OK, didn't actually buy it at the show, but it came the day I got back! It's the very first version of the Diana model 5, made 1958-62. The one-piece grip frame is wood, instead of plastic as on the better-known later examples. Note the distinctive dark-finished beech and intricately stamped checkering and stippling. Nice tapered barrel, and different sights than later guns. Handles well. Trigger is excellent and boasts a sear adjustment later guns don't have. The front sight hood looks like plastic, but is actually steel with a nifty rubber sleeve to protect the cocking hand.
I was too overwhelmed with all the guns to look at each table carefully.
I saw many winchester 353's at some outragous prices. I spotted one for 90, and asked him if it worked, and he dryfired it right there.
I was surprised to find many of the dealers knew little about airguns.
The guy with the webleys said he never shot them before. I read up on some of the older webleys and they seem pretty simple to repair, or not in need of repair (metal piston ring) and parts are easy to get. Next time i'll be sure to go both days, and get a webley.
There was a pre-war pistol of the same designation (though usually written "Diana V"), but it was a completely different design. As mentioned above, this first post-war variant was made only for a few years, which ties the age of your pistol to a fairly narrow range.
After WW2, pre-war tooling from the Diana airgun factory was sent to Millard Brothers (Milbro) in Scotland, who made copies and derivatives of these designs until going out of business in the early 1980's. They had rights to the Diana trademark in the UK market during this period, so German-made Dianas were imported there under the trade name "Original."
