Victory S&W 38/200

[nsajorden]

I have a S&W Victory and the holster W/belt.
Ser.#V312970
Top Strap:U.S. PROPERTY G.H.D.
Bar:.38 .767' 3 1/2 TONS 38 S&W CTG
Royal Crown on frame and barrel.
Walnut grips.
Lanyard on but.
Royal Crown on flap of holster. HMS under crown.
Your comments please.
Dave..............

 

[nsajorden]

I have a S&W Victory and the holster W/belt.
Ser.#V312970
Top Strap:U.S. PROPERTY G.H.D.
Bar:.38 .767' 3 1/2 TONS 38 S&W CTG
Royal Crown on frame and barrel.
Walnut grips.
Lanyard on but.
Royal Crown on flap of holster. HMS under crown.
Your comments please.
Dave..............

 

[The Virginian]

I have come to like some of these lend-lease guns as they are so nicely defaced by our allies with interesting little stamps. Too bad they didn't send them back to us in decent condition as many of them look like they were dragged behind the ship on their way back stateside.

 

[gunbarrel]

Originally posted by nsajorden:
I have a S&W Victory and the holster W/belt...
Your comments please.
Dave..............

Dave,

I see that this is your first post, so, first of all, let me welcome you to the Forum. You will find very knowledgeable people here willing to help you--real Victory Model experts like ordnanceguy. Your rig sounds very interesting, particularly since you have an original issue holster and maybe an original issue belt. Your Victory is a Lend-Lease Act firearm sent overseas to help our Allies in WWII, but I will let Charlie, or one of the real experts tell you more about it.

GB

 

[ordnanceguy]

Hi Dave:

Welcome to the Forum.

From your serial number I can estimate, based on the information in the Victory Model Database, which my collaborator LWCmdr45 and I maintain, that your Victory was likely shipped from the Smith & Wesson factory in the May, 1943 time frame.

My friend Gunbarrel has correctly identified your revolver as a Lend Lease piece. As such it was likely shipped to the Hartford Ordnance Depot in Springfield, Mass. This was the destination for most of the Lend Lease Victories.

From your description it appears that your revolver also underwent post-war commercial proofing in the UK, a not uncommon occurrence for many .38-200 Victories.

I am not familiar with the marking you mention on the holster. Perhaps you could post a pic or two of it. Am I correct in assuming that the holster is web/canvas? While there were some leather holsters used by British and Commonwealth Forces, most of the holsters used in WW2 were the Pattern '37 web/canvas type.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Enjoy your Smith.

Regards,
Charlie Flick
S&WCA #729
NRA Life

 

[nsajorden]

The Virginian,Gunbarrel,Ordanceguy, Sirs,
Thank you all for your response to my Email.
The holster is made of leather and the belt is web.I donot think the belt is original. It looks
to new.
The holster is however is original. The crowns on the Vic are the same as the one on the holster. A frind of mine, how comes from Scotland,said the crown shows it was use by the English Army.HMS, he said is "Her Majesty Service".
I am not very good with a camera,( I'm 70 ),so I will get one of my kids to do it for me.
Again Thank You All for your help,
Dave.................

 

[digi-shots]

Welcome to the Forum!

Sounds like a nice find. Look forward to seeing the photos!

 

[Texas Star]

That's usually OHMS: On His/Her Majesty's Service. Seen it on official stationery, not on holsters.

HMS usually means His/Her Majesty's Ship and is followed by the ship's name, Hotspur, Intrepid, etc.: HMS Invincible, etc.

If it's on a holster, I'd like to see the photos when your kids take them. Any Commonwealth leather holsters of that period are interesting.

T-Star

 

[The Virginian]

In the spirit of clarifying facts, there is no such thing as the "English Army" either. Rather it is the British Army and each has units from all the countries in the UK, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Not all are chartered by the crown, that is why it is not called the Royal Army, unlike the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force that are. The crown I believe represents acceptance by a Royal Armoury/Proof House.

