Canadian troops acquiring the Model 1911 pistol in Korea

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x westie

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I have always had a deep interest in Canada's part in the Korean war and have noticed that in photos and various books our troops in Korea seem to easily acquired the US m1 carbine, which i can understand it being much better for night patrols, longer range cartridge and more reliable than our finicky sten gun,..how common was it for a troopie to acquire the Model 1911 .45 auto pistol,..or was it frowned upon, by the nco's and the officers and ended up being confiscated
 
A Canadian artillery officer was sent home on compassionate leave when his father died. When he unpacked he found his batman had packed his M1Carbine (with paratrooper stock) and his pistol (Remington Rand 1911) packed with his clothes.

I bought them from him, years later. I never thought to ask if they were issued to him or just acquired.
 
Ganderite said:
A Canadian artillery officer was sent home on compassionate leave when his father died. When he unpacked he found his batman had packed his M1Carbine (with paratrooper stock) and his pistol (Remington Rand 1911) packed with his clothes.

I bought them from him, years later. I never thought to ask if they were issued to him or just acquired.
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gotta give that batman full credit for taking the intitative in packing both the carbine and 1911 pistol,..both these weapons are rare,..as i believe there fewer M1A1 carbines produced, as compared to the regular M1 carbine,..also Remington Rand model 1911 pistol is uncommon,..as Colt was the big manufacturer of 1911 pistols

i understand that any Afgan vet bringing a battlefield pickup weapon back to Canada after his tour is over could be in a bit of trouble with authorities
 
In World War 1, the Canadian government bought 5,000 Colt 1911's. During World War 2 Canada bought 1,515 Colt 1911A1 pistols. Many of these guns seen multiple wars, not necessarily in an officially issued capacity.
 
Yup you're in for some trouble if you do.

I personnaly know a guy that dissasembled an AK and sent it piece by piece... He is not serving anymore...
 
I still don't get why firearm battlefield war trophies are frowned upon... then again I don't really know if other war trophy take homes like flags and similar items are frowned upon as well...
 
A colleague who served in Korea showed us some pictures from his time there. He was carrying a 1911 and a Thompson. When asked about how he acquired the weapons he said, "They used to belong to a Chinese soldier. He didn't have any further use for them."
 
Claybuster said:
A colleague who served in Korea showed us some pictures from his time there. He was carrying a 1911 and a Thompson. When asked about how he acquired the weapons he said, "They used to belong to a Chinese soldier. He didn't have any further use for them."
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Hahaha! Best answer EVER!
 
Kevin M. said:
I still don't get why firearm battlefield war trophies are frowned upon... then again I don't really know if other war trophy take homes like flags and similar items are frowned upon as well...
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War booty belongs to the Crown.
 
I knew a Cdn Korea vet who carried a 45 1911 "acquired" from US source. He also said the M1 carbine was also used and at one point his unit had a Garand which they could not figure out how to load, I showed him how to load it with the clip and he said they never had any clips.
 
green said:
I knew a Cdn Korea vet who carried a 45 1911 "acquired" from US source. He also said the M1 carbine was also used and at one point his unit had a Garand which they could not figure out how to load, I showed him how to load it with the clip and he said they never had any clips.
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I always find it fascinating how casual US troops in postions next to Canadian units in Korea were in either lending, trading whiskey , beer for small arms,..the M1 carbine was a favorite,..i can only imagine the uproar with a Canadian quarter master that someone or somebody had helped themselves to a battalions spare bren guns, complete with spare mags, and barrels and lent them to a US unit that was in a postion close to our Canadian troopies..lol
 
green said:
I knew a Cdn Korea vet who carried a 45 1911 "acquired" from US source. He also said the M1 carbine was also used and at one point his unit had a Garand which they could not figure out how to load, I showed him how to load it with the clip and he said they never had any clips.
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Garand without clips... so they had a 10 pound club? Lol
 
@x westie: that's armies for you. While I'm much younger and never served in an army that actually went to war since 1847, I could imagine how this works.

Stuff gets lost and written off. Lots of it. Some Sergeants are better then others when it comes to "trading" and letting disappear stuff.

We once had a Warrant Officer who collected "lost" stuff that was not written down somewhere in the paperwork. Included even enscrypted radios. Once he provided ammo for a plattoon sized rifle training when our unit wasn't already supplied with ammo.

Ah, the memories, good times.
 
Suther said:
Garand without clips... so they had a 10 pound club? Lol
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I would hazard to guess that one could make do without the en bloc 8 round clip in the Garand.

Certainly loading it would be a very slower reload with just loose rounds only, but it should work regardless.....

Maybe??

EDIT: Hhhmmm, brief internet research reveals this could be a dangerous practice with a Single Loading Enhancement Device.
Loading a single round (or more without a proper kind of en bloc clip) at a time could induce firing the rifle out of battery!! Yikes!!!

So, even with the newer and excellent CCI No. 34 primers and primers seated below flush, I would not recommend my first statement here.
 
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