[45Auto]

While Australia successfully manufactured such weapons as rifles and submachineguns in large quantities, handgun production was another matter. In 1941, a contract was let to Howard Auto Cultivators in Sydney, NSW, Australia. HAC ran into trouble through a lack of proper tools to start with. Expertise in revolver production was hard to come by and the Govt. inspectors were harsh. Official records indicate that from 1941 through 1943, the Australian military accepted only 355 of these revolvers. It has been reported that some were assembled from discarded parts after the war as well. This one, is dated 1942 and has the various acceptance marks. By 1943, the program was scraped after Australia had received a sufficient quantity of .38 Smith and Wesson revolvers to meet requirements. In this image, the two rounds of ammo, pouch, holster, lanyard and rod are all Australian made.

Best regards,
Greg

 

[Dgiz]

Greg,
An outstanding rig! Is this gun in your collection? This is one of the revolvers on my "Be On The Lookout" list. The addition of the correct Lanyard, Rod, Holster and Ammo Pouch is very nice. Thanks for sharing.
Dean

 

[45Auto]

Thanks, I had been looking for years and got lucky.

Best regards,
Greg

 

[Edward Tinker]

Very nice Greg, I had no idea this rare variation existed, great gun you have,

Ed

 

[Pancho]

Would someone kindly provide a list of some of the pistols used by the Aussies in WW1 and WW2?

What Aussie WW2 pistol would one be most likely to find for a collection.

 

[45Auto]

The used the same weapons as the rest of the Empire.

WWI: Webley .455 MK I through MK VI. + a few .455 Smith & Wesson and Colt revolvers and various other handguns.

WWII: In addition to the re-issue of WWI and older revolvers, Australia issued the Enfield No.2 MK I (most of them British made)& I think they had some Webley MK IV .38 revolvers, Australia appears to have had a large number of Smith & Wesson "Vicotry Model" and I suppose some Colt Police revolvers all in .38. A large number of the Australian Smith & Wesson revolvers were imported to the US about 15 years ago with the Australian D/|\D marking. Note that the above .38 caliber revolvers were chambered for the British ".380 MK II" service cartridge which is sometimes refered to as the .38/200 due to the heavy bullet it was loaded with.

I have observed various .455 Webley revolvers, a few Enfields and alot of Smith & Wessons with Australian property marks. They may have had other handguns, such as the John Inglis Brownings, M1911 .45's, etc, but so far I have not seen them.

Best regards,
Greg

 

[Pancho]

Thanks Greg,
What sorts of markings would indicate Aussie use/issue in WW2.
Pancho

 

[45Auto]

"D /|\ D", that is, D (broad arrow) D. the DD stands for Defense Dept. This is the most common WWII Australian ownership marking.

Best regards,
Greg

 

[jacobtowne]

Pancho:
Probably either the No. 2 Mk 1 or the Smith & Wesson M&P. I include New Zealand with Australia in this comment (correctly or not).
I recently bought an M&P Victory Lend-lease in cal..38 S&W (known in England as the .380 or .38/200), New Zealand issue, which are not common here in the U.S.
JT

 

[45Auto]

Jacobtowne, Nice Find. New Zealand issued revolvers are not common. I assume your S&W is marked "N /|\ Z" ?

BTW: To those who are interested in British and Commonwealth arms: There is a book THE BROADARROW by Skennerton which is excellent for the various markings found on equipment. Highly recommended.

Greg

 

[Pancho]

Gentlemen,
Thanks, you have provided a lot of clarity on this matter.
I would like to add an Australian pistol or two to my collection. Now, I only need to find one, somewhere. Oh well, that's WW2 pistol collecting in the 21st century. Any ideas on where to find one.
Pancho

 

[45Auto]

Check out the Victory model .38 revolvers at your local gun shows. Australia sold a bunch of these about 10 years ago and they can be found at the shows from time to time.

Good luck!
Greg

 

[powdermonkey72]

I’ve seen a couple at auction. But they’re bloody scarce. Had a mate who was putting a Howard V twin cultivator engine into a stripped WLA frame. Beautiful brass engines, sleeved of course.
He was looking to direct drive it. Not sure what happened to the bike ....or him
The last HAC I saw sell was in the range of $4500 au.
Cheers!

 

[45Auto]

I'm glad to read that Australians can still own historic revolvers such as these. You guys have some tight firearms laws down there.