Remington-UMC Model 1911

When Remington-UMC entered the Great War effort in 1918, their Bridgeport, Connecticut facility became one of several manufacturers tasked with meeting the U.S. Ordnance Department’s urgent demand for the M1911 Government Model pistol. Though their production run would ultimately total only about 20,000 – 21,000 examples before the Armistice brought contracts to a halt, Remington-UMC’s contribution remains an important chapter in the story of America’s iconic sidearm.

This example, bearing its 1918 serial number and the “E.E.C.” inspector’s mark of Major Edmund E. Chapman, stands as a representative of that brief but fascinating period of manufacture. Chapman’s acceptance stamp signified that the pistol had met Ordnance standards before being issued to America’s troops in the final months of World War I.

By the time it arrived at our workshop more than a century later, the pistol bore the honest signs of age. Our restoration team began by fully disassembling and inspecting every component, then carefully polishing to the proper World War I-era surface preparation standard before applying our period-correct carbona charcoal blue finish. Roll marks were restored to original depth and crispness, honoring the distinctive Remington-UMC legends that set these wartime pistols apart. Completing the project, we hand-cut new black walnut double-diamond grips in the correct Remington-UMC pattern—each diamond precisely checkered by hand, as they were in 1918.

The result is a faithful return to the pistol’s factory-new appearance, allowing today’s collectors to appreciate the craftsmanship and history that accompanied America’s entry into modern sidearm production during the First World War.

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