This pistol was shipped on June 15th, 1918 to the Ordnance
Officer at Bush Terminal in Brooklyn New York. Final destination would be
the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Europe. One of the unique
characteristics of this pistol is that it was originally processed for
commercial sales and was then transferred to satisfy the Government order.
See Figure 5 below; the "S" stamp at the 6 o'clock position
from the disconnector hole indicates it was indeed a commercial gun. On a
standard 1918 government pistol the position would have a "G". Other marks
indicate H=Provisional Ordnance inspector mark,
T=Assemblers mark, and R=Colt inspectors mark. Notice in Figure 6
the same "T" inspectors mark is also on the slide.
The underside of the slide has a very bright blue finish
which is consistent with commercial pistols of that period, see Figure
11. All small parts have a brighter then normal blue sheen to them for
a military gun, see Figure 3. All parts including barrel (proper HP
stamp, see Figure 9) are original and correct minus the right grip
which was manufactured by Springfield Armory, the right grip being
replaced is common on 1911s due to the right side being outward facing in the
holster and exposed to more ware then the left grip. SA Grip is pictured
in Figure 1. |