Smith & Wesson Model 1913

The Model 1913 was produced from 1913 to 1921, and approximately 8,350 were built. The Model 1913 was chambered in the now obsolete .35 S&W Auto cartridge.^[1] It featured smooth wooden grip panels, a fully grooved slide with crossbolt lock stud, and an ambidextrous safety that was operated with the middle finger of the shooting hand.

The Model 1913 was the first semi-automatic produced by Smith & Wesson. It generally followed a design introduced by Charles Philibert Clement^[2] in 1903 initially chambered for the 5mm Clement and after 1906 for the .25 ACP.^[1]

• First Type—The grip safety was operated by pressing it to the rear.
• Second Type—The grip safety was redesigned so that it had to be pushed to the left and rearward.
• Third Type—The grip safety was changed back to the original style of operation.
• Fourth Type—The magazine catch was redesigned.
• Fifth Type—Used a heavier recoil spring and wider slide cross bolt lock.
• Sixth Type—The shape of the recoil spring channel was changed, and the sides of the slide were extended so they overlapped the sides of the frame.
• Seventh Type—The S&W stamp on the frame flat behind the grip was discontinued.
• Eighth Type—The caliber markings were moved from the left side of the barrel to the right, and the left was marked "Smith & Wesson."

Model 1913s were used by agents of the Bureau of Investigation, the forerunner to the FBI. According to retired agent Roy McHenry, he was unofficially issued a “.35 Smith and Wesson automatic” by Bureau of Investigation Assistant Chief Albert Pike in 1917.^[3]

Boorman, Dean K "The History of Smith & Wesson Firearms" page 56