Colt 1914 Government Model .45 ACP British/Canadian

[Von der Goltz]

Here for your perusal is Colt .45 ACP 1914 Government Model Pistol serial number C9591 which was 1 of 20 shipped to Remington Arms-UMC Company Bridgeport CT on October 5 1914. The Canadian C broad arrow property mark is stamped on the magazine floor plate and British Birmingham proofs on the slide and barrel. I sent an inquiry re this pistol to the Imperial War Museum in London and received the following reply from the Imperial War Museum in London:
"During the autumn of 1914, the Canadian Government purchased 5,000 Colt M1911 pistols to equip its military forces. These were issued to officers, NCOs and cavalry troopers, but could also be purchased by officers wishing to acquire their sidearm permanently. Unfortunately, apart from a few pistols that received unit marks on the grip-strap, or were inscribed with the name of the officer who purchased them, there is no way of ascertaining which unit or formation they were issued to.
I can’t see very clearly from your photos, but it appears that the proof mark on it post-dates the First World War. This would imply that the pistol was put through proof at Birmingham at some point after its First World War military career – and prior to it re-crossing the Atlantic." I sent out a few other inquires and will post results as received.

 

[Slamfire]

Wow! Great pictures.

One of the peculiarities to the British, was that after WW2, when masses of their military firearms were surplussed to the US, they went through British proof houses.

You could research post WW2 American Rifleman ads and maybe these pistols will appear. Golden State Arms in California was a major importer and seller.

This is an example of a period ad:

 

[bannockburn]

Slamfire

You could research post WW2 American Rifleman ads and maybe these pistols will appear. Golden State Arms in California was a major importer and seller.

You could even get a relatively rare Norwegian M1911 in Good condition for the kingly sum of $50, back in the day! Also check out the M1911A1 in Excellent condition for only $60!

 

[Von der Goltz]

I sent information and photos of the pistol to the American Rifleman Magazine's Dope Bag and got this interesting reply from Field Editor Bruce Canfiel d.

 

[CapnMac]

Yes, UK law for rather a long time has required proofing of all arms presented for sale, and exporting of surplus government property is considered a sale. That practice ended in the 80s with increased firearms restrictions in UK.

There were not a lot of records kept on these sorts of things, not with a war on. Also, the practice of officers being expected to arm themselves continued into the 30s, and that was an officer's business, and not the Army's or the Government's. WWII went so sideways so quickly, that records were not really an issue until afterwards.

 

[Von der Goltz]

Here are the barrel markings on my 1914 Canadian Colt; looks like it's a military-marked WWII barrel with the Birmingham proofs; I've seen many of the WWI 1911s updated with WWII military marked barrels. Colts from serial #710001 to serial #712349 (1937 production) will have barrels with a Gothic “COLT .45 AUTO” marking on the chamber area, along the axis of the barrel, at about 7:30 O’clock, when the barrel is viewed from the rear, with the lug down. A “P” mark will be applied to the left lug. These barrels are blued with a semi-matte semi-reflective finish. Clawson mentions “Top of barrel chamber bright unfinished, the same as commercial barrels. Full bluing in the military style began at or near the end of 1937 production.” At this point, insufficient pistols have been examined to determine the point when full bluing occurred and the chamber area was no longer in the white. However it is likely that barrels started in the white. The "G" stamp started to appear on the bottom of the barrel forward of the lugs at serial 711,000 and represented it is a "Government" contract barrel this stamp was was present until around May 1943. At about s/n 935,000, the G mark was eliminated due to the suspension of commercial sales on January 23, 1942 by order of the United States Government thus removing the requirement to differentiate if the barrel was for government contract or commercial sales. The are three different G variant barrels; A large G, a small G, and a large G in combination (over the top of) with either an N, F or 7. Those marked with the N, F or 7 were the last ones before the G was omitted. Colts from serial #712350 to somewhere in the 2 million range number range, (1945 production,) will have barrels with a Gothic “COLT .45 AUTO” marking on the chamber area, along the axis of the barrel, at about 7:30 O’clock, when the barrel is viewed from the rear, with the lug down. A “P” mark will be applied to the left lug. These barrels are fully blued with a semi-matte semi-reflective finish. Forward of the lugs on the bottom of the barrel the "F" or "7" stamping has been observed starting at Colts produced around serial number 930,000 until the end of production.

 

[Von der Goltz]

Took a look at the inside of grips and looks like there are some initials/numbers "1 WV" on top grip and "15" on the lower grip. Any ideas about these initials/number (owner's initials/date (19)15)? (right click on image to open image in new tab to enlarge).

 

[nofendertom]

Is the lanyard loop on the magazine intended for the retention of the magazine or for the retention of the firearm?