Counterfeit?

[J D Boyle]

It's me again...

Bottom of a box of old Smiths. Revolver, .38 S&W, 5 7/8" barrel,
lanyard ring, 5 screws, fixed sights, Ser # 699113, #on frame under crane #30962, # ON crane 30?61... now the interesting stuff. On the RH side of frame, under 'Made in USA'; we have stamped "RAF", faint, almost polished out. Above that, there is a small arrow pointing upward. Gun shows wear on muzzle and cylinder. Has some rust spots polished out. Grips look OE and hsve been through the mill. Nicks and scrapes, esp. on butt. Action is good. Trigger excellent. Shoots to point of aim at 15 yards. Q: What the heck is this? NFS. Someone once told me that RAF revolvers were counterfeited after WWII.

 

[Alk8944]

The revolver was made by S&W during WWII under the Lend-Lease Program for the British military. It is commonly referred to as a British Service Revolver. It was, no doubt, assigned to the Royal Air Force (RAF). The "Broad Arrow" designates British Crown ownership.

Many of these guns were transferred to various European governments after WWII for use by their police forces. Many went to Germany. Those guns can be found with various markings. They are not counterfeit, regardless of what markings have been applied post manufacture by S&W. It is highly un-likely the RAF marking is spurious, as it would not add any value to the gun.

This is an excellent example of why you shouldn't take "something somebody told you" too seriously!

 

[ordnanceguy]

Without good photos or an eyeball examination it is difficult to say whether the gun in question is "counterfeit".

From the general description offered it sounds to me like a 6 inch barreled (measured from the front of the cylinder to end of barrel) British Service Revolver, a variant of the Military & Police 4th change. When shipped from the factory they were blued, had a lanyard ring and checkered walnut service stocks. Your butt serial falls into this range of BSRs.

The Broad Arrow mark (British government property) and the R.A.F. mark are consistent with BSR's that ended up with the R.A.F. Correct R.A.F. marks will be serifed and separated by periods.

It is true that occasionally guns will be faked to bring a higher price. Fake R.A.F. and U.S. Marine Corps marks are popular with fakers as they are thought to bring higher prices, but the fakers generally do their work on guns in better condition than what you are describing here.

Post some decent pics and perhaps we can better diagnose your revolver.

Regards,
Charlie

 

[shovelhead]

There were also one pre Lend-Lease, I have one of those. They went to the UK through Canada from what I have found so far. The Lend Lease I think all were marked U.S. PROPERTY

A lot of those when they reentered the U.S. had the cylinders machined out to accept .38 Special ammo but the S.&W. Cylinder and barrel diameter is larger than the spec for the .38 Special so the spent cases are fireformed to the cylinder diameter and the accuracy of the projectile may also be affected.

Another FWIW, S&W records list my revolver as a 5” barrel, one is 6” and it is serial number matched to the frame.