Colt M1911 and Colt M1911A1 pistols

Author: Kuznetsov

19 July 2022 17:15

Community: Military

Tags: Colt M1911A1 Colt M1911 Browning Colt pistols

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M1911 is a self-loading pistol chambered for .45 ACP. Developed by John Moses Browning under the name Colt-Browning (US Patent 984519, dated February 14, 1911). The pistol was in service with the US Army from 1911 to 1985, and is still authorized for use today.

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History of creation and production

At the beginning of the 20th century, self-loading pistols had already become widespread in Europe and the USA. However, it was mainly a weapon that operated on the principle of locking the bore with a blowback bolt and fired low-power cartridges. At the beginning of the 20th century, revolvers were still used in the United States, which were significantly inferior to self-loading pistols in terms of rate of fire and accuracy of rapid fire. This situation was due to the conservatism of the Americans, who relied on the reliability of revolvers, which was significantly higher than that of self-loading pistols. Important advantages of revolvers were constant combat readiness with safety and ease of use, long service life, as well as low complexity and cost of production using already well-established technology.

However, the US Army, having gained combat experience in the Philippine Islands, wanted to get a modern self-loading pistol, not inferior in reliability to revolvers, rapid-fire, accurate and using effective 45-caliber cartridges. Colt and Savage companies participated in the competition for a new self-loading pistol for the US Army. Tests began on November 10, 1910. Both pistols were chambered in .45 ACP. At least 6,000 rounds must have been fired from both pistols. Colt turned out to be much more reliable - 11 delays versus 33. On March 15, 1911, testing was resumed after both companies had completed improvements to their weapons. These repeated tests also revealed the significant superiority of the Browning pistol in operational reliability and durability.

According to the commission's conclusion, the Colt was superior to the Savage in reliability, strength, ease of disassembly and shooting accuracy. In this connection, Colt's weapons were recommended for further testing by the troops. On March 29, 1911, after lengthy and numerous tests, the self-loading pistol designed by John Browning Colt M1911, also known as the Government Model, was adopted by the US Army. Since 1913, the M1911 began to be supplied to the US Navy and US Marine Corps.

Initially, the production of these weapons was carried out at Colt factories, but soon Remington-UMC, Springfield Armory and North American Arms Co. joined in. During World War I, Colt M1911 pistols were supplied to the armies of Great Britain, Russia and France, and were later used by the US Army itself, which entered the war shortly before its end.

After the use of the pistol by American troops during the First World War, minor changes were made to the M1911 device: - the “tail” of the handle safety key was lengthened, the spoke of the hammer cocked when firing and the holding hand were better separated (1); — the mainspring stop has been changed, the rear part of the handle has acquired an arched shape (2); — the trigger protrudes less and the length of its stroke is reduced (3); — inclined recesses appeared in the frame behind the trigger for the index finger (4); — the notch on the cheeks of the handle reaches the fastening screws (5); — rectangular cutout of the rear sight, instead of U-shaped (6); — rectangular section of the front sight, instead of wedge-shaped (7).

An upgraded version entered service under the designation Colt M1911A1 in 1926.

In the United States, Colt M1911 and M1911A1 pistols were produced by several manufacturers in various modifications and designs. Pistols produced were equipped with the inscription “СОLT'SП. F.A. MFG. SO." on the bolt housing on the left side, behind the patent numbers. There, behind the notches, there is an image of a rearing foal. On the right side of the bolt casing there is the inscription “MODEL OF 1911 US ARMY”.

Colt M1911 - a pistol for the ages

Colt m 1911 is a pistol that only the lazy have not heard of. And for good reason, because it is the only pistol that has been in service with the army for almost 75 (75!!!) years. The USA boasts of this number. A little about the pistol itself. The M1911 is a self-loading pistol chambered for .45 ACP caliber, which was developed by John Moses Browning himself (I don’t think it’s worth explaining in what year). Why did this beauty stand out so much? First of all, it had a very high power compared to the first self-loaders. After all, the US army at that time mainly used either self-loaders or revolvers, which were seriously guilty of a low rate of fire. But the 1911 - the guy was no mistake, because he was able to keep up with two birds with one stone and caught both - it was powerful, practical and stylish, like revolvers, but had the number of cartridges, rate of fire and compactness of self-loading ones. Thus, what I consider to be the greatest pistol in history was born. It managed to pass all the tests of time that were possible. It was the best friend of most soldiers in the First World War and not only American ones - the pistol attracted Europe and even the Russians. “Bourgeois are bourgeois, these are your USA, but they know everything right in weapons” - Stalin said (I think) until the TT came, but this is already a completely different story. But dark days began in the life of the old Colt - the USA had already cooled down a little towards him, the pasta makers came up with some kind of Beretta, in short, he no longer had to shed as much blood as before. And it would seem that the only place for him was in a nursing home. But if God closes doors, he opens a window - the gaming industry has appeared.

