The 38-44 Special was simply a more powerful loading of the .38 Special which was an intermediate step prior to the introduction of the still more powerful .357 Magnum. The inability of conventional police service revolver ammunition to reliably penetrate automobiles was perceived as a problem as United States law enforcement agencies encountered organized crime funded by civil disobedience in response to prohibition. The official designation of the revolver when introduced around 1930 was the Model .38/44 Calibre Hand Ejector. Smith and Wesson made several revolver types for it on the heavy N (or .44) frame, thus the .38/44 designation. One was the 5-inch (13cm) barrel and fixed sights intended for police use, the Smith & Wesson .38/44 Heavy Duty, the other being the Smith & Wesson .38/44 Outdoorsman with a 6.5-inch (17cm) barrel and adjustable sights that was introduced in 1931. With the introduction of the 357 Magnum in 1934 there was no longer a need for the 38-44 as the 357 Magnum surpassed it in performance. The 38-44 Special designation was changed in 1938 to the 38 Special High Speed. There was also a discussion of this cartridge on the IAA Forum