M&P Varient, Brit to Turkey ?

C

C.R.Sam

New member
Friend sent me the following on a new acquisition. Can any of you kind folks add some enlightment regarding this ?

".......Gun looks to me like an early M&P with 5 inch barrel.  Been reblued somewhere down the line but looks swell.  In near excellet condidtion, but a little holster wear on the barrel.  Right side of barrel is marked .38 S&W, but on the under side of barrel where the ejector rod is located it says .38 special.   Has British BNP crown proof marks all over it.

Grips are finely checkered walnut with no S&W logo on them.   On the inside of the right panel is scratched "Istanbul 54 or 64" not sure about the 5 or 6 number....."

Thanks, Sam
 
S&W M&P, Back from Britian---

I believe it was early 1963 I bought a .38 revolver from the Montgomery Ward's store in Fort Worth. It was touted as a .38 Special, but was marked .".38 S&W Ctg." on right side of barrel. It had checked wood stocks and a 3-1/2 inch barrel with a ramp front sight on a base. It was engraved on sideplate, "Converted by Cogswell & Harrison, London." The serial number had a V, either as suffix or prefix, don't recall which. There was a lanyard stud and flat ring. When I shot it with .38 Spl 158 gr. LRN ammo, the case looked strange, almost bottlenecked, and about 20% of them split.

Someone gave me a set of S&W Magna stocks for it and it was much more comfortable to shoot. It was surprisingly accurate. I later did some reading and found that it was one of the V-Model guns sent to England early in WW-II, with a five-inch barrel, and chambered for the .38 S&W, NOT .38 Special. Someone had bouight up a bunch of these, had 'em worked over to suit U.S. market tastes, and reimported them. The barrels were cut and front sights replaced. Cylinders were not replaced, but simply rechambered. he whole thing was reblued and new-production (NON S&W) stocks installed. I think I gave $29.95 for it, while a new M&P was selling for about $64.00.

I later owned an all-original S&W V-Model five-inch with full Brit proof marks, and the words "NOT BRITISH MADE."

Wish I had kept some of these good old handguns.

Best,
Johnny
 
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