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UNIQUE -“personalized”Vietnam era U.S. Navy and Marine marked "U.S.N. Pilot"Boyt" standard M3 variant shoulder holster, produced in 1944 underNavy contract specifically scaled for a .38 Special Smith & Wesson VictoryModel revolver which was often intended for Navy pilots or crewmen. It also haswhat appears to be an “in-theater” customization with the addition of an extra ammunition storage looped web. Aviators and special operations troops frequently had theirgear customized by adding nylon loops or pockets from newer M-1956 or M-1967web gear to older leather rigs to carry extra ammunition, survival radios, orflares. It appears that the servicemen had it custom-riveted to hold extraammunition and was almost certainly modified by a military unit's parachuterigger or a local canvas/leather repair shop “in-theater”.
The Navy specifically contracted for "U.S.N."marked holsters as is the case with this example while the vast majority of S&W Victory revolvers andcorresponding holsters carried only the standard "U.S." stamp which couldbe universally issued across branches. This example holster also utilized steel hardware witha black oxide or Parkerized finish due to the strictly rationed brass toconserve copper for ammunition casing production.
Given the lack of a Mildew Resistant Treatment(MRT)stamp, it appears that this holster went straight into service, or skippedpost-war depot overhauls. The MRT stamps were applied to canvas and leatherfield gear but there is a common misconception about how they were rolled out. Themilitary mandated widespread MRT testing and applications starting around late1944 and into 1945, but it mostly became a ubiquitous processing requirementfor surplus gear during the Post-WWII and Korean War eras, early 1950s.(MIL023)
CONDITION – Good to Very Good. The holster showsclear signs of field use and is heavily worn in some areas, snaps are all intactand working order, stitching is good, surface cracking (crazing) at stresspoints like the throat or the strap hinge is minimal in some areas while more predominate in others, with minor verdigris(green residue) around the steel snaps, the U.S.N., Boyt and 1944" stampsare clear and while faint are legible (see images).
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