38 Special CTG approx mfg date ?

[rwy333]

I have a 38 Special CTG that I acquired approximately 30 years ago that has been stored in a cloth sleeve for most of that time.
I would like to ascertain a ball park manufacture date if possible. Here are the details.


38 Special CTG
Type - Hand Ejector
S/N on butt - V 694XXX
Barrel 4"
Sights - Fixed
Strain Screw - Yes
Screws - 5
Butt Swivel - No swivel, appears to be a mounting hole for one


Thanks in advance for any help. I'm not interested in selling, just would like to know how old it is.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Hello. That is a WWII Victory revolver likely made in 1944. If you will post some pictures, an expert may be able to tell you more.

 

[rwy333]

Thanks. Just based on reading through posts here I was pretty sure it was 1940's vintage. Don't really need photo ID, just curious.

 

[DWalt]

There is more to know. It is definitely from the late WWII period, but it could be either military or civilian. The main determinant would be if there is a “U. S. PROPERTY” stamp on the topstrap. If so, it likely went to the U. S. Navy. If not, it was likely to have gone to a defense plant guard or to some civilian law enforcement agency. That is if you are positive that the caliber stamping on the barrel says .38 S&W SPECIAL CTG and that it has a 4” barrel. BTW, replacement butt lanyard swivels are available. During WWII, ordinary civilians could not purchase new guns.

 

[rwy333]

Thanks, you've told me what I had suspected. There is no U. S. Property stamping and the barrel is definately 4". I found the weapon while cleaning out my FIL's house after he went into a nursing home in the early '90s. I thought it likely had belonged to his father who was a police chief in a small east central Alabama town during WWII. The only stampings are the S&W trademark on the right side of the frame and the 38 Special CTG stamping on the right side of the barrel.

 

[robertrwalsh]

You have a nice piece of family history there. Congrats.

 

[DWalt]

Thanks, you've told me what I had suspected. There is no U. S. Property stamping and the barrel is definately 4". I found the weapon while cleaning out my FIL's house after he went into a nursing home in the early '90s. I thought it likely had belonged to his father who was a police chief in a small east central Alabama town during WWII. The only stampings are the S&W trademark on the right side of the frame and the 38 Special CTG stamping on the right side of the barrel.

Then you likely have a WWII-era cop gun. They are often referred to as “DSC” guns from the government agency that approved gun sales to security guards and law enforcement agencies. DSC (Defense Supplies Corporation) essentially acted as a purchasing agent for guns to be used for official civilian service. I think it has been estimated that around 80,000-90,000 DSC guns were purchased during the war. But I am not sure about that.

 

[murphydog]

V694xxx in the wartime .38 M & P era would have definitely been a military or defense-related revolver. The first civilian M & Ps were in the early V 810000 range.

 

[JP@AK]

The first civilian M & Ps were in the early V 810000 range.

Generally speaking this is true, except that they actually had the SV prefix instead of a simple V. That's because, beginning in January, 1945, all M&P production included the new sliding hammer block safety.

By SV810000 or so, civilian shipments were well under way, starting in March, 1946. However, all the shipments were not limited to serial numbers that high. They show up as low as the SV769000 range. The lowest number in my database is SV769844. It shipped on March 22, 1946. SV770191 is the lowest number I show going to the NYPD after the war, and I have identified quite a few in the SV770000 to SV779000 range that were shipped to the New York agency.

BUT, there is a lot of overlap. There were guns in those same serial ranges that were going to the Navy as well. That went all the way up to the SV802000 range.

The first unit that had an S prefix (no V) was S811120, but there were some SV units with numbers higher than that.

 

[DWalt]

Yes, most every M&P revolver made after early 1945 will have the SV prefix until the S-series began. The first M&P revolvers sold on the open civilian market beginning in early 1946 were SV-series revolvers made up of components remaining in inventory at the war's end, but giving them the pre-war commercial blued finish and checkered grips. It is somewhat unclear exactly how many of the postwar civilian SVs were sold. But it is fairly certain that few, if any, V-series revolvers were manufactured after 1944. But some would have been shipped.

 

[rwy333]

There is more to know. It is definitely from the late WWII period, but it could be either military or civilian. The main determinant would be if there is a “U. S. PROPERTY” stamp on the topstrap. If so, it likely went to the U. S. Navy. If not, it was likely to have gone to a defense plant guard or to some civilian law enforcement agency. That is if you are positive that the caliber stamping on the barrel says .38 S&W SPECIAL CTG and that it has a 4” barrel. BTW, replacement butt lanyard swivels are available. During WWII, ordinary civilians could not purchase new guns.

When I responded to your post earlier I mistakenly stated it had no US Property stamping. It does actually have U. S. Property G. H. L. stamped on the frame above the cylinder. There is also an indistinguishable small marking stamped in front of the U. I decided to look over it again with a magnifying glass this morning and I guess my old eyes missed it earlier. My apologies.

 

[JP@AK]

It does actually have U. S. Property G. H. L. stamped on the frame above the cylinder.

It is actually G.H.D., for Guy H. Drewry, chief of the Springfield Ordnance Office at the time. Hence, it is an inspector's stamp.

There is also an indistinguishable small marking stamped in front of the U.

Chances are that is the flaming bomb ordnance mark.

 

[DWalt]

When I responded to your post earlier I mistakenly stated it had no US Property stamping. It does actually have U. S. Property G. H. L. stamped on the frame above the cylinder. There is also an indistinguishable small marking stamped in front of the U. I decided to look over it again with a magnifying glass this morning and I guess my old eyes missed it earlier. My apologies.

It should be G.H.D. For Guy H. Drewry, Chief of the Springfield Ordnance District. It is an acceptance stamp. Nearly all revolvers with those acceptance and property stamps were shipped to any of several U. S. Navy depots during the war. Most commonly used to arm Naval air crews. Very early in the war, the Navy revolvers were stamped U. S. NAVY on the topstrap. Some remained in service through the Vietnam period. Brigadier General Guy H. Drewry, Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame Inductee 1996, U.S. Army Ordnance Corps

 

[rwy333]

It should be G.H.D. For Guy H. Drewry, Chief of the Springfield Ordnance District. It is an acceptance stamp. Nearly all revolvers with those acceptance and property stamps were shipped to any of several U. S. Navy depots during the war. Most commonly used to arm Naval air crews. Very early in the war, the Navy revolvers were stamped U. S. NAVY on the topstrap.

There is wearing where the stamp is and I can barely see that the bottom of what looks like an L has a slight up curve and there is a slight tag at the top so it is a D. Should have used a microscope instead of a magnifying glass. I appreciate your patience in answering my questions. I'm giving the revolver to my daughter who along with her husband have a small cattle ranch east of SA with also plenty of rattlers and other varmits. She doesn't know I have this and I wanted to give her as much information about it as I could.

 

[DWalt]

Be aware that most of these revolvers in any condition above junk have significant and increasing collector interest (even though made in large numbers) and should be well taken care of.