S&W Victory questions

[doctorxring]

.

I received this pistol today from a collector. This is my first "collectible" type Smith & Wesson pistol. I have a couple of questions
about this particular pistol, and these pistols
in general.

What was the build date of this pistol ?
This is an all matching pistol, so I assume
it is original.

Where these pistols issued to Air Force pilots
and crew ?

thanks kindly, Chris

 

[doctorxring]

.

I received this pistol today from a collector. This is my first "collectible" type Smith & Wesson pistol. I have a couple of questions
about this particular pistol, and these pistols
in general.

What was the build date of this pistol ?
This is an all matching pistol, so I assume
it is original.

Where these pistols issued to Air Force pilots
and crew ?

thanks kindly, Chris

 

[29aholic]

Chris...Welcome to the forum.

I am not much help on these, but Mike P and others will be here soon. I do know that's about as nice a Victory as I've seen.

I do know the "V" or "Victory" models were so called for victory over the axis powers during WWII. You may recall Churchill's famous speech and the use of what we now refer to as the peace sign he used as "V for Victory". At the time these were prevalent the Air Force was actually still the Army Air Corps. Quite a few of these guns were chambered for 38 S&W and sent to Great Britain.

Theses things were maintained in inventory for a long time after they were no longer really issued. I can remember seeing racks of them in the main arms room at Ft. Benning in the mid 80's, so you'll see Vietnam era photos of soldiers carrying them.

I would guess yours is a fairly late production as indicated by the lack of polishing of the tool marks. All the major arms companies who made military sidearms (S&W, Colt, Browning, etc) started turning guns out every bit as nice as commercial models, but as the war raged on and demand for production increased the companies took less time with finishing.

Hope this helps some

 

[Texas Star]

doctorxring-

I was in the USAF during the 1960's, and we were short of our official issue, the Combat Masterpiece. We did obtain a considerable amount of Victory Models from the Navy.

Many went to police units and pararescue men, but I see no reason why aircrew didn't get some. I certainly saw them still in use by visiting naval aircrew, too.

As for their use in WWII, it was mainly the Navy, Marine aviators, and Coast Guardsmen who had them. The OSS issued some, too. Army Air Force then issued the Colt .45 auto, of course.

If you're curious, we also had some old commercial M&P .38's in the 1960's and some Colt .38's.

Accuracy was entirely on par with the commercial guns. The Victory Model was just rough on the outside. It shoots fine. I do not suggest Plus P loads in these older guns, though.

T-Star

 

[Peter J.]

Chris, I have a number of Victorys. The one you just obtained is a real beauty, hard to improve upon. Congrats.

 

[ordnanceguy]

Hello Chris:

No one can say when your revolver was "built", as the S&W factory did not record that information. Instead, it maintained shipping ledgers which allows collectors today to learn when their Victory Models were shipped.

Based on the Victory Model Database, which my pal LWCmdr45 and I maintain, I can tell you that your Victory was likely shipped from the factory in the May, 1943 time frame. I can also tell you that the odds are high that your revolver was shipped to a US Navy destination.

It is a very nice example of the Victory and a real piece of history. I hope this information helps you.

Regards,
Charlie Flick
S&WCA #729
NRA Life
S&WHF Member

 

[doctorxring]

.

Thanks guys. Great information.

Tomorrow, this pistol will be fired
in celebration and in honor of "Victory" !

dxr

.

 

[j38]

Chris,

That's a really fine example of a Victory Model. I have two and they are both fine shooting 38 specials.

While my father was an Army artillery Sgt. in WWII - Pacific Theater, and almost certainly never carried one of these; I always think of him when I take mine to the range, clean them, or even just hold them.

I hope you enjoy yours,

Jerry

 

[doctorxring]

.

I just got an email from my Dad's twin brother.
He was in SAC and also spent time in Vietnam
during the war. He told me he carried one of
these pistols when he was in Vietnam. This is
icing on the cake to hear that he carried one
of these pistols !

dxr

.

 

[walnutred]

That is one of the finer examples I've seen mentioned for a while and your photo taking skills are great.

That pistol should shoot well for you, mine always have. Though any more I have a lot of trouble seeing the old half moon sights.