lend lease colt 38?

[dskjl]

Found this today. The pic of the stamp is poor but I think it's British.

Thoughts?

[dskjl]

So anybody have any ideas beyond lend lease to Britain?

[doyler]

D

 

Is the marking by the cylinder 38/200? if so I recall that is the designation for the 38 SW cartridge that was standard use in the WW2 enfield revolvers and not the same as a 38 Special cartridge.The lend lease Victory revolvers were a 38 SW and I have one that I believe was Canadian used/issue.

[Ronnie]

Ron I believe it says 38/380.

Ronnie

[doyler]

Ron I believe it says 38/380.

Ronnie

 

Thanks...hard to see it in pics.

 

here is some Wiki on the Colt revolvers.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police

[dskjl]

Ron I believe it says 38/380.

Ronnie

You are correct. There are other markings much more difficult to make out. Kind of resembles an arrow on top of a crown with a couple of numbers below an a stamp that resembles something you would see on British silver. Hard to make it out.

[doyler]

Ron I believe it says 38/380.

Ronnie

 

 

If I understand it correctly the .380(38/380) replaced the .200 (.38/200) and basically the .200 is the weight of the bullet.

[dskjl]

 

Thanks...hard to see it in pics.

 

here is some Wiki on the Colt revolvers.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police

Thanks Ron, the article describes this little colt to a tee, perfect and defiantly a WWII gun from Colt.

[kwill]

I don't believe it was a Lend-Lease gun; just a straight up purchase by the British Purchasing Commission is my guess. It appears to have a restamped serial number which was probably done after the lanyard loop was installed. The "arrow" would be a MoD stamp and the crown is a commercial proof. The picture is too fuzzy to make out but it will be one of these.

 

[dskjl]

Here is what I have found thus far.

From Colts serial number look=up service 1938 OFFICIAL POLICE MODEL (CONTINUED ARMY SPECIAL SERIALS)

 

This gun has all of these features and a 4 inch barrel. "By 1927 the overwhelming sales of two popular models, the Army Special and Colt Police Positive, had assured Colt’s dominance of the law enforcement firearms market.[1][2] Colt’s marketing strategy was further fine-tuned by making a few superficial alterations to the Army Special revolver and then renaming it as the “Official Police” model.[1][2] The changes included adding checkering to the trigger and cylinder latch, matting the topstrap of the frame and widening the rear sight groove. Colt also upgraded the quality of the gun’s finish from a dull blued finish to a highly polished blued surface".

 

I have to get a better pic of the stamps or maybe draw a picture as it is very close to a couple of those above but I still cant put my finger on which one.

 

Thanks,

[kwill]

Does that number on the butt match the actual serial number inside the crane?

[dskjl]

Does that number on the butt match the actual serial number inside the crane?

Yes sir it does.

[zsmith]

Pretty sure it's not lend-lease. I think those had US Property or some such stamped on them.

 

It's also pre-April 1942 because that's when they reached 1,000,000 on the serial numbers and added a "V" prefix.

[doyler]

Pretty sure it's not lend-lease. I think those had US Property or some such stamped on them.

 

It's also pre-April 1942 because that's when they reached 1,000,000 on the serial numbers and added a "V" prefix.

 

Thought the Smiths had the V ... this is a Colt

[zsmith]

 

Thought the Smiths had the V ... this is a Colt

 

 

You are correct. I brain farted on that one. I should have fact checked before I posted.

[dskjl]

Here is a quick scribble of what the proof marks look like.

[zsmith]

Found this: Royal Arms Factory Enfield "Crown/E4/E" inspection mark

 

[zsmith]

And the arrow at the top should be the acceptance mark.

[dskjl]

And the arrow at the top should be the acceptance mark.

Awesome thank you very much.

[Charlie Flick]

Kevin got it right. These .38-200 Colt OPs were direct British purchase guns. Cash and carry. Not Lend Lease stuff. They bought 18,250 of them in 1941.

 

The arrow is, of course, the Broad Arrow which signifies Government ownership of the piece.

 

These martial Colts are a frequent subject of discussion over on the Colt Forum. Here are a couple of representative links:

 

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/colt-revolvers/86166-official-police-38-200-a.html

 

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/colt-revolvers/81146-colt-38-200-a.html

 

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/colt-revolvers/39620-interesting-proof-official-police.html

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

[dskjl]

Any idea why this one is stamped 38\380 ?

[kwill]

I believe your gun left the factory chambered for the standard (US) .38 Special cartridge. The Brits reamed out the cylinder for their standard .38/.380, which is the same as .38 S&W. It is a shorter, larger diameter round. That change was probably done at the same time they installed the lanyard ring. The 38/380 stamp is to make it clear to a British soldier that it had been converted and could use their standard issue ammo.

[Charlie Flick]

Egg on my face here. Kevin is right - again - as the Official Police in question here was unquestionably originally chambered for .38 Special rather than the .38-200 cartridge I mentioned.

 

If it had been a .38-200, as I thought it was on first glance, it would have had this barrel marking.

 

 

But it does not, so Kevin got it right. It is still a direct purchase gun rather than a Lend Lease gun but is an example of the Brits desire to lay their hands on almost anything that would should in the dark days after Dunkirk and before the USA got involved directly in the war. Either way, a neat and historical gun.

 

Regards,

Charlie