Colt - wherever it was not. Of course, before the advent of shooters in general and normal graphics in particular, the Colt did not appear as an independent phenomenon. There was just a “pistol”, “revolver”, “sniper rifle”, etc. But when the possibility of increasing detail appeared, amateurs came to their senses. Since then, old Colt has seen quite a few textures and polygons. He visited Little Italy, and at the front, and shot at demons, although sometimes he left the top - then all sorts of philistines in CS 1.6 chose the vulgar desert of needles , then the players were conservative lovers of revolvers, then in some legends they bypassed it, as was the case with Half Life, where it was replaced with a fashionable Glock, then in Max Payne only Beretta M9s were lying among the corpses of criminals. But today we are not talking about the failures of the old Colt, but about the games where he shed liters of virtual blood. We will definitely go through the games in which Colt appears, but before that I must warn you about something - I am not an experienced player. I only started playing games when I became the owner of PS 2, and I didn’t want to play old games. But I assure you Since then, I’ve seen a lot of you, mastodons in the world of shooters, so you should be overcome by a feeling of nostalgia. So here’s the M1911.

The most famous military pistol in the most famous game about war - the great and mighty Call of Duty tamed the killer classic, after which it itself became a classic. Do you catch the connection? And above you see how it was reloaded back in 2003. There was no multiplayer in Colden at that time and no one attached much importance to such small details as a pistol - everyone traded it at the first opportunity. Maybe that’s why the Colt was less a pistol, thanks to which players learned about Browning’s ballistic masterpieces, but rather a fan service for fans of mass murders and genocides. But this was before that memorable day in the year of the release of all the great shooters - in 2007, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare was released. Truly a masterpiece of the gaming industry, which thousands of players still play with pleasure. But bad luck - All pistols had the same characteristics, not counting the Deagle. But even here, everyone loved the Old Colt most of all, because its design is still one of the best. In the following parts, not much has changed, although it is not in Advanced Warfare, but in Ghosts, I have no desire to look, even to check if it is there. But I consider CoD a brother in spirit to our M1911 - both survived a bunch of wars: the First World War, the Second World War, Vietnam, the Cold War and anti-terrorist operations of our days. Both, at the beginning of their journey, became something fresh and inspiring, something that could be compared to all other pistols or game series, they were a new word. Both of them, in the middle of their difficult continuous path, discovered a second wind and again proved to the whole damn world that there is more gunpowder in the flasks and berries in the buttocks! But both, unfortunately, at the end of their journey ceased to be so popular, because a new generation came, new competitors, and “there is no place for old men here,” as Cormac would say. But times go by and guns become laser guns, the man who cut off the head of Brad Pitt's wife replaced Zakhaev and I have no desire to dwell on this series. Let's move on.

Hitman. If you think so, then you can ask me - guy, are you an idiot? In this case, no. Of course, you can remain a naive fan and still think that these are silver ballers, but I am telling you with 100% confidence that these are old Colt M1911. Yes, the cheeks are different, and the blind cannot be convinced of I'm right, but it's a Colt. Why are these silver ballers so popular with players? After all, these two barrels with silencers have become probably the most famous and memorable pistols in the gaming industry. They say that they were specially given to Agent 47 by gunsmiths; maybe John Browning himself gave them to the creator of the bald man as a housewarming gift? Personally, I’m not sure of anything, but I know that in the last adventures of NOT Down with an extra chromosome, Ptah was ready to do him a favor by demanding only two pistols, which in the USA can be bought not very expensively at any gun store. I remember back in 2006 - while playing Hitman: Blood Money, we didn’t attach anything to them: first there were silencers, then cool silencers, then a second pistol, then a laser laser, then cooler silencers, then bullets, then a larger magazine, then a red dot sight, and then a complete madness - optics. It was gorgeous. This was the only Hitman in which we were really not deprived of weapon parts, which not every FPS can compete with. The golden times of Hitman have already passed, his bald head has gone bald and he has turned into a homeless person who picks up scraps of other people's weapons everywhere .Remember how we turned to the silverballers in difficult times, remember how Don Delgado’s brains scattered (I know that he should have been thrown from the balcony, but I like it better), remember how we fired the first shots. And let these two silver handsome will remain in your memory as the best branded pistols in history!