 

[nsajorden]

Texas Star,
Sir you are quite right in OHMS. This holster is very much worn. There maybe an "O" in front.
You are also correct about "HMS". I was Navy in my young years.Thank You so much for your Email.
Dave................

The Virginian,
Sir your comments are also correct. My Grandfather came from Deven England,and my Grandmother came form Glassgow Scotland.My Grandfather always refered to it as "UK".
I think you are right about acceptance by the R.A. Thank you much for you info.
Dave.................

 

[nsajorden]

Help: How do I send pictures to this part of the web?

38S&W guns,Chamber 0.3825, Bore 0.360

380/200 or 38/200, Chamber 0.3890, Bore 0.3610

A good load for 38/200:
125gr.TCBB Bullet 82% Lead
2.7gr. Win. #231 Power
Star-Line 38S&W Brass. After firing size to 0.3850, I had a die made for this sizing.
Factory brass comes 0.3820, That is 0.0005 under the standed S&W38,but 0.0070 under 38/200.
I have found that Win.SP. Primers work best,because they are soft. (save that firing pin.)

It was said by somone about rechambering the 38S&W for 38Sspl. Not a good Idea. 38spl has a much higher chamber pressure than 38S&W, also 38spl comes in load like 38+P,38+P+,38MP,and hydroshock.
Any one of this could cause the roof of the chamber to blow,or cause the top strap to give way.

I would not rechamer any old gun, twice in my time,I have bought a gun only the find it had been rechambered. At an auction I bought a Webley 455 M4, when they handed to me, I noted it was rechambered for 45acp w/moon clips. I could have cried.

If you must rechamber a 38S&W, my I ofter an answer. Take a look at the 38 long colt. You can use the same 0.360 Bullet and get twice the power as the S&W38. Brass is easy to get from Star-Line Brass Co.

When you all get my pictures I will answer all your questions the best I can.


Keep on gunning DAVE...................................

 

[ordnanceguy]

Hi Dave:

Your digital photos need to be 'hosted' on a web site. Once you do that you can link your posts here to photos hosted there so that the pics show up as part of your post.

Here is a link to another part of the Forum that will tell you how to do this.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/590103904/m/8311066552

Charlie

 

[nsajorden]

Hi *guy,
I use HP PHOTOSMART ESSENTIAL program to send photos. It work great for all the nets I use.
What I need is the address for my post.
Can this happen?
DAVE..........................

 

[nsajorden]

Help: Photobucket doesn't work for me *Guy.
What am I doing wrong.I followed your Email to no avail.


DAVE......................
Email Address: [email protected]

 

[nsajorden]

Virginian,Gunbarrel,Ordnanceguy,Digi-Shots,
and Taxas Star,
Thank you all for your info.and your advice.
I have been in contact with an expert and have gotten much information about my S&W Vic. I used a leather scribe to trace the HMS on the holster and it is the initials of the man who carried it in the war. It is not "H.M.S.".It was not stamped into the leather,it was carved in. However the crown was stamped and I didnot mess with it. It is to bad that you can not see the photos of it, I donot have "permission" to send them to the forum,So this will be my last Email to the forum. Thank all of you, Have a wonderfull NEW YEAR..............
Colour Me Gone.......DAVE

 

[Muley Gil]

nsajorden,

Don't be in such a hurry to leave us. I believe it takes 10 posts to have access to posting pictures.

If you wish to send them to me at [email protected], I'll post them for you.

 

[Muley Gil]

Here are some of the pics that were sent to me:

 

[Muley Gil]

Here are the rest:

 

[nsajorden]

Muley, You da MAN. Thank You so much.
St.John 3:16 YEA MAN
Dave, USNSG, NSA, NIS.

 

[nsajorden]

Hay Muley,
Can you see the crown in the leather? It's just above the MS?
It looks like it was stamped. HMS was scribed in, probably by the man who carried it in the service.