I own Rochester Ordnance Smith (ROS) serial number 198451. It's exciting to own this shotgun. It's a piece of American history having started the manufacturing process on November 14, 1941 and was finished on March 9, 1942. It was being manufactured by the Hunter Arms Company while the Pearl Harbor attack was happening on December 7, 1941.

It has several military identifier codes as shown in my L.C. Smith Collectors Association Research Letter. However, there is one code that is engraved and appears on the right side of the receiver, and is unidentified.

The code is 'VA2444'. I believe this is a WWII era Lot Number (LN). Basically, a LN is a unique number that is essential for effective inventory management. They allow the tracking of inventory items as they move through the supply chain. Inventory tracking is especially important for recall or withdrawal from inventory.

The 'VA' stands for the Virginia Arms Company. The number '2444' is the rest of the LN. VA is one of many Gun Manufacturers that is listed and can be seen by GOOGLING - 'Gun Manufacturers Codes, Markings and Trademarks'. I viewed three listings covering different time periods. The listing that I am referring to included the Hunter Arms Company.

It is believed that each manufacturer had a series of numbers, or more, and each used the numbers within block(s) for shipping military materiel. Three people on our LCSCA FORUM reported that their ROS's right side plates had VA2116, VA2444, VA2474 engravings.

I looked through the net for a listing of manufacturers' LN series numbers and could not find one. However, there is a reference book: 'U S. Military Small-Arms Ammunition Lot Numbers 1928-1945' for sale on AMAZON. It was published on October 10, 2023. I ordered this book and will look for clues about the military inventory control system using LNs for identification codes. The book is a complete history of U. S. military small arms ammunition production by factory, and by LN. Also covered are the specific markings on the packages and boxes with factory production LNs for different cartridges/calibers. Factory LNs have been assembled for the years 1928 through 1945 for all twenty four munition production facilities.

In summary, we know that ammunition factories had individual alpha name codes, we can view the list, and each would logically have their own LNs. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that manufacturers, other than ammunition manufacturers, would each be given LNs too.