Anyone could have guessed that it would not do without the king of multiplayer, the king of weapons, the king of all Origin (I couldn’t find any other reason to register there) - the great series of Battlefield games! And if the witch is Colt’s best friend, who grew up with him, even though they later diverged, then the “battle” is the girl of old - then she is crazy in love, then she doesn’t talk to him, then she goes out of her way to to get it, then he simply forgets, then he begins to love it like never before, and then he just cools down and finds someone else. But first things first, because of all the top games in Battlefield, I spent the most time. Their acquaintance began back in 1942, when it was adopted by all and sundry and it was extremely popular, despite not the highest damage. But that was a long time ago, and it was necessary to refresh the game. So what did they do in BF 2? Right! They removed the Colt to hell. They shouldn’t have done that, personally, I still haven’t forgiven him. But from the battered mass, and not very cultured, World War II, the 1911 went on vacation to Vietnam. But the vacation was meager, because the damn Russian tourists represented by TT spat on him in the soup. And thanks to this, no one needed this Colt. But he hoped for rehabilitation in the next part of Battlefield - Bad Company. But then the developers shrugged their shoulders and said, “Well, you know, we came up with a revolver... Wow... It’s also called cool “Rex”... Wow... Well, he’s so powerful... Wow... In short, you’re fired!” And then the greatest gun in the world had to go cry to his friend, because his girlfriend left him. But it wasn’t to be! In Battlefield Bad Company 2, the old man became the coolest pistol, and was able to bend even Rex. I myself play BC 2, because I am one of those who consider it the best part of the series. And no one goes with anything except this handsome guy. Yes , it was balanced with a low rate of fire, but nevertheless, any player with relatively straight arms could take out three noobs with imbecile guns with a couple of shots. Thanks to this, you could get lost and think that you had entered a CoD, because snipers were running around in the middle of the map. But no ! What's happened? Colt M1911 happened! But then, when the time began for changes in the new Battlefield 3, it began to sparkle with new colors. This was not so long ago and everyone knows very well about a sort of S-TAC - a version with a flashlight that blinded the enemy and a silencer that, in general, jammed and increased accuracy during aimed shooting. It held up very well, even taking into account the fact that it had such a strong competitor as the Beretta M93 rook, which was automatic and many people preferred it to the Colt. This once again proves that everything is cyclical - at first they refused in the army, then in games and all due to the fault of one idiot. And then BF 4 came out. I hate it with all my soul. Dirty, filthy conveyor belt!!! But that’s not about that now! What then? And the fact that the Colt was simply thrown away. The characteristics were underestimated. And all for what? To put the vile and poppy Diggle in his place. And in hardline the situation does not promise to improve. Apparently she finally abandoned him. It’s a pity...

But the old guy was so glamorous in The darkness 2 - the best shooter of last year in my humble opinion. I don’t have much to say about it - beautifully animated, good sound, good damage. But this is my post, and I really like to shove my dirty opinion everywhere , wherever I can. This case is no exception. Just play The darkness 2, complete it in one evening, it’s short.

Sorry that there is no Stalker, Arma and other games like the masterpiece of the gaming industry called Warface, but this is my personal list and I had fun writing it. I think I did a short excursion into the main legends quite well. If you agree or vice versa , you think that I should have smeared my head with a stone at birth, write without fail (preferably objectively)!
If you suddenly want the same historical excursion into weapons, then write. I hope you have seen that history repeats itself. But we don’t know when the history of the Antique 1911 will repeat itself again or whether it will repeat itself at all. In any case, thanks for reading, remember that the pistol is not a toy, but a long, complex story that could blow a hole in your head. And by the way, what is your favorite gun? I dedicate this to you, Old Man! I will definitely buy you as soon as I can afford it, I promise! See you again!

weapons, battlefield, call of duty.

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Design and operating principle

The pistol consists of 53 parts and three main parts: frame, barrel and bolt housing. The shutter moves along guides in the frame. The barrel is connected to the pistol frame using a swinging earring located under the breech of the barrel and a transverse rod in the frame. The coupling of the barrel to the bolt (locking the barrel) is carried out by two semi-circular lugs (lugs) on the barrel and grooves on the upper inner surface of the bolt in front of the window for extracting cartridges.

After the shot, the barrel coupled with the bolt moves back. The earring rotates on the under-barrel axis and the rod in the frame, the breech of the barrel is lowered. The barrel lugs disengage with the bolt grooves. The barrel is stopped by a rod in the frame, and the bolt continues to move back and ejects the cartridge case, cocks the hammer and compresses the return and mainsprings. The return spring with a guide rod is located under the barrel, the mainspring with guide rods is located in the handle. A trigger rod, a plate-shaped three-arm trigger spring, a trigger and a handle safety device are inserted into the handle frame, which blocks the trigger, preventing it from being released from the cock until the handle is completely wrapped around the hand.

