Smith & Wesson Model 39

During World War II, the German Walther P38 double-action/single-action pistol impressed American ordnance personnel so much that the Army Ordnance Corps issued a proposal for an American equivalent to the P38. In 1949, Smith & Wesson began development of the Model 39 chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum and it entered the market in 1955. It was the first U.S. designed double action (DA) semi-automatic pistol and was designed to replace the venerable M1911A1. The 1911 was still extremely popular with law enforcement, military, and civilian use, but only offered a single-action trigger and a heavy steel frame. It was issued to officers-in-charge (OICs) of MST-2 detachments as their sidearm. SEAL Teams used either the Model 39 without modification or a modified version, the Mk 22 Mod 0, which was called the "Hush Puppy". a breakthrough in introducing semi-automatic pistols to law enforcement. This publicity helped commercial sales and set the stage for the more acceptable Model 59 with its higher capacity magazine at least in undercover or detective police use where the double action feature (and the larger magazine capacity) was considered by many to be superior to single-stack semi-automatics and revolvers of the time. The Model 39 was discontinued from production after 1983. ==Design==

The Model 39 was designed with an anodized aluminum frame, a curved backstrap, and a blued carbon steel slide that carried the manual safety. The grip was of three pieces made of two walnut wood panels attached to the aluminum frame's handle with a screw. Later variants of the Model 39 would incorporate black polymer grips. The Model 39's magazine release is located at the rear of the trigger guard, a contrast to most European designs which were still using heel releases. The Model 39 used a conventional slide, barrel bushing, slide arrangement as opposed to the exposed barrel and falling locking block arrangement of the P38. Locking the slide into the barrel on a Model 39 locking is achieved by a modification of the Browning P35 (High Power) cam-locked breech. First-generation Model 39 slides used either a long, spring steel extractor or a spring-loaded, pivoting claw extractor. Long extractors tended to be fragile and were replaced by the pivoting type. However, the long extractor proved to be more reliable than the pivoting version. The Model 39 employed many features common to the Walther P38 such as a combination safety and decocker that disconnected the trigger and hammer. Smith & Wesson copied the 8-round single-stack magazine as well but added a magazine catch cutout to it in order to accommodate the button release near the trigger guard more popular on American pistols. The overall length of the Model 39 was 7.6 inches, the barrel is 4 inches long. The weight of the Model 39 was 1.72 pounds; this light weight is due to its aluminum frame. ==Variants==

During early testing, a few Model 39s were produced with a steel frame. This steel-framed trial model provided the basis for the Model 52 target pistol. The Model 52 had a longer (5-inch) barrel and slide and was one of the few semi-automatic pistols ever chambered for the .38 Special cartridge (with flush-seated, full wadcutter bullets only). The shape of the rimmed cartridge limited the magazine capacity to five rounds. A further variant, the Model 952, in 9mm Luger, was produced in limited quantities by Smith & Wesson's Performance Center. The Model 52 was discontinued in 1992 when the machinery to manufacture the pistol broke down and it was deemed too costly to replace. ==Users==

• • Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo • • United States Navy • Covina, California Police Department ==Gallery==

File:S&W Model 39.2 Semiauto Pistol-NMAH-AHB2015q031440.jpg|Smith & Wesson Model 39 Smithsonian photograph File:Smith and Wesson mg 3405.jpg ==References==