1911 unbearable thought
- Thread starter hunterdad
- Start date
Steve David
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Oshawa, Ontario
A series 70 1911 built by Novak with only the necessary requirements for a good combat pistol.
I am in the very nice position, given those criteria, of being able to say it most likely would be the self-same 1911
that is the only one I have ever owned - a lovely 1914-production WWI Canadian-purchase gem -
The serial, C10379, appears close to one displayed in the Halifax Citadel Army Museum, C127xx.
Do you know how many of these Canada bought?
Yes, that is well documented - 5,000 pistols, all coming from Colt's 1914 production. In fact, the purchase took well over half of their commercial production (i.e. pistols produced outside the U.S. Government contract) for that year.
As I understand it, the majority of these pistols don't have a C-broadarrow stamp or any other markings indicating Canadian Government ownership. The reason for that is that most of them were actually resold to commissioned officers (who at that time were required to provide all of their own kit, including weapons, at personal expense.) Accordingly, it would not have made much sense to give them a Government ownership mark which would then immediately have to be canceled on sale ....
Quite a number of examples exist with the name of the individual owner engraved on them. My pistol is unmarked, but it came to me from a gentleman who was only the second private owner who, as a young Canadian Army Lieutenant during WWII, had purchased it directly from the WWI Major who originally acquired it from the Canadian Government. The original owner was Major William Arthur Mitrchell, whose entire Canadian Expeditionary Force file I have obtained copies of -
#1bcshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- North Of The DMZ (US border)
I had a 1911 in calibre 455 with RCAF & name on inside of grip . Would this be WW1 ?
Not WWI Canadian government purchase, because all 5,000 pistols acquired by Ottawa were .45ACP ..... For that matter, I cannot recall ever hearing of Canada acquiring any Colt M'1911's - or any other pistol - chambered in .455 Auto.
However, Britain purchased a large number of 1911's in .455 Auto during WWI, and thereafter it somehow may have found its way into Canadian service - though even that would seem strange, since I'm not aware of .455 Auto ammunition being available through the Canadian supply system.
Just to clarify, was it marked RCAF for sure? Could it have been RAF, or maybe even RFC (Royal Flying Corps)?
He brought in two, one went to me and the other to kaolorka. Transfer approved same day (thanks BC CFO), shipped next day by KO (great service), but the tracking number says expected delivery is the 27th. That's a long wait
In the mean time, I think I've already read every single post ever made on any internet forum about Dan Wesson CBOBs
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If I was limited to 1911 ONLY, I'd only need one round.
Who would want to live in such a world, anyway?
If I was limited to 1911 ONLY, I'd only need one round.
Who would want to live in such a world, anyway?
Amen, brother!
NAA.
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- Location
- Edmonton, AB
My Delta Elite. .45ACP is for wimps
