Unknown War Revolver ?

[guns4funca]

Hi... I inherited this revolver from the war era. Does anyone know what it is by chance? The markings on it say, 44.C.FT.W, and on the bottom it says Belgium. I can't find any other markings. Can anyone help? I have looked in the Blue Book of Guns, on line etc... Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

I looks like a Belgian copy of the Smith & Wesson 1st Model Double Action.


...That's all I got.

[justMike]

So, does the bore measure out at .44 or thereabouts?

[Anchors]

I like the star on the grip.

[G-forceJunkie]

The Belgians copied a lot of stuff back then, Mssr is right, it looks like a copy of a mith & Wesson Frontier style First Model Double Action Revolver. Caliber is .44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire), or .44-40 as it was also known. Scroll about halfway down on this page: http://www.neaca.com/Smith-Wesson-Firearms.html

[Mike A]

Somewhere inside the gun there should be a Belgian proofmark with an ELG under a crown. It may have been polished off or partly covered over when the gun was nickel plated.

These Belgian copies of the S&W 1883 DA .44s were very common between about 1890 and 1930 or so. Very similar revolvers were also made by several Spanish makers, and ones by Orbea Hermanos were used as an unofficial officers' sidearm and official colonial police sidearm. They were made in the same calibers as the S&W, mainly .44 WCF and .44 Russian, and also in some foreign military calibers such as .455 Eley, 11mm Spanish (which I think is just .44 Russian by a different name), and 10.4mm Italian Bodeo. Some of the Spanish copies in 10.4mm were exported to Italy for use in the First World War. And some of the Spanish copies were exported to England in WWI in .455 Eley ("Webley"). (Belgian guns weren't exported anywhere for use in WWI because Belgium was German occupied). I have never seen one in .38WCF, although some genuine S&Ws were made in that caliber.

BTW, yours may well have been made for export to the US since it has the US designation for the .44WCF, albeit a little incorrect. Similar revolvers made for export to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries usually have the Spanish designation for .44WCF, ".44 Largo." I have an Orbea S&W copy marked like that which spent the first part of its life in Durango.

These guns were sold in the Sears catalogs of the period for very little money. I assume that they were made for black powder pressures only.

[SVT-40]

Check the front face of the cylinder for the proofs.

[guns4funca]

Somewhere inside the gun there should be a Belgian proofmark with an ELG under a crown. It may have been polished off or partly covered over when the gun was nickel plated.

These Belgian copies of the S&W 1883 DA .44s were very common between about 1890 and 1930 or so. Very similar revolvers were also made by several Spanish makers, and ones by Orbea Hermanos were used as an unofficial officers' sidearm and official colonial police sidearm. They were made in the same calibers as the S&W, mainly .44 WCF and .44 Russian, and also in some foreign military calibers such as .455 Eley, 11mm Spanish (which I think is just .44 Russian by a different name), and 10.4mm Italian Bodeo. Some of the Spanish copies in 10.4mm were exported to Italy for use in the First World War. And some of the Spanish copies were exported to England in WWI in .455 Eley ("Webley"). (Belgian guns weren't exported anywhere for use in WWI because Belgium was German occupied). I have never seen one in .38WCF, although some genuine S&Ws were made in that caliber.

BTW, yours may well have been made for export to the US since it has the US designation for the .44WCF, albeit a little incorrect. Similar revolvers made for export to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries usually have the Spanish designation for .44WCF, ".44 Largo." I have an Orbea S&W copy marked like that which spent the first part of its life in Durango.

These guns were sold in the Sears catalogs of the period for very little money. I assume that they were made for black powder pressures only.

Thanks for the info. Yes there still is a Belgian mark it is located in front of the trigger. I wish i could find the box it was in.

[OHOD]

Nice inheritance.