Happy Birthday m1911

On this day in 1911 the American military received a significant boost in sidearm firepower! As the year may telegraph, it was on 29 March 1911 that the “Model of 1911” was formally adopted by the Army. It beat a field of 5 other pistols, with its closest competitor being the Savage 1907, also chambered in 45 ACP

While 1911 haters today might not believe it, the test 1911 allegedly fired 6,000 rounds in a single day without a stoppage, while the Savage had 31 malfunctions and 5 breakages. Soon 1911s began phasing out the .38 Colt revolvers that had soldiered (somewhat badly) through the last gasps of the Plains Wars, the Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection.

The 1911 and its successor variant the 1911A1 was the primary American sidearm until it was officially replaced with the Beretta M9 in 1985. Even so they are perhaps the most iconic American pistol, and many thousands of new commercial models are produced each year for the civilian market

This particular pistol was built in 1918, and would have likely worn a deep black-blue finish from the factory. It was arsenal refinished at some point as indicated by the “AA” stamp (Augusta Arsenal) and the light gray parkerization. This pistol likely served in WW2 and possibly Korea (it is wearing Korean era grips) before being removed from service in some way. This old warhorse has definitely seen some hard use, but still gets taken out every now and again to throw rounds downrange!
God bless John Browning and his wonderful creations!