Hello, everyone. My grandmother revently moved into a nursing home, and while I was going through some boxes from her basement, i came across an old revolver. It is rather worn, and Im not sure what it is. I think it is a Colt .38, but there are no makers marks. The interesting thing is that on the left side, between the grip, hammer, and chamber, it has what I translate as "5. Light Africa 1941", written with an electropencil or something. I wish I could give you some pictures, but I dont have a digital camera which works at the moment. My grandfather was a German soldier. He died in 1998. Was this his? Why wouldn't he have carried a P-38? What is 5. Light Africa? Any help would be...helpful. Thanks, Taylor Sundberg

Taylor,

Your going to need pics im afraid, or at least any other markings for an educated guess, barrel or frame anything would help, I cant make heads or tails of Light 5, maybe one of the other members may know something I dont, but it is very vague at best.

Kris

This is just a guess, like Kris is saying without pictures everything is just a guess. Maybe its a British Webley he picked up off a British Officer.

It could also be an Italian revolver because they were co-belligerents in Africa with the Germans. As was stated pictures I think are an absolute must to know what it is that we are discussing. In the interim the original German text (verbatim) might also be helpful to try and figure out what that part of the puzzle might mean. FP

Unmarked other than what's stated to be there so this leaves out Colt or S&W. Marked in English so that probably leaves out an early Geman revolver. If you can measure the inside barrel diameter we'll have an approximation of caliber. If it has a triggerguard and it's a top opener more than likely it's a Webley. If it doesn't have a triggerguard It's possibly Italian although I've never see an unmarked one. The other possibility is it's one of the many inexpensive Belgian revolvers or one of the other obscure revolvers from France or one of the Scandinavian Countries.
We really need more information. Why don't you start with the finish?,the grip material?, the number of chambers?, single or double action? Length of barrel? aproximate weight?.

I'm sorry. I didn't explain very clearly. With the exception of the serial numbers, the exact markings are "5. Leicht Afrika-1941". This is a side-opening .38 caliber, with a trigger-guard. It has 6-chambers and worn bluing. The grips are wood, made by Colt, but are obviously made after the war, but appear to by made for this specific model. It has a 4-inch barrel. Hope this helps to clear things up.

Taylor:
The problem I'm having here is all the military revolvers I've ever handled made by Colt are marked Colt in some way. Look at the top of the barrel near the frame end and tell us what's stamped there. As far as the grips go; Many of the Colt militaries have smooth grips with no logo and can be mistaken for hand made but did come with the gun.
Jim

I dont see any legible markings on the barrel, but the top left of the frame has some marks, but it is very worn ,and they might just be nicks in the metal. It looks like "U PRO TY" I think it is US PROPERTY, but this might just be wishful thinking. I'll get pictures up as soon as i can, but I dont know when that will be. This pistol ir in rather rough shape, but is very structurally sound, no pitting or anything. Thank you for your help, everyone.