York.
The box -- a standard blue Bangor Punta container -- contains a Model 10 parts list and the original vapor wrap. Tools are missing. The box is preprinted on one end as a Model 10, but carries a handwritten Model 11-4 sticker on the other
There is an unusual inventory number on the bottom of the box -- B 17486 -- that has nothing to do with the gun's serial number or any other number that would ordinarily be found on a K-frame revolver of the era.
This revolver does not appear to have been fired after leaving the factory.
I invite others with Model 11s and pre-11s to post them here along with comments about their distinguishing characteristics. If anyone knows how many of this model were made between the 1948 introduction of the short action and the 1965 discontinuation of this model (including non-model-marked specimens), I would be pleased to learn the number. I am guessing that perhaps no more than 20,000 to 30,000 were produced under several different contracts. Very few of them are likely to be found in the United States. My count of known specimens, which includes those mentioned on this forum by collectors as well as the ones known to have been auctioned off in 1996, stands at 30 and may grow as research continues. Four more are known from South Africa, where a number of decommisioned or surplused specimens are likely to exist. Chances are scant that any exported Model 11s will be reimported to the US in times to come.
As with other short-action K-frame revolvers, the guns evolved in the space of a few years. Oddly, the screw-count sequence is jumbled in time. The Model 11 should be a four-screw gun, though I have not seen one to confirm that fact. The 11-1, introduced in 1961, reversed the ejector rod thread. The 11-2 (1962) is said to have widened the front sight from 1/10 inch to 1/8 inch. The 11-3 (also 1962) saw the loss of the trigger guard screw. The 11-4 is a known labeled variety, but the authors of SCSW state that it is not clear what change was involved in the assignment of that designation. The Model 11-4 that I show here is actually a four-screw gun instead of the three-screw variety one would expect from the model numbering pattern. I suspect there are five-screw Pre-11s, but I have not seen one.
An interesting feature of the gun is that the barrel is marked not just with the caliber information, but also the recommended 178 grain Commonwealth loading that became standard after WWII. The 200-grain round that was the standard British military load at the outset of WWII was modified when the heavier bullet was feared to be out of compliance with rules of war. The serial number on this gun is in the range associated with the last South African order of 1965, but the gun is not marked with the S.A.P. seen on guns actually shipped to the South African Police.
The company had some overrun production that it kept in inventory after fulfilling the overseas order. Those few guns, measured perhaps in the low hundreds or several dozens, were sold off slowly in the next few years, mostly in the US and Canada. This gun was sold from retained inventory in December 1970. Whoever bought it never returned the registration card, as that is still with the gun. EDITED TO ADD: This revolver was shipped 7 Dec 1970 to Charles Greenblatt Co., New York.
The box -- a standard blue Bangor Punta container -- contains a Model 10 parts list and the original vapor wrap. Tools are missing. The box is preprinted on one end as a Model 10, but carries a handwritten Model 11-4 sticker on the other
There is an unusual inventory number on the bottom of the box -- B 17486 -- that has nothing to do with the gun's serial number or any other number that would ordinarily be found on a K-frame revolver of the era.
This revolver does not appear to have been fired after leaving the factory.
I invite others with Model 11s and pre-11s to post them here along with comments about their distinguishing characteristics. If anyone knows how many of this model were made between the 1948 introduction of the short action and the 1965 discontinuation of this model (including non-model-marked specimens), I would be pleased to learn the number. I am guessing that perhaps no more than 20,000 to 30,000 were produced under several different contracts. Very few of them are likely to be found in the United States. My count of known specimens, which includes those mentioned on this forum by collectors as well as the ones known to have been auctioned off in 1996, stands at 30 and may grow as research continues. Four more are known from South Africa, where a number of decommisioned or surplused specimens are likely to exist. Chances are scant that any exported Model 11s will be reimported to the US in times to come.
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