History of the Colt 1911

No one could argue that the Colt, Model 1911, semi-automatic is one of America’s most iconic service firearms. In the early 1900’s the military was searching for a reliable, semi-automatic pistol, in a manstopping caliber to replace the various Colt, Smith & Wesson and other manufacturers’ revolvers.

John Browning, worked for Colt and had already designed a semi-automatic pistol (in .38 ACP caliber) and when he heard about the U.S. Army’s needing a semi-automatic pistol in a caliber bigger that .38 he went to work and redesigned the pistol around the .45 ACP round.

The military competition had several requirements. They were considered torture tests at the time and consisted of:

– Firing 100 consecutive times without stopping (other than to reload).

– Firing 1,000 rounds without cleaning or lubrication.

– After 6,000 rounds the pistol was tested with sub-par cartridges (projectiles seated too deep or not seated far enough into the shell casing).

– Pistols were soaked in water, mud, and chemicals.

One of the new military requirements for small arms was parts interchangeability. The military wanted their future weapons to have interchangeable parts that would not require armorers or gunsmiths to fit them. In the testing process, five pistols were disassembled. The parts were placed in a barrel, and then blindly removed and reassembled.

The Colt 1911 was the only pistol that survived all the tests. It was adopted by the U.S. Army and designated the M1911:  a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It saw its first combat action in 1916 in the Mexican Campaign. The pistol went on to serve in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. There was one major design change after WWI, and it was redesignated the M1911A1. It was officially replaced by the Beretta M9 (Model 92 S/F/B) in 1985.

My Experience with the Colt

When I entered the Army in 1979, the M1911A1 was the service pistol and the sidearm I carried. I trained and qualified with this weapon as an MP. It was a gun I used for many years, so I have a particular fondness and familiarity with the pistol.

So when a friend of mine asked me to inspect and repair/refinish his Colt 1911A1, I was excited to do it. This is a pre-WWII model M1911A1 from 1939.

The Project

Dissasembly

The pistol was completely disassembled and inspected.

Cataloging Parts

The parts were checked for serviceability and wear. Replacement parts were identified and ordered. Plunger spring, main spring, recoil spring, firing pin, firing pin spring, and extractor.

Cleaning

The pistol frame and slide (exterior) were sand blasted and cleaned again. The frame, slide and several smaller parts were hot dipped in Manganese Phosphate Parkerizing Solution. The parts are cleaned in kerosene and cleaned and lubricated.

Reassembly

Once the replacement parts were received, the pistol was ready for final assembly and to be returned to its owner!

Interested?

Want servicing like this for one of your firearms? Email us! We’d love to hear from you.