S&W 39

J.John

Does anyone know what changes were made in the 39 when it was redesignated the 39-2?

J.John

I'm thinking about purchasing a used Smith & Wesson Model 39. Anyone have any experience or knowledge about this particular model?

Ronald J. Snow

Model 39, the first 9mm double action pistol manufactured in the U.S.; 927 manufactured. Had steel frame and steel slide. Mfg. 1954-1966. Model 39-1, alloy frame and steel slide; mfg. 1954-1982. In 1970 the serial number of the 39-1 began with "A" serial prefix. 39-2 was for a change in the extractor taking place in 1971. This information is taken from the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson pages 154-55.

p0838

the book mentioned above leaves a lot to be desired as it relates to the Model 39. The first 9mm was the Double Action Automatic and did not have a model number. It also had a unique slightly different frame and smaller safety lever.Called a pre 39. Then there was the 39. I believe that the 39-1 was not 9mm. The 39-2 came later and in fact had a smaller extracter.

JudgeColt

I agree the book mentioned leaves a lot to be desired, which is an understatement. I suspect we will be trying to refute the wrong information in that book for a long time. The multitude and magnitude of the errors makes me wonder how the thing ever got published. A much better source for correct Smith & Wesson information is the Jinks book, "History of Smith & Wesson," although it also contains a few smaller errors. The catalog is only good for pictures, and little else. The "Pre-Model 39" was introduced commercially in 1954 and had an alloy frame. The design had been developed after WWII for the military for possible replacement of the M1911. Some of the military test pistols did have steel frames, but steel-frame pistols were not offered commercially until 1966, when 927 steel-frame pistols were put on the market. (I speculate they were either military over-runs, or the result of a cancelled special-order contract somewhere.) The approximately first 2200 pistols had a short safety lever. The "Model 39" desgination was added in 1957, when Smith assigned model numbers to its handguns. Some of the Models 39 still had the short safety. If anyone has one of those for sale, I would be interested. The Model 39-1 was the first attempt at making a target pistol out of the M39, and fired a special semi-rimless version of the .38 Special cartridge called the .38 A.M.U.. When the Army Marksmanship Unit did not order any more pistols after the first test lot, the remaining pistols were offered commercially as the Model 52-A to avoid confusion with the Model 39 and the Model 52. As far as I know, no pistols marked "Model 39-1" were ever released commercially. Before releasing the pistols commercially, which were marked "Model 52," the "A" suffix was added to the pistols on hand to differentiate them from the Model 52, which fired the .38 Special cartridge.The Model 39-2 was introduced in 1971. The model number change was made to designate the new extractor design introduced at that time. The extractor was changed from a long, wide extractor where the tension was supplied by the extractor itself serving as a spring, to a small, thin, shorter extractor powered by a coil spring under the extractor.

JudgeColt

Dr. Pig, you should also know that some Models 39 were even offered in 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger)![This message has been edited by JudgeColt (edited 11-02-2001).]