M1911: The pistol that forgot to become obsolete
The M1911 is an American semi-automatic pistol whose use spans over a century. This timeless adaption was in 1911 hence the name M1911. It’s often referred as Colt Government or “Government”. So, what set this up from other early semi-automatic pistols? how has it influenced later designs? and how is a war time design still so popular?
The first self-loading pistols appeared in the 20th century. Inspired by Maxim’s self-loading machine gun, handguns like Mauser C-96 and Borchardt C-93 replaced the repeating barrel mechanism to a handheld package. The first American to do the same was Jhon Moses Browning. A legendary fire-arms designer with many firsts. His first self-loading handgun with a slide was the FN M1900. In the Philippine-American war the use of .38 long colt was found unstable, particularly in terms of stopping power. Following the 1904 Thompson-LaGarde pistol round effectiveness tests, Colonel John T. Thompson stated that the new pistol “should not be of less than .45 caliber” and would preferably be semi-automatic in operation. For which 6 fire arms were submitted. But only 2 were in major contention. One by the Colt and a competitor by Savage arms design. Roughly 6000 shots were fired by a single gun. The Savages design had 37 malfunctions, were the Clot had none. This amazing performance led to its adoption in 1911, hence naming the weapon Model 1911 or M1911. The raise of global conflicts and Americas entry on world war 1 the weapon had minor changes in ergonomics and was named M1911A1.
A defining trait of the weapon was its stopping power and self-loading operation. However, the pistol was single action meaning the hammer must be cocked for the first shot. It works in a short recoil operation. The barrel pivots about a swinging link, seamlessly locking and unlocking the slide during firing. You can read ahead about it function more here-
Many modern pistols share the same mechanics. Its uncomplicated design is intimated by Glock, H&K, Sig and many more. There was no hurry to replace it. Surely there are now many lighter designs with higher capacity. However, its timeline in military service ended in 1985 replaced by the Beretta M9 for NATO standardization. But those who have the freedom to choose the 1911 is definitely a worthy selection and a respectful elder. It is still in use by the US marine core and many other forces
The military use of the 1911 has been reduced in 1985, but its popularity is more than ever in the silver screen. It’s seen in countless moves and video games. A signature weapon of cpt. Price. The Call of Duty: Modern warfare series. The game had a pi-vital role for the weapon and the reunion with cpt. Price is done with Soap bringing in the Colts M1911A1 .45 ACP. Truly a common weapon in competitive shooting games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Rainbow six, Insurgency, Medal of Honor and so on. The weapon truly came to its self in the world war 2 and nearly 2millions of such weapons were procured by the wars end. Enough to ensure its use years after. Unsurprisingly the gun shows up on ww2 shooter with the American GIs. It’s not often it’s given a prime role. But it’s always by your side.
A classic without any compromise. Its long service in the military lends it a strong symbol of patriotism. Spanning multiple genres, filling various roles, the 1911 has seen widespread use since its introduction. A perfect intersection of ergonomics, reliable operation and .45 caliber power. Service of a century and centuries more to come. Reliable, Antique, Patriot, Professional. The M1911.
