History of the M1911 Colt Automatic Pistol
The commercial .45 automatic pistol was designed by John Moses Browning. It was first mass-produced by Colt, as its M1905, then adopted, in modified form, by the U.S. Army in 1911, chambered for the .45 cal. ACP cartridge. It won fame in WWI and was re-designated as the "Pistol, U.S. Caliber .45 Model 1911A1" in 1926 when some minor design improvements were introduced. About 150,000 were produced before World War II. Colt, Remington-Rand, Union Switch & Signal and the Ithaca Gun Company manufactured 1,800,000 pistols during WWII. Production ended in 1945 but the substantial inventories were in service for decades afterward until replaced in 1990 by the M9 Beretta 9mm automatic pistol.
Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M-1911A1.
The classic .45 cal. Colt automatic pistol was much sought after by GIs as a personal back-up weapon. It was officially issued to officers, NCOs, demolition personnel and vehicle crews.
The M-1 belt holster and the M-3 shoulder holster were issued for the pistol. Most Airborne soldiers carried their pistols in M-3 shoulder holsters.
Characteristics of the M1911 Colt Automatic Pistol
The .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol M1911A1 (a.k.a. the "Colt .45") is a conventional semi-automatic pistol, holding seven rounds in a detachable magazine (photo, left). It is 8 ½ inches long and weights 2 ½ pounds. It has a muzzle velocity of 860 fps and uses a .45 caliber ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridge. It has considerable "stopping power" in close-in fighting. Most have a lanyard loop attached to the pistol grip's base for attaching either the 1918 or 1943 lanyards.
The .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol M1911A1 is a recoil-operated hand weapon. The magazine-fed semiautomatic weapon fires one round each time the trigger is squeezed once the hammer is cocked by prior action of the slide or thumb. This design is referred to as "single action only." The thumb safety may only be activated once the pistol is cocked. The hammer remains in the fully cocked position once the safety is activated. (Note: More modern pistol designs of the "double action" type will allow the hammer to move forward to an uncocked position when the thumb safety is activated.)
The M1911A1 was widely respected for its reliability and lethality. However, its single action, cocked and locked design required the user to be very familiar and well-trained to allow carrying the pistol in the "ready-to-fire" mode. Consequently, M1911A1s were often prescribed to be carried without a round in the chamber. Even with this restriction on the user, numerous unintentional discharges were documented yearly.
USMC Modification in 1986
The M1911A1 had been the standard handgun issued to Marines for many decades. Selected weapons were modified in the 1980s to meet the requirements of the MEU(SOC) in lieu of arming them with the M9 9mm pistol. 500 pistols were selected and modified.
Weapon modifications were designed in 1986 to meet the requirements of the MEU(SOC). Each pistol is hand-built by specially trained armorers at the Rifle Team Equipment (RTE) shop, Quantico, Virginia. The weapon is a modified M1911A1 .45 caliber pistol sometimes referred to as "near match" or "combat accuratized." The MEU(SOC) Pistol is the designated "backup weapon" of Marines armed with the 9mm MP5-N Close Quarters Battle weapon. The M1911A1 was chosen for this role (and its modifications generated) because of its inherent reliability and lethality, and because the MEU(SOC) modifications make the M1911A1 design more "user friendly."
The unique characteristics of the MEU(SOC) pistol are: commercial/competition grade ambidextrous safety, precision barrel, precise trigger, and rubber coated grips, rounded hammer spur, high profile combat sights, and an extra-wide grip safety for increased comfort and controllability (which aids in a quick follow-up second shot). The issue magazines are replaced with stainless steel competition-grade magazines with rounded plastic follower and extended floor plate.
Replacement of the M1911A1 by the Beretta 92F
On January 14th, 1985 the Pentagon announced that the Model 92F 9mm pistol manufactured by Fabbrica D' Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. of Italy would officially replace the M1911A1 .45 caliber pistol. The new pistol would be known as "Pistol, Automatic, Caliber 9mm, M9" to be manufactured by a Beretta subsidiary in the U.S.
In August 2005, the DoD issued specifications for the Military Forces Joint Combat Pistol (JCP), a possible replacement for the M9 Pistol. The specification requires the JCP to be chambered for .45 ACP ammunition. The JCP procurement was postponed in 2006, but it seemed clear that the days of the M9 9mm pistol were coming to an end and that its successor would return to the reliable .45 ACP cartridge.
