Approximately 50,000 Colt Commando revolvers were
purchased by the government during World War II, Colt manufactured these
revolvers from 1942-45 and they were used by several government
organizations to include the military, defense plant guards, police
departments and various governmental security personnel. The Defense
Supplies Corporation (DSC) began purchasing firearms for authorized
purchasers in October of 1941, in 1942 the Army Ordnance Department took
over the responsibility of ordering future revolvers from Colt on the
DSC's behalf. Colt manufactured 2 and 4 inch versions of the Commando
with the 2 inch version (AKA-Junior Commando) only being thought to
number around 3,000 and valued at 2x the four inch version by
collectors, in addition 1800 4 inch Commandos were reported shipped to
the US Navy.
This Commando revolver has the acceptance mark of
Brigadier General Guy H. Drewry (G.H.D.) on the upper left most part of
the revolver and the "bomb" mark located below the GHD stamp is a
ordinance acceptance stamp indicating ownership acceptance by the U.S.
government. This example is a
original Commander rated at 99%+ and fully functional. The Colt wood
plastic stocks are in mint condition and show the mold part numbers on the
inside, a "10" and "5". Notice the lack of checkering on the trigger and
cylinder release, these are a few of the corners cut to reduce the cost
of manufacturing by Colt. The finish is referred to as a "Matte Blue",
this finish serves two purposes - 1) Reduce the reflection of the fire
arm and 2) reduce cost of the finish compared to the normal polished
blue of the commercial Colts. Other markings found on Commandos
include WB or Waldemar Broberg the previous
inspector to G.H. Drewry; United States Property; P (Proof) and in a lot
of cases no markings at all. Its not unusaul to find Commandos with
differnt markings on them from where they were used, examples have been
seen with state national guard and police department markings to name a
few.
Note(s):
-One of the most famous people known to have carried a Colt Commando is
General Eisenhower.
-The Smith & Wesson wartime equivalent of the Colt Commando was the
Victory model revolver of which 758,297 were produced between 1941 and
1945.
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