M1911 pistol

Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911
M1911 and a M1911A1, both manufactured by Colt
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1911–present
Used bySee Users
WarsAs standard U.S. service pistol: In non-US standard use:
Production history
DesignerJohn Browning
Designed
  • 1911 (Model 1911)[9]
  • 1924 (Model 1911A1)
ManufacturerColt Manufacturing Company, Smith & Wesson, Norinco, other companies
Unit cost$26.38 (1938),[10] equal to $571 now
Produced1911–present
No. built2,734,345 (produced by Colt)
4,294,345 (total including licensed copies)[11]
Variants
Specifications
Mass39 oz (1,100 g) empty, with magazine[9][13]
Length8.5 in (216 mm)[9]
Barrel length
  • Government model: 5.03 in (127 mm)[9]
  • Commander model: 4.25 in (108 mm)
  • Officer model: 3.5 in (89 mm)

Cartridge.45 ACP
ActionShort recoil operation[9]
Muzzle velocity830 ft/s (253 m/s)[9]
Effective firing range50 m (160 ft)
Feed system7-, 8-, 9-, 10- or 12-round box magazines[14]

The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911 or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge.[9] The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model adopted in March 1911, and Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the improved M1911A1 model which entered service in 1926. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era.[9]

Designed by John Browning, the M1911 is the best-known of his designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design. The pistol was widely copied, and this operating system rose to become the preeminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols. It is popular with civilian shooters in competitive events such as the International Defensive Pistol Association and International Practical Shooting Confederation.[15]

The U.S. military procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols during its service life. The pistol served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1985.[16] It was widely used in World War I,[17] World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1911A1 was replaced by the adoption of the 9mm Beretta M9 pistol as the standard U.S. military sidearm in 1985. However, the U.S. Army did not officially replace the M1911A1 with the Beretta M9 until October 1986; production and procurement delays kept the 1911A1 in service with some units past 1989. The 1911A1 has never been completely phased out. Modernized derivative variants of the M1911 are still in use by some units of the U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy.

  1. ^ Thompson 2011, p. 38.
  2. ^ Alejandro de Quesada (20 November 2011). The Chaco War 1932-35: South America's greatest modern conflict. Osprey Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-84908-901-2. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  3. ^ Douglas de Souza Aguiar Junior (11 September 2022). "O Museu de Polícia Militar de São Paulo". Armas On-Line (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  4. ^ "Handguns Of A Forgotten Ally".
  5. ^ "L'armement français en A.F.N." Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 220. March 1992. pp. 12–16. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pigs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Thompson 2011, p. 65.
  8. ^ Thompson 2011, pp. 56–58.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911 Technical Manual TM 9-1005-211-34 1964 edition. Pentagon Publishing. 1964. ISBN 978-1-60170-013-1.
  10. ^ "Second Deficiency Appropriation Bill for 1939". 1939.
  11. ^ Kuhnhasen, Jerry (1997). The U.S. M1911 M1911A1 Pistols and Commercial M1911 Type Pistols: A Shop Manual. VSP Publishers. p. 9.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference AMU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ FM 23-35, 1940
  14. ^ "1911: Magazines".
  15. ^ Ayoob, Massad (2007). The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery. Gun Digest Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-89689-525-6.
  16. ^ https://www.vickersguide.com/purchase/1911-2nd-vol-1 [bare URL]
  17. ^ https://www.guns.com/news/2015/09/14/5-experimental-1911s-youve-probably-never-heard-of [bare URL]