Colt 1911 Key Information

Although Turnbull Restoration works on multiple generations of the Colt 1911 pistol, this article will concentrate on early history, adaptations, and the World War I era. 

DID YOU KNOW?

• In the late 1800s the U.S. Army wanted a new, self-loading pistol for use alongside its recently-adopted service rifles. But its existing .38 revolver was deemed insufficient in stopping attackers, as experienced during the campaign against the Moros in Philippines.
• When the Army announced its interest in a new handgun firing a .45 caliber round, Colt designer John Moses Browning re-engineered his existing autoloader handgun concept to accommodate a .45″ diameter cartridge of his own design.
• So determined to prove the superiority of his pistol design, Browning personally supervised the production of the gun that would be used for later-stage selection trials.
• During one test in 1910, six thousand rounds were fired from a single Colt pistol.
• The Colt 1911 pistol was formally adopted by the U.S. Army on March 29, 1911, and then by the US Navy and Marine Corps in 1913.
• Battlefield experience in World War I led to some changes, completed in 1924. The new version received a modified type classification, M1911A1, in 1926.
• So enduring is its design, almost every major gun manufacturer in America today produces its own version of the Model 1911.