Victory model

CI_SeaWolf

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I've been looking around a bit for a Victory model in .38 special. In these parts they are kind of hard to come by and my local gun shops didnt have any until a few weeks ago when one turned up. It has what looks like it could be an 8 or B in front of U. S. Property and then the letters GHD. Serial number is V359900. The story i got from the gun shop was (consignment piece) Little old lady comes in to get rid of it. She was an army nurse in WWII, her boyfriend at the time, was a USMC pilot. He dressed up the gun by removing the lanyard ring, and putting a pair of imitation stag grips on it for her to dress it up. I don't know if that is true, but the gun hasn't been fired much, there is a little bit of drag marks on the cylinder latch notches, but bore is nice and action is tight. 4" barrel, pretty good parkerized finish with no surface rust at all. And the best part was that it is in .38 special
 
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I've been looking around a bit for a Victory model in .38 special. In these parts they are kind of hard to come by and my local gun shops didnt have any until a few weeks ago when one turned up. It has what looks like it could be an 8 or B in front of U. S. Property and then the letters GHD. Serial number is V359900. The story i got from the gun shop was (consignment piece) Little old lady comes in to get rid of it. She was an army nurse in WWII, her boyfriend at the time, was a USMC pilot. He dressed up the gun by removing the lanyard ring, and putting a pair of imitation stag grips on it for her to dress it up. I don't know if that is true, but the gun hasn't been fired much, there is a little bit of drag marks on the cylinder latch notches, but bore is nice and action is tight. 4" barrel, pretty good parkerized finish with no surface rust at all. And the best part was that it is in .38 special
 
Sounds like a great piece! Did you buy it? How much was it? I love hearing about treasure finds like this.
 
It has what looks like it could be an 8 or B in front of U. S. Property and then the letters GHD.

Take a close look at the "8" or the "B".... could it be the U.S. Ordinance "Flaming Bomb" emblem? Sometimes these markings were poorly struck and are hard to discern without a magnifying glass.

Doug
 
Thanks for the replies! Rangemaster, I picked it up for $325. Rute Boye, I just put it under my big magnifier and lo and behold, you are correct! It is a flaming bomb. Thanks for the info! I hope someone here could give me an estimate of when the piece was made and shipped to whom. I'd like to find an original pilot/tanker leather holster for it.
 
CI_SeaWolf,

Sounds real nice! Post some picture if you can.

And, welcome to the forum!
 
Seawolf:

You have found a real piece of history there. Congratulations.

From the Victory Database that I maintain along with my friend LWCmdr45, we can estimate for you that the revolver was likely shipped from the factory in the July, 1943 time frame.

However, it is worth noting that S&W did not ship in strict consecutive serial number order. The Database shows a number of relatively close serial numbers shipped months apart. So, while only a factory letter can give you the precise ship date, I would be willing to bet a beer on the July, 1943 date as being pretty accurate.

Hope this helps you.

Regards,
Charlie Flick
 
Dear Charlie, thanks for the info! I am amazed at the information and support on this forum. I'm going to try to get a pic of the old girl this weekend, and maybe put a few rounds through her as well. I do feel like it is a bit of history, since a lot of that generation is no longer with us. I'll have to get a letter one of these days, I'd take your bet and think that the Victory Database is pretty darn close!

Best Regards,

CI_Seawolf
 

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