Smith & Wesson 52

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Smith & Wesson Model 52 - .38 Special

The Smith & Wesson 52 is a rare handgun in that it's chambered for the .38 Special rimmed cartridge only. The pistol, however, did not fire the standard .38 Special rounds, common to revolvers, but had to fire a special 'wadcutter' round that was fully enclosed in the brass casing (similar in appearance to the 7.62mm Nagant cartridges fired by the Nagant 1895 revolver). The gun was derived from the Smith & Wesson 39. The Model 52 was produced in very low numbers from 1961-1993. It is considered a very accurate target handgun. The pistol can only take low pressure wadcutters and is not built to withstand the high pressures of its 9x19mm cousins. A 2004 "sequel" to the Model 52 exists named Model 952 which fires only regular 9mm rounds.

Specifications

(1961 - 1993)

• Type: Pistol

• Caliber(s): .38 Special

• Weight: 40 oz

• Length: 8.55” (192 mm)

• Barrel length: 5” (102 mm)

• Capacity: 5-round box magazine

• Fire Modes: Semi-auto

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The Smith & Wesson Model 52 has appeared in the following films and television series used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Man on the Roof	Thomas Hellberg	Detective Gunvald Larsson		1976

See Also

• Smith & Wesson - A list of all weapons produced by Smith & Wesson