S&W Hand Ejector / Springfield marked

[Emri]

This revolver is in .44 Special caliber, has a lanyard loop on the butt, no US Army marking. All serial numbers match and assembly numbers also. Looks like a typical old civilian model, however.......there is a Springfield Armory inspector mark in the yoke recess next to the assy. number. The only place I can find the mark. It is the eagle over S2.

Why would it have that mark and be in the caliber it is in? A left over frame that was built after the inspection for commercial sale, after contract cancelling ??

Thanks,

Emri

[Tuna]

Not unusual to find parts on later S&W hand ejectors that are US stamped and inspected such as yours. After WW1 S&W had tons of left over USGI parts that had been inspected. The US government had taken over S&W and made a lot of extra parts that were never used. So S&W took them over when the government gave control of S&W back to the company. They used the parts right up through the 1937 contract for Brazil on those hand ejectors. If I remember right there were still a few parts showing up on the second half of the contract with Brazil which I think was finally finished in 1948.