Canadian Contract 1911? Yes or No???

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kgwalsh12

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Hello,

I have a WWI Colt Commercial 1911 and was wondering if someone could help me identify it as possible one of the pistols send to the Canadian Army during WWI.

The only identifying mark is the Canadian Broad Arrow stamped on the two-tone mag. (The mag is most likely WWI vintage)

The rest of the pistol has no Canadian markings or broad arrow markings anywhere that I can see

The serial number range is C130XX.

Does anyone have a website with more information I can go to look up some information on the serial number range.

Does anyone with some personal experience identifying this pistol would be greatly appreciated?

Cheers,
Kyle
 
If you have the money Kathy can help you
http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/historical.asp
1911WWI.jpg

Meanea
 
Send your problem to Clive Law at Service Publications. He has a website, and is an ambitious (and active) publisher of Canadian military books. Maybe he has a book out on Canadian service handguns? Otherwise, there was one in the old Lower Canada Arms Collector's series of pamphlets. The answer and its explanation are a few dollars, some time and a bit of reading away.
 
1911

Have you tried this www.sightm1911.com/ . Go to production info
1) Colt M1911 Canadian Contract: S/N C5400 to C16599 = Sept. to Nov., 1914 ( Only
5000 pistols in this serial number range were shipped to Canada.) Caliber .45 ACP
Click to expand...
Your ser. no. fits into the Canadian contract on this site.
Good luck
Blair
 
Just a few added points -

- Canada bought 5000 commercial production M1911 Colts in 1914 - all 1914 production. (So, by definition, the serial number range has to be greater than 10,000 through 13,500 ...)

- The serial number range quoted from the 1911 website by whatguns is the generally accepted range within which the Canadian-purchase pistols fall. What is not often mentioned is that range is the entire 1914 serial number range for the commercial-production pistols. The Canadian Colts are fairly well spread out within that range because Colt shipped what pistols they could when the order was first placed, with the balance being supplied as production continued.

- Many, if not most, of the Canadian pistols are not specifically marked with the C-broadarrow or other official markings - one reason frequently given is that they were shipped off to the CEF as they came in, with no time taken for marking them. However, quite a few - probably the majority - of these pistols were in fact sold to commissioned officers (who were required to provide their own sidearms and other kit at personal expense at that time.) In other words, the Government acted as a wholesaler in effect, and since such pistols became the private property of the officers buying them, it wouldn't make much sense to go to the trouble of marking them as government property when such marks would then have to be "cancelled" upon selling the pistol out of stores ....

Clive Law is, indeed, the author of "Canadian Military Handguns, 1855-1985", which is available through his "Service Publications" - http://www.servicepub.com/

FWIW, you may want to check out my online article about Canadian Military Service Pistols of the 20th Century - though it doesn't give a great deal more information about the M1911's than is already summarized here in this thread, it does give an overview of all of Canada's primary service handguns on the last century - http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/mediawiki-1.5.5/index.php?title=Service_Pistols

Here's my example ... love to show it -
colt02c.jpg
 
"The Government Models" Goddard has a list of M1911s by serial no. and shipping date. The lowest no. is C465 shipped to Dept of Militia & Defence ,Ottawa on 2 Sept. 1914 followed by shipments to J. Wesley Allison ,Canadian Agent, starting on Sept. 11 with C1750. List gives seial number of last one shipped to JWA as C13500 in a lot of 3800 shipped 10/1-11/14.
 
colt will tell you for $100. Like most have said, there were about 16000 commercial 1911s in 1914. Only 5000 were sent to Canada, and most were not marked with the C broadarrow. The magazines that shipped with the pistols did not have the C broadarrow either, the mags that did have them were extras that were ordered after the fact. I am looking at buying one, it has a lot of holster wear on it, but there is still no way of telling for sure if it is Canadian contract without contacting Colt.
 
GrantR said:
Just a few added points -

- Canada bought 5000 commercial production M1911 Colts in 1914 - all 1914 production. (So, by definition, the serial number range has to be greater than 10,000 through 13,500 ...)

- The serial number range quoted from the 1911 website by whatguns is the generally accepted range within which the Canadian-purchase pistols fall. What is not often mentioned is that range is the entire 1914 serial number range for the commercial-production pistols. The Canadian Colts are fairly well spread out within that range because Colt shipped what pistols they could when the order was first placed, with the balance being supplied as production continued.

- Many, if not most, of the Canadian pistols are not specifically marked with the C-broadarrow or other official markings - one reason frequently given is that they were shipped off to the CEF as they came in, with no time taken for marking them. However, quite a few - probably the majority - of these pistols were in fact sold to commissioned officers (who were required to provide their own sidearms and other kit at personal expense at that time.) In other words, the Government acted as a wholesaler in effect, and since such pistols became the private property of the officers buying them, it wouldn't make much sense to go to the trouble of marking them as government property when such marks would then have to be "cancelled" upon selling the pistol out of stores ....

Clive Law is, indeed, the author of "Canadian Military Handguns, 1855-1985", which is available through his "Service Publications" - http://www.servicepub.com/

FWIW, you may want to check out my online article about Canadian Military Service Pistols of the 20th Century - though it doesn't give a great deal more information about the M1911's than is already summarized here in this thread, it does give an overview of all of Canada's primary service handguns on the last century - http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/mediawiki-1.5.5/index.php?title=Service_Pistols

Here's my example ... love to show it -
colt02c.jpg
Click to expand...

Is that original or refinished? Very nice piece!!!!
 
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