Friday, January 31, 2014

Survival Gun Picture History

Survival guns is not just about those we may use to survive but also those which do survive. Revolvers are old school, they have been around in their current form well over 100 years and there is a reason for that, they work.
Now I know other guns work as well but over all the revolver is the ultimate user-friendly weapon. There is no safety, they don't misfeed or jamb and in the case of a misfire you simply keep pulling the trigger (double action) till it does fire and the biggest drawback is the ammo capacity which in my opinion is not as critical as some would have you believe.
Now all this has been stated before but after writing the piece on the Victory Revolver I did a little research and came up with some interesting history and information which I will share. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.




During WW2 thousands of  Victory Revolvers were sent to Commonwealth countries in a Lend-Lease program, here is a picture of some of them being unwrapped and inventoried in England during the war.





Here is an American General pinning an award on a Australian soldier with a Victory Revolver holstered on his side. It is sporting after market pearl handles.










This is an Australian soldier guarding a Korean prisoner with one of these S&W revolvers.












This is an interesting picture, an Australian combat engineer assisting American forces in Vietnam with tunnel clearing operations. He is armed with a Smith & Wesson fitted with a suppressor. Now I understand this is an exercise in futility but my guess is if you could just harness a portion of the blast it could save you hearing in a tunnel. It does appear he is wearing ear plugs as well. Could this also be one of the first tricked out handguns with flashlight attached.





Here is an American 'Tunnel Rat' in Vietnam also armed with one of these revolvers.















Here is two pilots in Vietnam. The one on the right is carrying a Victory Revolver in a shoulder holster while the one on the left is carrying either a newer model 10 (Military and Police) or a Victory fitted with newer grips. The model 10 and the Victory are basically the same weapon with the model 10 being only a little better polished.




This VF-11 pilot is armed with a Victory revolver. the butt is visible in the lower right of the picture with a lanyard attached it also appears to be sporting stag handled grips.














WW2 pilots going over mission plans. The pilot right of center with Victory Revolver.


This is an interesting picture from the TV series 'Black Sheep Squadron'
The handguns on the right and left are 1911's while the center is a pearl handled Victory revolver.

George Bush carried a Victory Revolver on his combat missions during WW2 (left) and had it with him when he was shot down in the Pacific during the war, you can see the rescue sub right of photo.









After the ocean rescue he gave the revolver to another officer to safe-keep and lost track of it till it was returned by the officers family upon his death in 1983 Bush is shown here inspecting it before donating it to the Constitutional Museum in Philadelphia.

The gun is show below. It is Serial # V361858  and is in remarkable condition especially considering it survived a ocean rescue. The serial number dates it as mid 1943 manufacture.

George Bush Victory Revolver, Serial # V361858



14 comments:

  1. Like you said, simple to use, no magazines required or to get lost - broken, and common ammunition - pretty good option. What would a modern day Victory model be - a .357 / .38 Special or 9mm Para revolver ? Or in SA Ruger Blackhawk convertible version, all 3 choices ?

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  2. The Victory Smith & Wesson is a K frame (intermediate size) newer revolvers were called Model 10 (military and police) and may be marked 10-1, 10-2 and so on depending on the manufacture date. Used models are the best value in my opinion as they seem better quality. Model 10's were 38 special but there are many K frame S&W's chambered in 357 mag which also allows you to shoot 38 special these include model 13, 65, 66 and others. Like you said Ruger does make a convertible 357/9mm but it is SA and much slower to reload apart from being single action. Any good gun store will have a selection of these used revolvers at usually half the newer prices and are excellent value for the money.

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  3. Don't forget to tuck your Victory inside your range bag on our next trip to the range. I'd, ah, like to snap a few pics of it. Nice history lesson, Bubba. BTW, I'm home sick today...was stationed in the head all night. Must have been those fresh donuts we shared yesterday.

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    1. Stephen, I know better than let you get too close to my firearms, of course I could tie it to my belt via the lanyard loop.

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  4. I have several Model 10's but I don't have a Victory Model revolver. I need to go by that pawn shop and see if he ever gets any in. He's already on the look out for a couple of guns for me. All he wants in return for his trouble is a ready listener for his stories of long ago, and I can relate to that. Even if he doesn't find me one of the guns on my list of "look fors" he's still interesting.

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    1. Harry, I have seen them at pawn shops with a plug where the lanyard loop was and newer grips and it look just like a newer model 10 because the grips are interchangeable. If you find them like that they are easy to change back. I dare say most pawn shops (and some gun stores) would not know what they were looking at in that configuration.

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  5. I still prefer a good revolver to most semi-autos, although I carry a 1911A1. Thank you for this bit of history - fascinating read!

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    1. Rev Paul, I like my semi autos as well but I have a huge soft spot for wheel guns.

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  6. The grips on the revolver the General has look to be ivory, not pearl. Per G.S.Patton, pearl grips are for pimps in a New Orleans whorehouse.

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    1. Robert, you are probably right about that and my guess is they would be imitation as well. Thanks.

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  7. I appreciate the time you took on these posts. I learned a few things I didn't know before.

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    1. Thanks Matt, I enjoy the history behind this stuff.

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