There is a swinging earring under the breech of the barrel

Single action trigger, with open trigger. The mainspring is a twisted cylindrical one, located behind the magazine; its force is transmitted to the trigger through a rod. The firing pin is located at the rear of the bolt, spring-loaded and recessed into the bolt to prevent premature shots. The trigger rod moves longitudinally in the grooves of the pistol frame. To prevent premature shots, there is a disconnector at the rear of the handle on the same axis as the sear. When the bolt is rolled back and until the barrel is locked, the disconnector with its stem comes out of the bolt recess and lowers the rear part of the trigger rod down, moving it away from the sear protrusion. When the trigger is released after firing, the disconnector rotates under the action of the plate trigger spring, brings the trigger rod under the sear and enters with its stem into the recess of the bolt. On the left side of the frame there is a fuse box. The direction for turning on the safety is the same as for a PM pistol. When the flag is raised, the safety locks the sear, the bolt and prevents the hammer from moving forward. The trigger, when the safety is on, can be left cocked and locked, which compensates for the insufficient efficiency of using a weapon with a single-action trigger when the hammer is not cocked. When the trigger is cocked, the safety is turned off by lowering the flag.

When the safety is off, the trigger can be decocked by holding it with your thumb and pressing the trigger. In this case, the handle safety, which does not allow the trigger rod to move backward, must be turned off by the grip of the handle. After a soft release, the hammer will engage the safety cock, which intercepts the hammer that has broken during cocking and prevents the hammer from contacting the firing pin until the hammer is cocked. When the safety is on, the under-cocked hammer stops and can be cocked. When the trigger is not cocked, the safety is turned off by cocking the trigger or lowering the flag. The magazine release button is located on the left side of the handle, at the base of the trigger guard. The transverse rod in the frame is also the axis of the bolt stop lever. When the magazine is exhausted, the lever tooth rests on the bottom of the bolt recess and the bolt is held in the rear position. To release the shutter from the delay, you need to press the lever down. If you change the magazine to a loaded one before doing this, the cartridge will go into the chamber and the weapon will be ready to fire.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages - High stopping effect of the bullet, maintained at long firing distances; — Reliability of operation and safety of handling; — The pistol has the same stroke length and low trigger force for each shot, as well as the shape and angle of the handle, providing comfortable grip, tight grip and good control of the weapon when shooting; — The pistol has an impressive, even terrifying appearance. Disadvantages - Large dimensions and weight; — single-action trigger; — Strong recoil reduces shooting accuracy and leads to rapid fatigue of the shooter; — The bullet’s rather steep flight path makes it difficult to choose an aiming point when shooting at a long distance.

The M1911 design became a classic and was copied throughout the 20th century with various improvements, continuing to be used in most modern pistols. In the USA, the pistol has a cult status.

Operation and combat use

The M1911 was actively used throughout the 20th century. USA - adopted in 1911, widely used during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Removed from army service in 1985, however, it was used during Operation Desert Storm and subsequently continued to be used by certain categories of military personnel, police officers and private security agencies. As of the early 2000s, it was still in service with the US FBI special forces.

US Army soldiers armed with a Colt M1911A1 pistol and M1 carbine

Great Britain - during the First World War, they were supplied from the USA to Great Britain (at the same time, the first batch of pistols was ordered chambered for the .455 Webley Auto Mk. I), during the Second World War they were supplied under the Lend-Lease program.

Norway - in August 1913 it was adopted by the Norwegian army under the name Colt M/1911, produced under license at the Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk arms factory under the name 11.25 mm Automatisk pistol M/1914. After the occupation of Norway in 1940, their production continued for the Hird, paramilitary units of collaborators from the National Unity Party.

11.25 mm Automatisk pistol M/1914, left view

USSR - in combat operations against British and American troops, a number of American 11.43-mm Colt pistols were captured. 1911, captured pistols entered service with the Red Army; they were used during the Civil War; during the Great Patriotic War, a certain number were received from the United States under the Lend-Lease program. Third Reich - captured M/1914 pistols of the Norwegian army entered service with the Wehrmacht under the name Pistole P.657(n), captured American-made Colt M1911 pistols - under the name Pistole P.660(a). Japan - captured M1911 and M1911A1 pistols were used by the Imperial Army during World War II, but were officially adopted by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces only after the end of the war. France - during the Second World War they were supplied to the Free French forces.

Colt M1911A1 Specifications

Caliber: .45 ACP
Weapon length: 216 mm
Barrel length: 128 mm
Weapon height: 140 mm
Weapon width: 30 mm
Weight without cartridges: 1130 g
Magazine capacity: 7 rounds

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