Smith & Wesson Victory Model .38 Special 2″ Double Action Revolver C&R 1942
SOLD FOR: $6,275.00
LSB#: WY250405JW018
Make: Smith & Wesson
Model: Victory Model (Military & Police Model of 1905, 4th Change)
Serial Number: V179468
Year of Manufacture: 1942 (per included factory letter)
Caliber: .38 Special
Action Type: Double Action Revolver with Swing-Out Cylinder
Markings:
The left side of the barrel is marked “SMITH & WESSON / 38 S&W SPC CTG.” The right side of the frame is marked “MADE IN U.S.A.” The butt of the grip frame is marked “V179468”. The left side of the frame has the S&W monogram logo. There are no U.S. Navy or government property markings present on the topstrap or frame.
Barrel Length: 2″
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a half-moon blade forged to the barrel. The rear sight is a square notch in the topstrap.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are smooth walnut panels. There are only minor handling marks with no chips or cracks. The grips rate in Excellent condition.
Type of Finish: Wartime Midnight Black (Parkerized)
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 9 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This revolver retains about 95% of its original finish. There is faint operational wear around the muzzle and cylinder, with minimal handling marks. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this revolver rates in Excellent condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The cylinder locks up tightly with minimal side-to-side play. Double and single action trigger pulls are smooth and crisp. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This revolver includes a Smith & Wesson factory letter from Roy Jinks confirming shipment on December 16, 1942, as part of a special lot of 42 revolvers sent to the U.S. Navy at the Naval Supply Depot in New York. Also included are copies of the period Journal article and original shipping records which detail the extreme rarity of 2″ barrel Victory Models. These sources confirm this specific revolver as the only documented example from this shipment.
Provenance: This pistol comes from the esteemed collection of Kevin Williams, respected firearms historian and author of U.S. General Officer Pistols: A Collector’s Guide. Williams is known for curating exceptional military sidearms with elite provenance.
Our Assessment: This Smith & Wesson Victory Model revolver is among the rarest WWII-era military sidearms ever documented. Factory-lettered Victory Models with original 2″ barrels are exceptionally scarce, with only 846 confirmed to date. Of those, none were OSS or Justice Department issues, and only a handful have surfaced with firm documentation. This revolver, one of just 42 shipped on December 16, 1942, had not been previously recorded until the discovery of this example.
Adding these 42 guns to the well-known Fort Mason and Defense Supply Center (DSC) shipments gives us a total of 846 documented 2″ Victory Models. However, the shipping ledgers do not account for the final 100 Fort Mason guns by serial number—likely due to wartime logistics errors or inter-branch miscommunication. Similar anomalies are seen with M1911A1 pistols and many other U.S. military small arms of the period.
If Roy Jinks has only ever documented this single revolver from the December 16 shipment, that elevates this example to a tier of hyper-rarity. It is accompanied by factory documentation, shipping record excerpts, and a magazine article attesting to its provenance and significance. For advanced collectors of wartime arms or rare Smith & Wesson variants, this is a crown jewel. So bid high and bid firm. I highly encourage you to take a look at the condition of the item in our high-quality photos. Good luck with your bid. -K.F.
