Victory data base
- Thread starter zonker5
- Start date
DWalt
Member
As I have seen both blued and Parkerized finishes on V-models, were both types used, or were the blued ones indicative of a refinish? I have read that all were Parkerized, but I am not so sure.
Over 40 years ago, I had a V-model which was stamped as being the property of the Ohio State University Police. It was blued, in .38 Special. I don't remember any other details.
Over 40 years ago, I had a V-model which was stamped as being the property of the Ohio State University Police. It was blued, in .38 Special. I don't remember any other details.
BuffDriver
Member
New Victory to report
I just took ownership of this late victory model, SN V7199XX, chambered in 38 Special. It was reported to have been issued as a police revolver to a WWII vet after the war. I purchased it from the first owner after that, who's had it for 25 years. The finish looks original, and the barrel and cylinder serial numbers match. Not so the numbers on the yoke. Can anyone confirm that these are not normally related to the serial number? The grips appear too good to be original and have no serial number. "US Property", "GHD", and the flaming bomb are lightly struck on the left top strap.
She joins her younger Model 15 cousin, and will be making a trip to the range very soon! Thanks for any information that you can provide.
BuffDriver
I just took ownership of this late victory model, SN V7199XX, chambered in 38 Special. It was reported to have been issued as a police revolver to a WWII vet after the war. I purchased it from the first owner after that, who's had it for 25 years. The finish looks original, and the barrel and cylinder serial numbers match. Not so the numbers on the yoke. Can anyone confirm that these are not normally related to the serial number? The grips appear too good to be original and have no serial number. "US Property", "GHD", and the flaming bomb are lightly struck on the left top strap.
She joins her younger Model 15 cousin, and will be making a trip to the range very soon! Thanks for any information that you can provide.
BuffDriver
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The Chief of Ordnance permitted the Defense Supplies Corporation to enter into a contract with Smith & Wesson that diverted Victory model revolvers to commercial customers deemed essential to the war effort. Essentially, the DSC's function was to allot (or if you prefer, ration) this small portion of overall production for purposes such as guarding war material plants, storage facilities, transportation assets, utilities, and so forth, as well as providing sidearms to civilian law enforcement agencies.
powerplantpete
Member
I have a 4" barrel Victory with Serial # V5094XX in .38 Special. I is marked with the "V" and an ordinance mark to the left of the lanyard. It has checkered grips that have no markings on the inside.
Can anyone help me with dating this gun? I am also assuming that since it does not say "US Property" that it probably spent its early life guarding a war plant or military facility. Is that a fair assumption?
Thanks.
Can anyone help me with dating this gun? I am also assuming that since it does not say "US Property" that it probably spent its early life guarding a war plant or military facility. Is that a fair assumption?
Thanks.
The stocks (grips) sound like they are most likely replacements. Posting a photo would help in determining just what they are, though.
Your revolver most likely shipped around mid-1944.
Not necessarily. Such a non-martially marked Victory model could well have been procured by the United States Maritime Commission, and thus maybe have gone to sea on a merchant vessel.
One more Victory!
Here are the details of my S&W Victory for the data base. Serial# V358522, all numbers match including inside right grip. Left top strap marked "U.S. PROPERTY G.H.D." Barrel is 4". I am curious to know if all the Victory models had a lanyard ring? Mine does not. There is not even a hole in the frame butt! Just the V serial number. Any idea on the date for this serial number? Thanks, Skip48.
Here are the details of my S&W Victory for the data base. Serial# V358522, all numbers match including inside right grip. Left top strap marked "U.S. PROPERTY G.H.D." Barrel is 4". I am curious to know if all the Victory models had a lanyard ring? Mine does not. There is not even a hole in the frame butt! Just the V serial number. Any idea on the date for this serial number? Thanks, Skip48.
That should be 1943 production. I've never heard of a Victory sans provision for a butt swivel, and wonder if there others documented in the database. Certainly would like to see some photos of this one.
Thanks for the info, Goony. I just held the serial number area of the butt under a bright light. I can faintly see the area where the swivel hole has been filled in. It is not noticeable at all unless looking under bright light. No grind marks or discoloration to the finish, etc. With the grips removed, I just noticed the swivel pin is still in the frame. Do you think the "fill-in" was done at the factory, or by an Army armorer? Skip48
PuertoRican
Member
I would think this one shipped in 1943. Mine is #V524756 & it lettered as shipping 2/1/44.
