Colt also licensed production to military arsenals in Argentina and Norway before WWII. To meet wartime needs, military production was farmed out to Ithaca, North American, Remington (the typewriter folks, not the gunmaker), the Army’s Springfield Armory, U.S.
The rest is history.īetween 1912 and today, well over 8 million M1911 type pistols (or, according to Colt for decades, the “Colt Government Model Pistol”) have been made for both military uses and for the civilian market. 45, M1911” and placed an initial order for 31,344 pistols. In the end, the modified Browning-designed Colt pistol was adopted in March 1911 as “Automatic Pistol, Caliber. The final exam was a 6,000-round torture test in which the Savage had 37 stoppages while the Colt 1911 had zero. Searle for Savage– and sent them into the field for four years of hard evaluation across the Army after which the two respective companies could submit an upgraded prototype using the lessons learned over the T&E period. In the end, the Army ordered 200 prototypes of each of the two final designs– by John M. Phillips of the Ordnance Department even submitted an in-house design. Army-run Springfield Armory in Massachusetts and assessed 20 different submissions– both semi-automatics and revolvers– from the likes of Colt, Luger, Savage, Smith & Wesson, and Webley, among others. 45.”Ĭonvening in January 1907, the pistol trials were held at the U.S. John Taliaferro Thompson (later of “Tommy Gun” fame) and Major Louis LaGarde of the Army’s Medical Department, were given marching orders to proceed with a new handgun that “should have a caliber not less than. The group of five hand-picked officers, using the primitive ballistics data compiled by then-Capt.
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Dickinson, in December 1906 ordered a series of pistol trials to pick a new handgun. 38 Long Colt-caliber double-action revolvers in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the resulting combat against Philippine insurrectionists in the early 1900s, President Taft’s Secretary of War, Jacob M. You could rightfully say they are legendary, and no one really quite does the 1911 like Colt.įollowing poor showings for the U.S. Then came the company’s “snake” guns as well as being the first manufacturer of the AR-15/M16 series for Uncle Sam and today Colt remains iconic, delivering some of the world’s finest, and innovative firearms throughout history. Working in tandem with John Browning, Army officially adopted the Colt Model of 1911 just as it was gearing up for the Great War and went on to earn a reputation as a “Two World War” champion. By 1873 the company had introduced its Single Action Army, which became one of the most famous handguns in history and was so iconic in winning the West that it was dubbed the “Peacemaker.” Then came the Civil War and Colt’s 18 pattern wheel guns were standard issue–often on both sides of the conflict. Just a decade later, his Walker revolver was the most powerful handgun on the planet and was soon adopted by the Texas Rangers back when the Lone Star State was a country. Patent for the first Colt firearm and builds his first factory. Predating Smith & Wesson and almost any other American gun company you can think of Samuel Colt in 1836 was issued a U.S.