455 m1911

There were 10,000 British Air service Pistols (RAF) in .455 Cal with "W" prefixes, they were all produced from Colt's Commercial series. "GOVERNMENT MODEL" was stamped on the right side frame above the serial number. The right side of the slide was marked "COLT AUTOMATIC" over "CALIBRE 455". Most RAF pistols were handstamped above the left trigger guard by British Armorers beginning around sn. W100000. .455 mags are slightly wider to accommodate the larger .455 round. All .455 mags were marked "CAL. 455 ELEY". Most mags that were issued to and inspected as military equipment were marked with the "broad arrow" gov't ownership mark. All or most RAF mags were marked with the serial number of the pistol, and were handstamped by british Armorers on the bottom of the lip, that practice began around sn W100000 also. Standard issue Colt mags in .455 were two toned with a normal lanyard loop. British replacement mags manufactured by Beesley of London were fully blued with the round lanyard ring. The .455 bullets were five 1000ths (.005") larger than the .45 ACP, and .032" longer. The magazine well is larger to accommodate the .455 magazine and are not suitable for .45 pistol frames.
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What do you want to know???
 
45 acp mags will not fit properly and rattle around in the mag well. You cannot use 45 acp ammo. The 455 Eley ammo is not available commercially, so you will have to roll your own.
Most, but not all were marked on the left had top of the slide R.A.F.
 
For clarity, the pistol is actually chambered in .455 Webley Auto, same as a Webley & Scott Mk.I auto, not the standard .455 Webley revolver round. Here's a picture of mine with an original round.

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wheaty said:
45 acp mags will not fit properly and rattle around in the mag well.......Most, but not all were marked on the left had top of the slide R.A.F.
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Hmmmm....I have an RAF W prefix .455 that was converted to 45 ACP in WW2 and reissued and marked RCAF, seems to work just fine, I'll check to see about the loose mag issue.
 
Hi,

This is an interesting topic. Although rare, the .455 1911's do seem to pop up from time to time here in Canada. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a nice one for myself although I know of a few folks who have bought them in various states of originality.

There is some information in the Clawson book on .45 service pistols, and on coolgunsite.com if you go to the gallery:

"The Colt .455 was primarily issued to The British Royal Flying Corps, Royal Horse Artillery, and the Royal Navy. This Colt was ordered by the British War Office under contract with the London Armory Company, contract 94/P/1118 on June 29, 1916 and shipped September 7, 1916."

I'm guessing that most of the ones that are in Canada were brought back from WWI by Canadian troops? Perhaps they traded with the British, or maybe British veterans who moved to Canada? I'm not entirely sure, I would be interested to find out more. Anyone who has been around longer than me have any ideas?

Nyles, yours looks great! Definitely one of the nicest ones I've seen. Does it still have the correct barrel and mag as well?

-Steve
 
Have seen a Mint one.

Earlier this year I had an opportunity to examine and handle a Colt WW1 commercial 455 auto 1911. This 1911 is in mint shape. How he got it is a surprise to me, he didn't even have the cartridge it fires. However, the condition of this gun was outstanding. I shudder to think what it is worth. My guess is on the order of C$2000.00 to start....
 
.455 1911 mag pouch

A little off the topic but I have that identical mag pouch with my 1919 mfg. commercial 1911, do you have a picture of the holster that goes with that? gladius 2
 
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