The changes included improved sights, an arched mainspring housing, shorter grip safety spur, and shorter trigger. In 1924, a few simple modifications were made for efficiency and ergonomics. Between the two world wars, 1,900,000 M1911 pistols were produced for use by all branches of the United States military. High demand for this revolutionary design led to new production contracts with other manufacturers. In 1913, the United States Navy and Marine Corps adopted this new firearm, as well. The Colt M1911 was formally adopted by the United States Army on March 29, 1911, with 68,000 placed in service. It also meant that the manual safety had to be released, and the gun properly gripped before it would be ready to fire. These additions helped soldiers on horseback ensure that they didn't accidentally shoot their horses while riding. To appease requests from the Cavalry, Browning added a manual and grip safety to the design. This test made the M1911 emerge as General Crozier's favorite. After it cooled, testing resumed, and there were no documented malfunctions. When the gun heated up, it was dunked in a bucket of water to cool down. In 1910, over two days, 6,000 rounds were fired from the Colt M1911. Several different models were tested, and John Browning's design stood out like no other.

Under the direction of General William Crozier, the United States Military started testing several self-loading pistols designed to use the new. He designed the automatic rifles and machine guns used by United States soldiers during the First World War.ĭuring the American-Philippine War, military officials found the revolvers they used were not suitable for jungle warfare. At the time, Browning was employed by Colt.

It captured the gases from the muzzle and used them to power the mechanism that automatically loaded the next round. Browning patented the first fully automatic firearm design in 1892. Born in Ogden, Utah, he was the son of a talented gunsmith. John Moses Browning designed the infamous Colt M1911.

Model of 1911 us army serial numbers