Victory Revolver Questions

[PAGunCollector]

Hi everyone,

I have a victory revolver that is marked us navy on the top left strap. I got a factory letter on it and they confirmed it was shipped to the navy. I don't see any p marks, flaming bomb marks or any unit or other proof stamps. Is that normal? Could it be the gun was refinished and lost them?

Do historical foundation letters ever find anything extra on these military contract guns?

 

[DWalt]

The early Navy guns were made under Navy contract, and were not marked with the typical stampings. Later, all guns were made under Army contracts and various stampings were added.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! Would you post some pictures so we can see the finish on the gun?

 

[Absalom]

…. I don't see any p marks, flaming bomb marks or any unit or other proof stamps. Is that normal? Could it be the gun was refinished and lost them?

Do historical foundation letters ever find anything extra on these military contract guns?

To add to Guy's request, we need to see especially the butt on both sides of the lanyard swivel, to assess its originality. But as DWalt says, an early Navy-direct contract gun can show neither the military proof nor acceptance marks that you would find on a Lend-Lease Victory of the same serial vicinity.

To answer your last question, hardly ever. Even factory information about things such as returns of Victorys for repairs is extremely sparse, usually non-existent for the war years. And there would be no way for S&W, and thus the Historical Foundation, to have documentation about what happened to the gun after it was delivered to whatever Navy yard it was shipped.

 

[DWalt]

About the most exciting things you can find from a letter for WWII-period revolver shipments are that it was shipped to a somewhat uncommon location, such as to the U. S. Maritime Commission or the OSS (indirectly through the U. S. Navy). Some DSC civilian Victories will letter as having been shipped to various named defense contractors or law enforcement agencies.

 

[cmansguns]

US Navy Victory w/ Factory Letter

As others have posted, there is not much further info in a Factory Letter on these early WWII revolvers. Mine is also a US Navy on top strap, devoid of all other proofs (which came later under the Army contract). The Letter does tell me it shipped to US Navy at Naval Supply Center, Oakland, California. Other than that..no telling where it went.

There are some things to look for, but you may have already known about them. Some have been observed with large stamp Property of US Navy on left sideplate, and then painted with red paint. I haven't seen one but there are threads about it, and many fakes abound. The other thing is that if your Victory was returned to S&W for the addition of the new design hammer safety block, there will be a small S on top of right side plate.

Another point is that IF your grips are original then the right hand grip panel will be marked with the serial number of the gun. That is a plus if it is.

Most likely yours was part of the early Navy Contract and the Letter would only tell you to what depot it may have shipped.

Some of the Victories are found marked on the backstrap with unit or ship numbers which adds to the provenance if it can be verified.

The above is why we need pictures, which are easy to upload and post. We may be able to spot something that you missed, or were unaware of which could add value, or at least knowledge to your gun.

 

[DWalt]

To where a WWII revolver was first shipped (with one rare exception) is largely immaterial, as it could have been later sent from there to virtually any ship or to any location in the world, and there is no way to determine that. Or it may well have been recycled into service during the Korean or Vietnam wars. 99+% of the time, a letter regarding any WWII-era Victory really isn't worth the expense of getting it, at least not for the purpose of finding interesting information which may increase its value.

 

[PAGunCollector]

Here are some pictures of the us navy victory revolver. V129954. Letter says shipped to Oakland ca in may 1943.

 

[opoefc]

What type of finish does the letter say the gun had ? I looks too shiny in the photo to be one of the S&W's original dull finishes, so it may have been refinished by a prior owner. Do you know the lineage of the gun after it left the Navy ?

 

[Muley Gil]

Those are some vivid case colors on the lanyard loop.