Enfield revolver

D

doubleaes2

New member
Hey everyone,

I just acquired a new revolver. I can't make heads or tails of this thing. There are no manufacturers marks, and I really can't find a serial number. The only thing that I can decipher is the marking "CAL.38" on the top of the barrel. It is a break open double action with a five inch barrel. 38 S&W seems to fit the cylinder well. Can anyone help? I would post pics, but my brother has my camera.

Adam
 
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Yep,

Thats it. Except mine has a hammer spur and the finish is much nicer. It is missing the lanyard loop though. Thanks for the info.
 
The original Enfield revolver (Pistol, revolver, No. 2 Mk 1) has a hammer spur. The later No. 2 Mk 1* does not. The spur was reportedly removed because tank crewmen who carried the gun in a shoulder or hip holster found the hammer spur snagged on the tank when they tried to get out through the hatch. Given the quality of many British and American tanks in WWII, a rapid exit from a tank was all too often required, so that complaint was taken seriously.

Jim
 
There are some numbers stamped on the top of the barrel, but
I cannot make out what the stamping is. Would it be 4 digits or 2?
 
Two digits.
The SN on my No. 2 Mk. I is stamped on the outside of the cylinder, and on the barrel and frame on either side of the hinge (you have to turn the gun upside down to see these.)
It may be that your revolver lacks stamps because they were buffed off during refinish, but that's just guessing.
JT
 
Could the serial be stamped under the barrel near the hinge assembly? Does ZG 6263 sound correct? This is also stamped on the cylinder.

adam
 
Yessir. That is indeed the SN. There is no way to tell the year by that number, except that it was made after 1941. ZG is late in the sequence, so is likely late war, perhaps 1944 or 45.
Because the piece is a Mk I* or Mk I** and should not have a spur hammer, it is likely that at some point someone restored the SA function.
JT
 
I thought that the hammer appeared on the guns before they got sent back in to be re-arsenalled and converted to DAO? The date looks like it could be 44, the nimbers are a little tough to read though.
 
The Mark I* DAO was adopted in March, 1939. The Mark I SA/DA was made obsolescent by this change, and Mark I revolvers were to be converted to Mk I* whenever passing through ordnance factories for repair.
Obviously not all were converted, since I have in my collection an unmodified Mk. I made in 1931.
JT
 
BTW: The maker's mark should be stamped on the right side of the frame. If it's not there, it has probably been buffed off during refinish.
JT
 
There is a mark on that side of the frame, but it is not a crest or anyhting like that. It seems to be an inverted D with a line through it and the letter " I " followed by an *
 
That's a 'D' superimposed over an 'E', which is a logo for EnfielD. The revolver was thus made at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, Middlesex.
The I* is the model, Mk I*.
JT
 
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