First Victory ... A Lend-Lease 5" .38 S&W

[evh]

.38 s&w victory and 9mm

Hi Guys, Interesting stuff on this site. I have a bring back wwii model 10. I will check to see if it is a Victory on the serial number. My dad was 101st airborne and did a battlefield trade for this from a guy who had picked it up off of a dead German. According to the marks it would have probably been originally carried by a British officer. Dad traded a Belgian .32 auto for it - so a Browning I think.

Mine is .38 s&w though 30 year ago when I wanted to shoot it, I told the gun shop what I had and they sold me .38 special. Of course it did not fit. They did take it back and I began searching for .38 s&w and found 2 boxes of Winchester.

Anyway, I can guarantee you, because I was told, that my dad had taken 9mm ammo while in Germany/France. He told me the he and the guys would take a wire cutter (he as a lineman) and put a little crimp in the case rim so that the ejector would grab it and push the spent brass out. I would wonder what the real pressures would have been throwing that .355" bullet down a .361" barrel. Probably not great accuracy, but not likely generating the kind of pressure a 9mm would generate in a 9mm pistol, but that's a guess. Being into reloading, I kind of cringe what dad did at 21, but oh well.

So has it been done, definitely, but I would not do it, though I came close to trying it before I got into reloading. It has been refinished and re-blued. I do remember when he did that in about 1972 or there about. It seems to me that he said the grips were cracked, so the smooth grips were installed. Not sure if it was Parkerized originally or not. I just can't remember that.

 

[Texas Star]

Charlie -

That's exactly the kind of information that I was looking for! Yes, I'll order a letter in the near future and contact you with the results. Thanks again for the input!

P.S. I'm partial to leather, so I ordered a British Pattern '39 repro holster. If it doesn't work for me, I'll switch gears and put it in a P-37 holster

Mike

What's a Pattern 39 holster? Never heard of that one. Photos, if you can, please.

 

[DWalt]

Anyway, I can guarantee you, because I was told, that my dad had taken 9mm ammo while in Germany/France. He told me the he and the guys would take a wire cutter (he as a lineman) and put a little crimp in the case rim so that the ejector would grab it and push the spent brass out. I would wonder what the real pressures would have been throwing that .355" bullet down a .361" barrel. Probably not great accuracy, but not likely generating the kind of pressure a 9mm would generate in a 9mm pistol, but that's a guess. Being into reloading, I kind of cringe what dad did at 21, but oh well.

So has it been done, definitely, but I would not do it, though I came close to trying it before I got into reloading. It has been refinished and re-blued. I do remember when he did that in about 1972 or there about. It seems to me that he said the grips were cracked, so the smooth grips were installed. Not sure if it was Parkerized originally or not. I just can't remember that.

I have read that it was not at all unusual for British troops during WWII to make modifications similar to what you describe to captured 9mm ammunition for use in their .38/200 revolvers. Apparently, .38 S&W (actually .380 Revolver, Mk2) ammunition was often in short supply at the front, and German 9x19mm ammo was more easily obtained. Maybe not the safest expedient, but it seemed to work, probably as well as the regulation British ammunition. BTW, the minimum SAAMI specification diameter for the .38 S&W bullet is 0.355".

 

[Jaymo]

One of the Skeltons, I believe, told a story about a pristine .45 Colt SAA that he went to look at/buy from a sheriff or whatnot in Mexico.
By the time he got there, the deputies had come up with the brilliant idea of firing .44 mag through it. They kaboomed it.
.44 mag bullets are a good bit smaller diameter than .45 Colt.
A much bigger diameter difference than between 9mm and .38 Short & Wimpy.
Yet, it produced plenty of pressure to destroy the gun.

I've seen 9mm brass with wire soldered in the extractor groove to allow firing in a revolver. A bit of a bodge, but you could do that, then fireform the brass to take the .38 S&W bullets.
Then, you could load them (if you're a reloader) to .38 S&W pressures/velocities.
But, I think that would give you too much effective rim thickness to be able to close the cylinder.

If you live in the US, you can order the correct ammo for the gun.