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M1911 pistol

Semi-automatic pistol

  • 16 min read
  • 7 chapters

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Through NATO and World War I

History

Early history and adaptations

The M1911 pistol originated in the late 1890s as the result of a search for a suitable self-loading (or semi-automatic) pistol to replace the variety of revolvers in service at the time. The United States was rapidly adopting new firearms; several new pistols and two all-new service rifles (M1892/96/98 Krag and M1895 Navy Lee), as well as a series of revolvers by Colt and Smith & Wesson for the Army and Navy, were adopted within this decade.

The next decade saw a similar pace, adopting several more revolvers; an intensive search for a self-loading pistol eventually led to the adoption of the M1911 after the turn of the decade. Hiram S. Maxim had designed a self-loading rifle in the 1880s, but was preoccupied with machine guns. Nevertheless, the application of his recoil-energy reloading principle led to several self-loading pistols in 1896. The designs caught the attention of various militaries, each of which began programs to find a suitable one for their forces. In the U.S., such a program would lead to a formal test at the turn of the 20th century.

During the end of 1899 and into 1900, a test of self-loading pistols was conducted, including entries from Mauser (C96 "Broomhandle"), Mannlicher (Mannlicher M1894), and Colt (Colt M1900). This led to a purchase of 1,000 DWM Luger pistols, chambered in 7.65mm Luger. During field trials, these ran into some problems, especially with stopping power. Other governments had made similar complaints. Consequently, DWM produced an enlarged version of the round, the 9×19mm Parabellum, with fifty weapons chambered for it, tested by the U.S. Army in 1903.

American units fighting Tausūg guerrillas in the Moro Rebellion in Sulu during the Philippine–American War using the then-standard Colt M1892 revolver, .38 Long Colt, found it to be unsuitable for the rigors of jungle warfare, particularly in terms of stopping power, as the Moros had high battle morale and often used drugs to inhibit the sensation of pain.

The U.S. Army briefly reverted to using the M1873 single-action revolver in .45 Colt caliber, which had been standard during the late 19th century; the heavier bullet was found to be more effective against charging tribesmen. Problems prompted General William Crozier, the Chief of Ordnance, to authorize further testing for a new service pistol.

Following the 1904 Thompson-LaGarde pistol round effectiveness tests, Colonel John T. Thompson stated that the new pistol "should not be of less than .45 caliber" and would preferably be semi-automatic in operation. This led to the 1906 trials of pistols from six firearms manufacturing companies (namely, Colt, Bergmann, Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), Savage Arms, Knoble, Webley, and White-Merrill).

Of the six designs submitted, three were eliminated early on, leaving only the Savage, Colt, and DWM designs chambered in the new .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridge. These three still had issues that needed correction, but only Colt and Savage resubmitted their designs.

There is some debate over the reasons for DWM's withdrawal—some say they felt there was bias and that the DWM design was being used primarily as a "whipping boy" for the Savage and Colt pistols, though this does not fit well with the earlier 1900 purchase of the DWM design over the Colt and Steyr entries. In any case, a series of field tests from 1907 to 1911 was held to decide between the Savage and Colt designs. Both designs were improved between each round of testing, leading up to the final test before adoption.

Among the areas of success for the Colt was a test at the end of 1910 attended by its designer, John Browning. Six thousand rounds were fired from a single pistol over the course of two days. The gun was cooled by immersion in water whenever it grew hot. The Colt gun passed with no reported malfunctions, while the Savage designs had 37.

Service history

Following its success in trials, the Colt pistol was formally adopted by the Army on March 29, 1911, when it was designated "Model of 1911", later changed in 1917 to "Model 1911", and then "M1911" in the mid-1920s.

The Director of Civilian Marksmanship began manufacture of M1911 pistols for members of the National Rifle Association of America in August 1912. Approximately 100 pistols stamped "N.R.A." below the serial number were manufactured at Springfield Armory and by Colt.

The M1911 was formally adopted by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in 1913. The .45 ACP "Model of 1911 U.S. Army" was used by both U.S. Army Cavalry troops and infantry soldiers during the United States' Punitive Expedition into Mexico against Pancho Villa in 1916.

The M1911 officially replaced a range of revolvers and pistols across branches of the U.S. armed forces, though some other designs have seen use in certain niches.

Designation changes

The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model adopted in March 1911, and Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the improved M1911A1 model which entered service in 1926.

The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era.

Replacement

At the end of hostilities, the government cancelled all contracts for further production and used existing stocks of weapons to equip personnel. Many of these weapons had seen service and had to be rebuilt and refinished before being issued.

From the mid-1920s to the mid-1950s, thousands of 1911s and 1911A1s were refurbished at U.S. arsenals and service depots. These rebuilds ranged from minor inspections to major overhauls. Pistols refurbished at government arsenals are usually marked on the frame/receiver with the arsenal's initials, such as RIA for Rock Island Armory or SA for Springfield Armory.

By the late 1970s, the M1911A1 was acknowledged to be showing its age. Under political pressure from Congress to standardize on a single modern pistol design, the U.S. Air Force ran a Joint Service Small Arms Program to select a new semi-automatic pistol using the NATO-standard 9mm Parabellum pistol cartridge.

After trials, the Beretta 92S-1 was chosen. The Army contested this result and subsequently ran its own competition in 1981, the XM9 trials, eventually leading to the official adoption of the Beretta 92F on January 14, 1985.

Despite that, the M1911A1 has never been completely phased out. Modernized derivative variants of the M1911, such as the M45 MEU(SOC) and the M45A1 CQBP, as are still in use by some units of the US Armed Forces.

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