mod 1917 ?

[kenjen]

if i would letter a U.S.army mod.1917 what info would I expect to receive, would it say what outfit or base it was sent to or just say it was sent to the U.S. army?

 

[DWalt]

No. It would contain no information of that kind, just that it shipped to the Army at some supply point - not sure exactly where the letter would show it was first shipped, but others will know. Nearly all WWI 1917s were shipped during 1918.

 

[wheelgun610]

I think the most likely shipping destination would've been the Springfield Armory - (which is not to be confused with the current Springfield Armory company).

Mark

 

[Wiregrassguy]

For most of the production of the 1917, S&W was run by the military. They kept production logs which have been posted to the internet. You can look up the exact date of manufacture at this site:

U.S. Military Dates of Manufacture

If you want to know when the gun shipped and to where, you will need to get an historian's letter ($75). That letter will not tell you what unit or battalion however.

 

[DWalt]

Unless you have some need to know an exact shipping date, lettering a military M1917 is largely a waste of money. It won't tell you anything of much interest other than the shipping date. Now if you could find information showing it went to Eisenhower, Pershing, or Eddie Rickenbacker, that would be really something.

 

[kenjen]

thanks for the replys, i kind of thought very little info would be obtained from it being lettered.

 

[Jack Flash]

To give you an idea of what a letter would show, perhaps someone here who has lettered one could post the last paragraph.
The information is indeed sparse, but that is often true of any type revolver since S&W only kept shipping records or rebuild records if it ever came back to them.