Help Identifying Revolver
- Thread starter Riverzman
- Start date
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This is probably a lend-lease gun for WW2. The caliber 38 S&W was used by the British, whereas the US used 38 Special. The 4 1/8" is probably a 4" barrel that is just a tad long. The grips are not original to the gun, but from post-WW2.
Mike Priwer
Mike Priwer
scooter123
Member
First, the 38 S&W cartridge is NOT the same as 38 special, bullet diameters and case lengths are different.
Second, check the serial number stamped on the bottom of the grip frame, if it starts with the letter V you have a Victory model revolver that was produced specifically for WWII. Based on the parkerized finish I expect that you will find that V. Odd thing is the 38 S&W caliber, the Victory models issued in the US were typically 39=8 special. The 38 S&W case was used for British lend lease guns but I thought they were stamped for the British 38-200 cartridge. However I could be wrong about that because of age related CRS and my not being an expert on older S&W revolvers.
Second, check the serial number stamped on the bottom of the grip frame, if it starts with the letter V you have a Victory model revolver that was produced specifically for WWII. Based on the parkerized finish I expect that you will find that V. Odd thing is the 38 S&W caliber, the Victory models issued in the US were typically 39=8 special. The 38 S&W case was used for British lend lease guns but I thought they were stamped for the British 38-200 cartridge. However I could be wrong about that because of age related CRS and my not being an expert on older S&W revolvers.
DWalt
Member
The SN is far too high to have a V or SV prefix. 898176 shipped on 5/15/42. Yours should be close to that date, a Lend-Lease British service revolver (BSR) with 'United States Property' stamped on the topstrap. The finish is bead blast blue (Black Magic), not Parkerized. Are you sure about the barrel length? By that time it should be close to 5", measured from the front face of the cylinder to the muzzle. Very early on, other barrel lengths (4" and 6") were shipped to the British, but they were all pre-Lend-Lease. 5" barrels were the standard for L-L BSRs.
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cgt4570
Member
That looks like a standard British 5" barrel. Are you sure you're measuring the ENTIRE barrel? The barrel goes from the cylinder/barrel gap to the muzzle. Looks like you're measuring from the frame to the muzzle.
DWalt
Member
It looks like a 5" barrel in the picture. Have you checked all five serial numbers to be certain that all of them match? And the grips are not original, being no older than from around 1970. Without the topstrap property stamp that a L-L BSR should have, something is fishy. Maybe it is a parts gun.
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