R. Doug Wicker — Author

Next week I return to travel, this time to Southeast Asia. But this week it’s all about classic Smith and Wesson revolvers. Today it’s Military Monday, and I present to you a “Victory” revolver manufactured sometime in either May or June of 1944. So, what exactly is a Victory S&W revolver? It’s a six-shot revolver based upon the S&W .38 Hand Ejector Model 1899. That became the S&W Military and Police (M&P) Model, which evolved into the Victory, returned to the M&P post war, finally becoming the S&W Model 10 in 1957. The Model 10 is still in production today, which means this revolver has been in continuous production for 127 years. Throughout that time, it has been a favorite of civilians, militaries, and police departments all around the world.

As for the Victory model, it served during WWII in both the U.S. Army and Navy, the OSS (chambered in .38-200), British Commonwealth militaries (also in .38-200) including ANZAC. Thus, the Victory found itself used in every WWII theater of operations — Europe, North Africa, Pacific, and Southeast Asia. The model you see today is stamped U.S. PROPERTY G.H.D. and that stamp is preceded by the “Flaming Bomb” ordnance mark. What does all that mean? It means that this particular weapon was inspected under Colonel (later Brigadier General) Guy H. Drewry, head of United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield (a.k.a., “Springfield Armory;” not to be confused with the gun manufacturer that today operates as Springfield Armory, Inc). Victory revolvers for both the Army and Navy were inspected at Springfield Armory; but as this one lacks any U.S. Navy stamp, it probably wound up going to the U.S. Army or U.S. Army Air Corps.

Yes, this is a pinned barrel Smith (For a discussion on Smith and Wesson pinned barrels and recessed cylinders, see my article Smith & Wesson Revolver Lesson/Quiz — What do “Pinned,” “Recessed,” and “No-Dash” mean?):

A word about how the Victory got its name. It comes from the serial numbers used starting in 1942 and running into 1944. These started with “V.” Starting in late 1944 and continuing through 1945, Victory serial numbers began with “VS” to indicate that a positive hammer block safety system was incorporated into the design. This change was brought about when a Victory discharged after it was dropped, killing a Navy seaman.

If you’ve read any of my previous articles on S&W revolvers, you know that the serial number is always stamped on the butt of the gun. The Victory is no different. Here you can clearly see the “V” forward of the lanyard ring, followed by the rest of the serial number aft of the lanyard ring:

But unlike most other S&W revolvers, you’ll find other places also stamped with the serial number. This Victory has all matching numbers, and those serial number stamps can be seen on the rear of the cylinder, minus the “V”:

The underside of the barrel once you swing the cylinder and ejector rod out of the way, this time with the “V”:

And inside the right grip panel, again without the “V”:

You’ll find other numbers stamped on the Victory, just as you will all older S&W revolvers, but these have nothing to do with the revolver’s serial number. These are assembly numbers, and they were used to track the hand-fitted parts. You’ll find these assembly numbers on the yoke and the frame:

Before I turn the rest of today’s Victory photos into a photo gallery/slide show, below is an image comparing a 4-inch/102mm barrel Victory from 1944 with a 4-inch S&W Model 10-5 circa 1967 (see my article on this firearm at: Revolver Week — Military Monday with a S&W Model 10-5). Note the difference between the durable wartime “S&W Midnight Black” phosphate matte finish (similar to the lighter, gray-colored Parkerized phosphate finish) and the more refined, much more expensive, less durable, highly polished blued finish:

Now for some more closeups of this piece of WWII military history:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)