page_title: Smith & Wesson
section_title: World wars
hierarchical_section_title: Smith & Wesson / History / World wars
caption_attribution_description: English: Smith &amp; Wesson Model 19-5 .357 Magnum, 4" Barrel, Polished Nickle plated, Woodgrain square grips
context_page_description: Smith & Wesson is an American firearms manufacturing company. Their headquarters are in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1852. Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and military forces. Smith & Wesson firearms are very popular among sport shooters.
  Smith & Wesson is also known for the many types of ammunition it has introduced over the years. Many cartridge calibers bear the S&W name. For example, the .500 S&W Magnum.
context_section_description: Smith & Wesson received large government contracts for military revolvers from the American government. The company expanded to produce the firearms. But management problems, labor disputes and a new workforce all caused problems for production. As a result, the US government stepped in to manage S&W until the end of the war.
  After the war a surplus of military arms and imports of low cost guns caused sales to drop. Under Harold Wesson, the company manufactured other items to try to keep up profits. They made sewing machines, handcuffs, washing machines and toilet parts. But none of these items made the company profitable.
  About this time, bullet-proof vests came into use. Gangsters quickly adopted them so that bullets traveling at under 1,000 fps would not penetrate them. S&W immediately began experimenting with improved bullets. They also used the famous firearms expert Bill Jordan as a consultant to help develop a new much more powerful handgun. What resulted was the first magnum cartridge, the S&W .357 Magnum. In 1935 they released the Smith & Wesson Model 19. Using a 125 grain bullet traveling at 1600 fps, it could easily defeat the body armor of the time.
caption: S&W Model 19 in .357 Magnum
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