Recommended Books about the M1911/M1911A1 Pistol
- The Government Models: The Development of the Colt Model 1911
- The Gun Digest Book of the 1911
- Direct support, general support, and depot maintenance manual on CD
Production and Serial Numbers: U.S. Pistol M1911 & M1911A1 .45
The figures in this table were compiled by Springfield Armory and are the best numbers available on the web. However, careful research may reveal gaps and problems.
| Year | S/N Range and Manufacturer(s) | Total Produced |
| 1912 | 1-17250 Colt | 17250 |
| 1913 | 17251-60400 Colt | 43150 |
| 1914 |
60401-72750 Colt 83856-102596 Colt 72751-83855 Springfield 102597-107596 Springfield |
47196 |
| 1915 |
107597-113496 Colt 120567-125566 Colt 113497-120566 Springfield 125567-133186 Springfield |
25590 |
| 1916 | 133187-137400 Colt | 4214 |
| 1917 |
137401-210386 Colt 210387-215386 Colt (frames only) 215387-216986 Colt |
79586 |
| 1918 |
216987-594000 Colt 1-13152 Remington UMC |
390166 |
| 1919 |
594001-629500 Colt 13153-21676 Remington UMC 629,501-700000 (unknown) |
114524 |
| 1924 | 700001-710000 Colt | 10000 |
| 1937 | 710001-712349 Colt | 2349 |
| 1938 | 712350-713645 Colt | 1296 |
| 1939 | 713646-717281 Colt | 3636 |
| 1940 | 717282-721977 Colt | 4696 |
| 1941 | 721978-756733 Colt | 34756 |
| 1942 |
756734-800000 Colt 800501-856100 Colt S800001-S800500 Singer 800501-856100 Defaced, renum. by RIA 865305-856404 Defaced, renum. by R.I.A. 856101-856304 Defaced, renum. by Augusta Arsenal |
99171 |
| 1943 |
856405-916404 Ithaca 1208674-1279673 Ithaca 1441131-1471430 Ithaca 916405-1041404 Remington Rand 1279699-1441430 Remington Rand 1471431-1609528 Remington Rand 1041405-1096404 US&S Co. 1096405-1208673 Colt 1279674-1279698 Renumbered Augusta Arsenal |
753224 |
| 1944 |
1609529-1743846 Colt 1743847-1890503 Ithaca 1890504-2075103 Remington Rand |
465575 |
| 1945 |
2075104-2134403 Ithaca 2619014-2693613 Ithaca 2134404-2244803 Remington Rand 2380014-2619013 Remington Rand 2244804-2380013 Colt |
618510 |
| Other |
X2693614-X2693665 Renumbered Raritan Arsenal X2693666-X2693785 Renumbered RIA X2693786-X2693885 Renumbered Ord. in Tokyo Arsenal X2693886-X2694996 Renumbered several U.S. Arsenals X2694997-X2694998 Renumbered RIA 1954-1955 X2694999-X2695198 Renumbered Ord. in Tokyo Arsenal 1955 X2695199-X2695201 Renumbered Raritan Arsenal 1955 X2695202-X2695210 Renumbered RIA 1955-1956 X2695211-X2695212 Renumbered Minn. Mil. Dist. Arsenal 1957 Total: 4985 Total all sources 1912-1965 - 2,769,094 RUSSIAN CONTRACT 1915-1916-C50000-C84000 (These pistols were selected at random from the above serial numbers and marked ANGLO ZAKAZIVAT.) NORWEGIAN CONTRACT 1912-C10000-C13000 BRITISH CONTRACT .445 CALIBER 1915-1916-W83001-W111000 (The majority of these guns were issued to the Royal Navy. In 1942, they were reissued to the Royal Air Force. At this time they were handstamped on the frame R.A.F. or RAF. |
|
| Inspectors |
REMINGTON U.M.C. Major E.E. Chapman, Inspector Lt. Arthur E. Evans, Sub-inspector Lt. Paul M. Buzby, Sub-inspector COLT F.B. Austin Lt. R.W. Chandler T.L. Childs E.H. Dewey Col. Guy H. Drewry Andrew H. Forsythe F.L. Hosmer Lt. Charles G. Howe A.L. Hallstrom Cpt. Walter T. Gorton K.S. Morse Maj. W.G. Penfield Charles F. Rogers W.E. Strong D.A. Turner Col. Robert Sears REMINGTON RAND Col. Frank J. Atwood LTC Harrison Shaler ITHACA Col. Frank J. Atwood UNION SWITCH & SIGNAL Col. Frank J. Atwood LTC R.C. Downie SINGER LTC John K. Christmas |
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