I find it difficult to imagine that many, if any, of the Victory model were specially configured at the factory (an exception being the few 2" barrelled ones, for which the DSC had to obtain express authorization form the Chief Of Ordnance, with assurances that their manufacture wouldn't in any way interfere with or disrupt the continuing manufacture of the normal 4" version). The overriding principle behind adopting the Victory model was maximizing production of a utilitarian and standardized pattern. But as collectors know full well, with Smith & Wesson it's better to never say "never." A letter might in fact reveal that your example was one of a batch that was procured with the butt swivel deleted for some reason.
The "this one" referred to in the quote being V5094XX. A letter, of course, is definitive, and the ones that are lettered can form a basis for estimating when other heretofore unlettered guns may have shipped. That's tricky, though, because S&W, even in wartime, did not always ship on a timely basis. You've unwittingly brought to light a perfect example of this. You have V524756 that shipped February 1, 1944. I have V4640XX (that's almost sixty thousand earlier in the serial number sequence) that letters as having shipped the very next day.
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Another bit of data
V Model Ser. # V 274516 Frame and cylinder numbers match. The barrel is marked US S. W. Special Ctg and the top strap is marked US PROPERTY GHD. The grips are not numbered and the lanyard ring looks like a replacement. Pretty much standard stuff. My Dad died in 1970 and my sister had the gun until recently and swears he told her he carried the revolver in the Pacific in WWII. He was in the Phillipines and on Guadacanal and Leyte. I doubt her story because when I was growing up I don't remember seeing it. I left home in 1963.
V Model Ser. # V 274516 Frame and cylinder numbers match. The barrel is marked US S. W. Special Ctg and the top strap is marked US PROPERTY GHD. The grips are not numbered and the lanyard ring looks like a replacement. Pretty much standard stuff. My Dad died in 1970 and my sister had the gun until recently and swears he told her he carried the revolver in the Pacific in WWII. He was in the Phillipines and on Guadacanal and Leyte. I doubt her story because when I was growing up I don't remember seeing it. I left home in 1963.
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That serial number dates your Victory to 1943. You don't say in what branch your father served, but the gun is definitely military issue. The barrel should also be numbered. Wouldn't mind seeing a photo before passing judgment on its originality otherwise.
BuffDriver
Member
I think that my posting above may have been overlooked with all of the other posts that came immediately after. Would someone be so kind as to offer information as to the possible ship date? If I may provide additional information for the database, I would be happy to do so.
Thanks!
BuffDriver
Thanks!
BuffDriver
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You had said in your original post that it was a "late" Victory, and I think that's accurate. It may have shipped as late as early 1945, but as I had noted in a precious post (#93), such estimates are often inaccurate. Only a factory letter will settle the matter.
The numbers on the crane and in the frame recess exposed when you swing out the cylinder were used to match up components during assembly, and have no significance beyond that, nor any relation to the serial number.
The stocks should be numbered (stamped inside the right side panel) to match the numerical component of the serial number. If not, they may either be reproductions or armorer's replacements.
In 1942, at the age of 9 years, I went with my mother to join my father who had been recalled to active duty in April 1942 and assigned to the Mississippi Ordnance Plant in Flora, Mississippi, about 26 miles north of Jackson, the capital. Despite the name, it was an Ordnance training base, training soldiers in maintenance of such hi tech items as 2 1/2 ton trucks, M 4 tanks, etc. Securty,including gate guards, was provided by a corps of private security personnel, dressed in blue uniforms wih white holsters and wearing white pith helmets. They carried revolvers. I didn't know what they were, but now would presume they were Victorys. I imagine that security at other installations was handled in a similiar fashion.
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BuffDriver
Member
Thank you, sir, for the information. The amount of knowledge here is incredible. I've ordered a copy of The Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson and look forward to learning about the variations that make collecting these firearms so rewarding.
Cheers,
BuffDriver
Buff, be careful, The Standard Catalog is considered by some authorities as the gateway drug to full blown SW addiction. Welcome to the forum.
BuffDriver
Member
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