Classic Handguns of the 20th Century. David Arnold

port, a loaded-chamber indicator and an automatic safety. In 1909, the pistol was overhauled into what was nearly the end result of the 1911. The two-link locking system was replaced by a one-link system. The grip safety, a fairly late addition, was worked on and made easier to manipulate. The magazine release catch and ejector were both enhanced.

       The 1911 employed John Browning’s swinging-link system to lock the breech momentarily during firing. Photo courtesy of Garry James.

      In 1910, the Cavalry Board, still nervous about the safety of an autoloader, requested more work done on the safety mechanism of the gun. After attempts with several designs, Colt came up with a safety that allowed the pistol to be “cocked and locked” safely. But after a test that resulted in a cracked barrel and a damaged slide on the Colt, the Army determined that neither it nor the Savage was ready in their present forms and that strengthening of the guns was necessary, as was work on the reliability of the actions of both pistols.

      Both companies resumed work in correcting these defects. In March of 1911, the board of officers met to test the two updated pistols for the last time. The Savage had 31 malfunctions and a number of parts breakages. The Colt performed without a hitch. In March of 1911, the secretary of war announced a new sidearm for the US Army – the Colt Government Model 45 pistol.

      The 1911 is often referred to as the Colt/Browning 45 pistol, implying that Browning was its sole designer. While his contribution was considerable, engineers from both Colt and the Army Ordnance Department were equally involved in creating improvements and refinements. In addition, the patents of other inventors were incorporated into the pistol.

       DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES

      The 1911 was a locked-breech semi-automatic pistol chambered for the 45 ACP cartridge. It used Browning’s single swinging-link system to lock the action during firing. It had a single-action trigger that required the hammer to be cocked for every shot. Its controls consisted of multiple safeties, a slide stop and a magazine catch. One of the safeties was a manual thumb catch located with the two other controls on the left side of the frame. The other safeties included a disconnector that prevented firing until the action was fully closed, a half-cock hammer notch to prevent the pistol from going full auto and grip safety positioned in the top rear of the frame. The latter permitted firing only when the pistol was correctly gripped in the hand. The slide stop was positioned above the safety and a button-style magazine catch was located behind the trigger. The pistol had a seven-shot single-column magazine.

       DESIGN CHANGES

      During its long service with the US armed forces, the 1911 has undergone relatively few changes.

      In the early 1920s, important changes were made that included a longer grip safety tang, an arched mainspring housing and a shorter trigger. Pistols with these changes became standard military issue and are designated as the Colt Government Model 1911A1.

      No further changes were made to military Government models until the last GI models were made at the end of World War II.

      In the post-war years, Colt continued making the 1911 for the civilian market and continued to update and improve the design when appropriate. Virtually all of these changes were minor in nature.

      One of the first noticeable changes was a slightly larger thumb safety that was easier to manipulate. During the 1970s, the Mark IV Series 70 model was introduced. This model replaced the old-style barrel bushing with a new collet finger-style design intended to improve accuracy.

       The Colt Series 80 Mark IV stainless steel model.

      During the decade that followed, the Series 80 was introduced. This pistol reverted to the old-style plain barrel bushing but had an internal passive firing pin lock to prevent firing should the pistol be dropped on its muzzle. The Series 80 also introduced much-improved fixed sights.

      The final changes of significance occurred several years later with the so-called “Enhanced Series.” These pistols had features that had become popular in competition and customized versions of the Government model. These include a ribbed slide, improved fixed sights, speed safety, modified beavertail grip safety and a round spur hammer.

       OTHER 1911 MANUFACTURERS

      During World Wars I and II, there was an urgent need for firearms, and Colt could not produce enough pistols for the expanding army. As a result, other companies were licensed to produce the pistols. These included:

      Remington Arms Co of Ilion, New York

      North American Arms Co Ltd, Canada

      Remington Rand Co, Syracuse, New York

      Ithaca Gun Co. Ithaca, New York

      Union Switch & Signal Co, Swissdale, Pennsylvania

      Singer Sewing Machine Co, New York, New York

      The Springfield armory ordnance factory made a number of pistols. In addition, some countries like Norway and Argentina were also licensed to make the 1911 for their military and police forces.

       The pistol’s controls are all on the left side and consist of aslide stop, magazine catch and thumb safety. Photo courtesy of Garry James.

       PISTOLS BASED ON THE 1911

      During its long life, the 1911 has spawned a number of other Colt pistols based on its design. Although intended as a military service pistol, gunsmiths in the years between the wars discovered that the pistol could be fine-tuned to deliver enough accuracy for target shooting. This was enough to prompt Colt to produce a target 1911 especially for competition. Eventually called the National Match, it was first introduced in 1933. It was tuned for accuracy, given a match trigger and target sights. A 38 Special National Match was made in 1960.

      The National Match underwent further refinements to its sights and action, eventually becoming the Gold Cup in 1957. Since its introduction, Colt has always billed the Gold Cup as its premier 1911 model.

      In 1949 Colt introduced a special, lightweight, more-compact 1911 called the Commander. It had an alloy frame, a shortened barrel and slide, and was chambered for 45 ACP, 9mm Luger and 38 Super. In 1971, a steel frame version called the Combat Commander was introduced.

      The year 1985 saw the introduction of the even more compact Officers ACP series. These pistols were shortened both in length and height and were later offered with light alloy frames and in stainless steel.

       CALIBERS

      While the 1911’s main caliber has always been the 45 ACP, over the years models in other calibers have been made. These include 455, 7.65 Luger, 9mm Luger, 9mm Largo and 38 Super. In recent years, the pistol has been made in modern calibers such as 10mm and 40 S&W as well as a 9x23mm cartridge made by Winchester.

      In 1931, the Ace appeared, which was a 1911 chambered for the 22 Long Rifle cartridge. This pistol has a lightened slide and a special floating chamber. Later, Colt offered 1911 owners a 22 conversion unit consisting of a barrel, slide, bushing recoil spring ejector and magazine.

       In addition to the thumb safety, the Model 1911 had a grip safety positioned in the back of the grip. It incorporated a relatively short tang and a flat mainspring housing. Photo courtesy of Garry James.

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