AEF Sidearms

[Lost Skeleton]

Nothing too surprising here, but I thought I would share a few pictures of the principal pistols and revolvers used by the AEF "over there."

First, a Remington-UMC Model 1911. Remington began production of its Colt "clone" in August 1918, and produced only 21,676 before its contract was canceled by the U.S. Government.

Colt "Rough Finish" 1911 manufactured in 1918. The "United States Property" mark has been moved to the right side of the frame above the serial number.

Colt U.S. M1917 DA revolver in Caliber .45 ACP. To expedite production, the metal was not polished prior to blueing.

Smith & Wesson U.S. M1917 DA revolver, also .45 ACP. Unlike the Colt, the surfaces received a fine polish prior to blueing. This specimen represents very early production as evidenced by the hammer and grip panels. The revolver was my sleeper find at the SOS.

Chas.

 

[b.loree]

Great pieces Chas! Fantastic fotos. For some reason, perhaps the design, I have always loved the look of those auotmatics rather than the good old revolvers. In the revolver world I would have to have one of those Civil War Navy Colts! Brian

 

[zipperheads9]

Nice to see early 1911's .
mark

 

[ottodog8]

Beautiful set of .45s, Chas. The S&W looks like an early one. I like the revolvers, I think they are underappreciated and undervalued. When the centennial rolls around (which is when I'll cash out if I'm still above ground) a lot of people will be wishing they had picked one up when they were cheap.
Steve

 

[Lost Skeleton]

Thank you all for looking and for the kind words.

Steve, one reference I have states the early, grooved hammer has been observed up to S/N 700 and no higher. My revolver is in the 1,500 range, but I see nothing to indicate tampering.

The example below is from the S/N 100,000 range. Notice the difference in the hammer and grip panels.

This revolver was also lent-leased to Great Britain during WWII, and the right side of the barrel is marked with a London Nitro Powder proof.

Brian, certainly from practical standpoint, I would much rather take a self-loader into the trenches. Because of the rimless .45 ACP cartridge, the revolvers required half-moon clips for automatic extraction, thereby increasing load time and requiring an unwieldy pouch to tote the ammo.

I do love the Smith, though.

Chas.

 

[zipperheads9]

I was wondering how those pouches stored ammo.
Cool
Mark

 

[Lost Skeleton]

Returning to the Model of 1911, I acquired this scarce Springfield Armory pistol last March. This specimen is 100% SA as the barrel, hammer, slide stop, safety lock, grip safety, mainspring housing, trigger, magazine catch, extractor, firing pin stop, sear, disconnector, and barrel bushing are all marked with a small "s." The serial number places the M1911 as 1915 production.

Roughly 60,615 Springfield M1911s were produced between April 1914 to April 1917. Like the Remington UMC, completely original examples are few and far between.

Close-up of the Springfield Armory cartouche stamped on the right side of the slide.

Close-up of the Springfield magazine base. The sides of the clip overlap the base. This style, with lanyard loop, was utilized from 1914 to March 1916.

 

[ebeeby]

Wow! That is the only Springfield I have ever seen.

I have a 1917 build Colt 1911 but it was converted into a target pistol (sights, grips, mouse trap) by AE Berdon, I'm guessing in the 30's or 40's

 

[Lost Skeleton]

Nothing new (yet); just messing about with Photoshop.

 

[Peter_Suciu]

Very nice stuff Chas. Good year to buy a 1911 too. 100 years, not a bad run I would say.

 

[Lost Skeleton]

Thanks, Peter. A very good run, indeed!

 

[Lost Skeleton]

Coming full circle, I recently acquired another Remington-UMC, this time manufactured in 1919 (prior to May 24). Differences from its predecessor include the provisional inspection marks (Springfield Armory's Eagle Head I38 replacing the earlier "E" for Arthur W. Evans) and right side slide marking; MODEL OF 1911. U.S. ARMY (in limited use above serial number 20,000) Only 21,676 Remingtons were manufactured under government contract (compared to the 60,615 Springfield Armory M1911s and more than 500,000 Colts manufactured between 1914 and 1919).

The provisional inspection mark located at the left front of the trigger guard…

… and, the rear of the slide:

An inexplicable production fluke reveals a faint SA Eagle Head "E28" provisional mark (in use before S/N 15,000) beneath the inspection initials of Edward E. Chapman:

The mainspring housing is marked "E," revealing it to be early production:

Finally, the original Remington-UMC barrel is marked "P" (firing proof mark):

Serial numbers on Remington-UMC pistols were stamped after finish. This pistol falls in the S/N 19,500+ range, placing it low for the revised right side slide marking and high for the E28 inspection mark. Consequently, I believe it to be assembled from existing materials (frames and slides) shipped to the Springfield Armory upon termination of Remington-UMC's government contract.

The link below is to a short video discussing the Remington-UMC M1911:

http://www.americanrifleman.org/videos/remington-umc-1911/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[badener]

Nice weapon Chas. I learned something new this AM.

 

[Larmo]

Those examples are great Chas, your pistols are wonderful things and beautiful examples as well. It's pretty clear you've done your homework on them. I Like the photo with the officers hat and mounted pattern M1911 holster too. :thumb up:

I have a 1918 Colt, not much finish left on her but she's a blast (no pun) to shoot.

Larry

 

[J.LeBrasseur]

Chas- very nice grouping of guns and a nice thread. I have many Colts, but alas none that are Period like yours. I am very impressed!

James

 

[Lost Skeleton]

Thanks badener, Larry, and James!

To anyone interested in collecting the M1911, I thoroughly recommend A Collector's Field Guide to Military Arms: Volume Four - U.S. Pistols & Revolvers 1909-1945 by J.C. Harrison. It may not be the definitive reference on the subject, but it provides all the information needed to validate key identification features, parts types, and markings.

Chas

 

[Lost Skeleton]

This Colt M1911, produced in 1913 prior to the addition of the Aug. 19, 1913 patent to the left side of the slide, may have seen action against Pancho Villa as well as the forces of the Kaiser. The extant finish is Colt's furnace blued "Fine Finish." The slide markings feature serif letters (later changed to gothic letters as seen on the "Black Army" Colt above). The inspection initials are WGP for Walter G. Penfield. It is the oldest Colt in my small collection; a bit peppery, but all original.