Smith & Wesson Centennial Smith & Wesson Centennial S&W Centennial is a family of revolvers made by Smith & Wesson on the "J-Frame". Depending upon caliber, the cylinder holds either 5 (9mm, .38 spl, .357 magnum), 6 (.32 magnum), 7 (.22 magnum), or 8 (.22 LR), cartridges. Centennials feature a fully enclosed (internal) hammer, which makes them Double Action Only (DAO) firearms. Like all other "J-frame" Smith & Wesson revolvers, they have a swing-out cylinder. Centennial models have been made in different versions like PD "Personal Defense", LS "Lady Smith", and M&P "Military & Police" The original Centennial Model 40 was introduced in 1952,
Smith & Wesson Model 1 White held the patent for a "Bored-through" cylinder, a component needed for this new invention, the two partners approached White to manufacture a newly designed revolver-and-cartridge combination. Rather than make White a partner in their company, Smith and Wesson paid him a royalty of $0.25 on every "Model 1" revolver that they made. It would become White's responsibility to defend his patent in any court cases which eventually led to his financial ruin, but was very advantageous for the new Smith & Wesson Company. The Model 1 had three "issues" or major variants, with each subsequent issue introducing significant technical