Need help dating my WWII Colt 1911A1

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Joeyshabadoo

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Hi everyone! My uncle recently sold me his WWII US Army Colt 1911A1, and I'm trying to dig up as much as I can about the piece. He bought it 25 years ago from another collector. It's in fairly rough condition (the barrel is a smooth-bore ;) ), but this adds to my overall fascination with the pistol. It looks like its been ridden hard and put away wet! The serial # does not match the series being stamped during this era, but I can make out three or four digits of the original serial under the current. I spoke with the registrar at the CFO about this, and he thought that it may have been done when transferring it from military to civilian ownership. The serial is seven digits. Any info that folks could impart would be appreciated!



I have been unable to find out anything about the proof marking above the magazine release. It appears to be "SIB", or maybe "SI8", but its faint, and none of the online databases I've looked at have this mark.



Here are some more close ups and overall shots















Here, you can kind of see the broken firing pin stop. Everything else is functional.

 
Joeyshabadoo said:
Ok, thanks. Could you tell me how you know? It was registered as an M1911 A1.
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Look at the frame behind the trigger on a A1
P6200196_zpsea775f02.jpg
 
Also your slide says mod of 1911 not 1911a1
The 1911 had a flat back strap and yours is arched so it may have been changed .
You can source Colt ser# on line . But if the ser # has been changed it will be hard to date.
Could have been a WW1 issue that got arsenal upgrade & reissued in WW2
 
The frame is Colt military 1911A1 1943 production,958100 serial number series. The slide is ww1 or post ww1 production.
 
#1bcshooter said:
Also your slide says mod of 1911 not 1911a1
The 1911 had a flat back strap and yours is arched so it may have been changed .
You can source Colt ser# on line . But if the ser # has been changed it will be hard to date.
Could have been a WW1 issue that got arsenal upgrade & reissued in WW2
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Thanks, #1bcshooter. This is my first exposure to these pistols, so I'm learning the history from the ground up.
 
can14 said:
The frame is Colt military 1911A1 1943 production,958100 serial number series. The slide is ww1 or post ww1 production.
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Thanks, can14. I haven't had time to get it apart yet and have a good look for other marks. If that's the case, there would be an arsenal refurbishment proof somewhere? The parkerizing on frame/slide appear to be of the same vintage.
 
Joeyshabadoo said:
Thanks, can14. I haven't had time to get it apart yet and have a good look for other marks. If that's the case, there would be an arsenal refurbishment proof somewhere? The parkerizing on frame/slide appear to be of the same vintage.
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with the amount of overall corrosion present, i'd suspect it's been repark-ed over the rust....she's had a hard life that girl, looks like she was not only put to bed wet, but wet in salt water....wish she could talk! imagine the stories she'd tell
 
could have been re-built by colt and re-numbered from its original serial number. The frame and slide seem to be 1911. check the slide to see if the pat number ends in 1913.
 
Cocked&Locked said:
with the amount of overall corrosion present, i'd suspect it's been repark-ed over the rust....she's had a hard life that girl, looks like she was not only put to bed wet, but wet in salt water....wish she could talk! imagine the stories she'd tell
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You got that right! It may be an exercise in futility, but I'd love to attempt to track down the family of the soldier(s) this piece was issued to.
 
Alright, I've had some time to get pics of the underside of the slide, top of frame, and barrel. I've also got the grips off, but no pics. The grips are plastic with a "t" rib. The left has a small inverted "T" mark, the right has a large"10". At the request of a member, I'm adding the following pics showing more proof marks.

The first pic shows a "3" stamped on top of the frame


"G" stamped on top of frame. Above that is a "W", or possibly an "M"


"X" marked in upper left corner above "G". In the middle is a "7", right of that is a symbol like a wide, stylized "W" or "M", or something like a chevron. Right of that is a "3", and at the very right end is a "6" or "9".



Barrel pic showing the clearly stamped "S" above a "P"


Good pic of inspection marks of "8" or "18" at bottom right of trigger guard and "SIB"? Above magazine release

 
Here is a picture that shows a Pre-1924 1911 and a post 1924 1911-A1, the three main differences are the cut-out behind the trigger on the post 1924, the shorter trigger on the later issue and the rounded mainspring housing.

 
Skinny 1950 said:
Here is a picture that shows a Pre-1924 1911 and a post 1924 1911-A1, the three main differences are the cut-out behind the trigger on the post 1924, the shorter trigger on the later issue and the rounded mainspring housing.

Click to expand...

There you go that's a good comparison picture. Obviously the OP's pistol started life as a 1911 & has had a few 1911a1 upgrades in it's life .
I'm betting it went through a US Gov referb for WW2 use .
I had a 1911 in 455 cal . they had wood grips like your picture & in the inside of one of my grips was the name of the person it was issued to & branch of service he was in.
 
Skinny 1950 said:
Here is a picture that shows a Pre-1924 1911 and a post 1924 1911-A1, the three main differences are the cut-out behind the trigger on the post 1924, the shorter trigger on the later issue and the rounded mainspring housing.
Click to expand...


It looks like its a 1911 frame (because of the cutout in the frame near the trigger) with an A1 main spring housing and trigger.
 
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