The
U.S. Armed Forces did not order any M1911A1 pistols between 1925 and 1936.
In November the Navy requisitioned 1580 new pistols while the number of
new pistols in inventory or OS (Ordnance Stores) had fallen to 82.
The Ordnance office directed Springfield to order 1580 pistols from
Colts Manufacturing Co. before July 1936. This
order would fulfill the Navy’s requisition, but allow the Ordnance
stores to deplete through normal attrition. This
is hardly a comforting thought with war brewing in Europe.
Before the end of the year, Colts had received and delivered three
orders totaling 2349 pistols. All
of the 1937 production pistols still had the “MODEL OF 1911 U.S. ARMY”
slide designation. On May 26,
1926 the official designation for the “New Model” pistol was changed
to “Pistol, automatic, caliber .45, M1911A1” by approval of the chief
of the Ordnance Technical Staff and the Ordnance Committee.
Drawings however were not approved showing the new designation
until January 27th 1938. Consequently
the 2349 pistols delivered in 1937 still retained the “Old Model”
slide marking of “MODEL OF 1911 U.S. ARMY” rather than the official marking
of “M1911A1 U.S. ARMY”
that had been moved to the frame for 1938 and later production, and are
also “Transition” pistols.
The
nomenclature “Transition” is not an official Army designation but is
part of the vernacular of pistol collectors.
Hence the term is, to some extent, open to interpretation. Barrels
of 1937 produced pistols are believed to be marked "COLT 45
AUTO" on left side and a "P" proof mark on the left lug.
The magazines are further believed to be two-tone and marked identically
to the commercial magazines of the time with a “COLT .45 AUTO” on the
bottom. Normal commercial
production at Colts numbered the slides to the frame serial number by
adding a matching number underneath the firing pin stop plate.
Many pistols observed by collectors, made in the prewar years (1937
through 1941) appear to have slides with numbers that are mismatched by a
few tens or hundreds of numbers. This is thought to be a result of mass barracks cleaning of
pistols and subsequent re-assembly of mismatched pistols.
A mismatched number will usually decrease the value of a pistol
significantly. The first
pistols made in 1937 had neither a “P” mark on the frame or slide.
Sometime during 1937 production, (at about 711001) the “P”
proof mark was added to the slide and frame.
Interestingly, Colts started 1937 production by marking pistols
with their normal “Verified Proof” (VP in a triangle) in their normal
commercial practice on the upper left trigger guard bow.
They did this despite WWI production military pistols and (1924
pistols) never having had the mark applied.
Workers at Colts apparently felt that their Verified proof
was an adequate proof marking and did not initially apply the “P”
proof. Furthermore, when the “P” proof was added, Colts
continued to apply the verified proof throughout WWII production. Reference
Charles Clawsons “Colt .45 Service pistols”.
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