Re: Rochester Ordnance District Military Shotguns
I can't tell from the stamping if this is an ordinance department gun or not, as I don't see any stamp that is distinctly identifiable as a "flaming bomb" symbol? Some of the stamps are odd and clearly not done by Hunter Arms; BUT the serial number places this gun as having shipped in 1942, and the records show that a total of 8 Wild Fowl Smith guns were sold to Rochester in 1942. This could have been one of those guns? To know for sure, I suggest you request a research letter as records exist for all eight Wild Fowl guns. As to how the gun got to England (if I guessed the country correctly?), I'd speculate it came over with one of the Yanks; most likely an officer, and it was gifted, sold, or traded to your Friend. Most likely we'll never know, but yours is not the first Smith gun turning up in distant countries. LC Smith sold these shotguns to the US military for use as training tools; they were used for aerial gunnery training, specifically to teach shooters how to lead a moving target. Perhaps the individual who brought the gun over was a pilot, as many American pilots were imported by the RAF prior to the massing of troops for the Normandy invasion; who knows? At any rate a most interesting gun and story; so start with that letter then see how many history gaps you can fill in from 1942 until the gun became your possession. Best of luck!
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