Classic Handguns of the 20th Century. David Arnold

a Mormon missionary, Browning continued with his work as a gun designer. He began experimenting with self-loading firearms in 1889. Browning’s first successful machinegun design was the Model 1895, a gas-operated weapon that was ultimately made and sold by Colt.

      His first self-loading pistol was also a gas-operated design. Shortly afterwards, Browning and Colt entered an agreement where that company would make and sell his pistols in the United States.

      Browning intended to sell his pistols in Europe and that led to another partnership with Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Belgium. It was in this adopted country that Browning worked on his final pistol design, the P35 High Power. He died in Belgium before the pistol was completed. At his funeral, he was lauded by countless of his co-workers.

THESMITH &WESSON MILITARY &POLICE MODEL 10 REVOLVER

       Mainstay of America’s Police Force for Almost 100 Years

      Smith & Wesson’s Military and Police (M&P) revolver, or Model 10, is one of that company’s most successful designs. In addition to its long service life, it has also been the platform from which many of the company’s other popular revolvers have been developed.

      Much of this revolver’s success and that of the other models that have been developed from it can be attributed to its size, especially its grip. It uses a frame designated as the “K” size, which is a major factor why the M&P is considered a classic handgun.

       HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

      The Military and Police revolver traces its ancestry back to Smith & Wesson’s swing-out cylinder revolvers. Prior to 1895, all Smith & Wesson revolvers were either tip-up or break-top designs. The company never copied Colt by developing a solid frame revolver like the Single Action Army.

      Nevertheless, Smith & Wesson was interested in Colt’s new swing-out cylinder 38 revolver of 1892. The company came out with their own such design called the “hand ejector models.” According S&W historian Roy Jinks, the first prototype was made by modifying a Colt Model 1892 revolver.

      The first production model was a 32-caliber six-shot cylinder revolver called the Hand Ejector. The cylinder was locked in place in the frame by means of its ejector rod. Pulling the rod forward released the cylinder from the frame for loading and unloading.

      In the years that followed, Smith & Wesson improved the design until they arrived at a swing-out cylinder revolver much like the models in production today.

      Calibers were expanded from 22 and 32 to include larger cartridges like 38, 44 and 45. The first 38 was the Hand Ejector Model of 1899 introduced in that same year. It was later called the 38 Military and Police model. This revolver is significant in that it introduced the now famous K-frame and the 38 Special cartridge.

       DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES

      The M&P Model of 1905 is a six-shot solid-frame swing-out cylinder double-action revolver chambered for the 38 Special cartridge. It is built on the medium-size K-frame and employs the cylinder locking and trigger system of the Hand Ejector models.

      The cylinder was locked in the frame at both ends by a spring-loaded plunger rod that was released by a sliding latch on the left side of the frame behind the recoil shield. When released, a crane with the cylinder swung out of the left side of the frame.

      To clear the cylinder chambers of cartridges and spent cases, the ejector rod in front of the frame was pushed to the rear. When the cylinder was swung back into the frame, it automatically locked in place. Up until 1959 all revolvers had tapered barrels.

      Sights were fixed and grips were of checkered wood containing brass S&W medallions. The revolver was of all-steel construction. All major metal components were finished with a highly polished blue except for the trigger and hammer, which were color case-hardened.

       THE 38 SPECIAL CARTRIDGE

      Smith & Wesson hoped the U.S. military would show interest in the new revolver. The first models were chambered for the 38 Colt cartridge, but because this round had developed a poor reputation for putting down determined attackers in the Philippine insurrection, better ammunition was needed.

      A new, more powerful 38 cartridge was designed by lengthening the case and changing the bore size so that the powder charge could be increased from 150 to 215 grains and the bullet size increased from 150 to 158 grains. The result was a round that has become a favorite for both defense and competition.

       MILITARY USE

      Military interest in the M&P was adversely affected by the fact they were already committed to the semi-automatic pistol. Nevertheless, the navy and army purchased some of the early 38 models. In later years, more revolvers were purchased, but it was never universally adopted by the military, even though it saw considerable use during World War II. During the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the M&P was issued to navy and marine pilots.

      A considerable number of M&Ps saw service with British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. After the evacuation of its army at Dunkirk, the British were desperately short of firearms of any type. As a result, various U.S. arms companies were contracted to manufacture arms for the British including Smith & Wesson, which was given a $1,000,000 down payment to develop a 9mm carbine.

       The Military & Police (Model 10) revolver was asolid-frame, swing-out cylinder revolver chambered for the popular 38 S&W cartridge, which was actually made for the M&P when it first appeared in 1905.

       The Victory Model M&P was made for both the British and U.S. militaries. The British revolvers were chambered for the shorter 38/200 and the U.S. version, the 38 Special cartridge. Victory Models have a plain, rough, parkerized finish. Photo courtesy of Garry James.

      The project was never completed because the British were not satisfied with the gun the company delivered. Instead, they agreed to accept a large quantity of 38 revolvers in full settlement of the down payment.

      Smith & Wesson used the M&P model for the revolver, chambering it for the British 38/200 cartridge, and the revolvers were so marked. Sometime after the revolvers went into production, the prefix “V” was added to their serial numbers. These are known as the “Victory” model M&Ps. Instead of the highly polished blue finish of the civilian M&Ps, the Victory models have a sandblasted parkerized finish.

      After America entered the war, the Victory model production was expanded to include revolvers chambered for the 38 Special cartridge. These have the same sandblasted parkerized finish and were used largely by navy and marine aviators as well as other military personnel. A total of 568,204 Victory models were made for the British and several hundred thousand more were used by the U.S. After the war’s end, many Victory models saw service with the military and police of countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Rhodesia. In addition, many were sold to defense plants, postal services and other such organizations.

       CIVILIAN AND POLICE

      The M&P and the 38 Special cartridge have proven to be extremely popular with police and civilians. The 38 Special is an extremely versatile round that is powerful enough for defense, especially in the modern +P loadings, as well as being extremely accurate. The latter characteristic has made it a longtime favorite with serious target shooters.

      As far as the revolver is concerned, its frame and grip size are such that it generally