How the US selected the Colt 1911 as a combat handgun

[870P]

I wonder how much less durable the low to medium carbon steel, spot heat treated early 1911s were compared to their modern counterparts?

 

[mmattockx]

So much of the 1911 design was based on the input from horse-mounted soldiers who wanted to carry a revolver and did everything they could to scuttle the transition to automatic pistols.

There is also serious irony that the cavalry had major input to the 1911 and that they didn't survive the first part of WW1 before being shown as completely obsolete.

No one in Canada wants to hear this... But... The best "steak tartare" in Switzerland is horsemeat. Apparently, it tastes better than beef.

The horse meat I have had certainly didn't taste better than beef. It was much more like gamey deer meat.

I think BBQ pork ribs are something we can all get behind.

Mmmm, tasty ribs.


Mark

 

[ponymusic]

There is also serious irony that the cavalry had major input to the 1911 and that they didn't survive the first part of WW1 before being shown as completely obsolete.

"Air Cav, son—airmobile"

 

[1riot1ranger]

There is also serious irony that the cavalry had major input to the 1911 and that they didn't survive the first part of WW1 before being shown as completely obsolete.

Right? It's amazing that JMB incorporated feedback from soldiers who would soon become obsolete and developed a pistol carried in combat for nearly a century. And it is still the top choice for competitive shooting and top-tier law enforcement units (The FBI HRT still carries it).

To give this a bit more color - the last sabre issued to the US cavalry was the M1917. 6 years after the 1911 was issued!

There's only one other weapon that's been in service as long as the 1911 - the M2 BMG. Another JMB design!

John Moses Browning was a savant when it comes to firearms design. I can't think of another man who's done more in the world of firearms design than he has. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, machine guns... He got crappy design inputs and still made a cohesive, overall design that's stood the "test of time". The man was a certified genius. I don't think we'll see his equal.

(One could argue that the Mosin-Nagant 1891 pattern rifle being issued to troops in the rear in the Ukraine conflict is still "in use". But it's not really being issued to the guys at the "tip of the spear.")