Smith & Wesson Centennial
Encyclopedia
S&W Centennial is a family of 5-shot revolvers made by Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...

 on the "J-Frame". Centennial's feature a fully enclosed hammer, which makes them Double Action Only (DAO) firearms. Like nearly all other "J-frame" Smith & Wesson revolvers, they have a swing-out cylinder. Smith & Wesson manufactures "Centennial" revolvers in .38 Special +P
.38 Special
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...

 (Models 40, 442 and 642), 9mm Luger (Model 940) and .357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

 (Models 340 and 640). Centennial models have been made in different versions like PD "Personal Defense", LS "Lady Smith", and M&P "Military & Police"

History

The original Centennial model was introduced in 1952, and was named for the company's 100th anniversary.

Smith & Wesson Model 40 and 42

The Model 40 originally came out in 1952 as the Centennial and was changed to the Model 40 in 1957. The Model 40 is chambered in .38 special and has a five-round capacity. It is a snub-nose revolver with a 1 7/8-inch barrel. It is built on Smith & Wesson's J-frame and weighs 21 oz. empty. The revolver was made with a grip safety as some shooters could not get used to the idea of firing a revolver without cocking the hammer. Smith and Wesson reintroduced this model in 2007 as a collector's piece with some models featuring a case hardened
Case hardening
Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal, often a low carbon steel, by infusing elements into the material's surface, forming a thin layer of a harder alloy...

 finish by Doug Turnbull.

The Model 42 came out in 1952 as the Airweight Centennial but was changed in 1957 to the Model 42. The gun was the same design as the Model 40 except it was made of an alloyed steel, resulting in a lower weight than the Model 40. The Model 42 was discontinued in 1974.

Smith & Wesson Model 640, 642, and 442

The Model 640
Smith & Wesson Model 640
The Smith & Wesson Model 640 revolver is a 5-shot snubnosed revolver that is chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum calibers. Like nearly all other "J-frame" Smith & Wesson revolvers, it has a swing-out cylinder, but this model features a concealed hammer...

 revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

 has been in production since 1990 and was chambered for .38 Special. It was fitted with a standard barrel of 1-7/8 inch length. The second model had a slightly heavier and longer barrel of 2-1/8 inch length. The gun was constructed entirely of stainless steel until 1995, when models were made in aluminium and designated "airweight" along with a blued version designated as the Model 442. A 3" barreled version was offered until 1993, when it was dropped from production.
In 1996 S&W began chamberong the 640 in .357 Magnum. Because of the power of the .357 magnum cartridge, the frame is strengthened just in front of the cylinder release on those models.

Smith & Wesson Model 940

In 1993 S&W introduced the Model 940, similar in appearance to the 640, but chambered in 9mm Luger. In 1996 the 940 was dropped from production.

Smith & Wesson Model 340 and 342

In 2001 a Scandium
Scandium
Scandium is a chemical element with symbol Sc and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic transition metal, it has historically been sometimes classified as a rare earth element, together with yttrium and the lanthanoids...

 framed version was introduced in .357 Magnum designated as the Model 340
Smith & Wesson Model 340PD
The Smith and Wesson 340PD is an ultra-light, J-frame, five shot, short-barrel revolver chambered for .357 Magnum ammunition.-Design:It has a frame constructed of scandium enhanced aluminum alloy, a titanium alloy cylinder, and a corrosion resistant steel barrel liner...

. This revolver weighs 10.9 ounces.
The model M&P 342 was introduced in 2001 as a special run of revolvers that are identical to a Model 340 but chambered only for .38 Special +P
.38 Special
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...

 due to some police departments ammunition restrictions.

Design limitations

There is a prohibition against using ammunition with bullet weight less than 120 gr due to the risk of frame erosion
Flame cutting (firearms)
Flame cutting is a destructive phenomenon that occurs in some firearms as a result of hot gases under high pressure.The most common manifestation is on the underside of a revolver top strap, where the hot, high-velocity gases released when a round is fired begin to cut through just above and in...

 from powder that is still burning after too rapid exit of the light projectile. Another warning in the owner's manual is that recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...

may pull the cases of unfired rounds in the cylinder rearward with enough force to unseat the bullets causing the cylinder to jam. It has been said that accuracy is compromised in these types of ultra-light revolvers since the barrel is a steel sleeve liner rather than a single solid piece of steel.

External links

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