Colt Pocket Hammerless | |
---|---|
Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
Place of origin | United States |
Production history | |
Designer | John Browning |
Manufacturer | Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut |
Produced | 1903–1945 |
No. built | ~570,000 |
Variants | M1903, M1908 (Types 1-5) |
Specifications | |
Mass | 24 oz (680 g) |
Length | 7 in (180 mm) (Type I) 6.75 in (171 mm) (Types 2 - 5) |
Barrel length | 4 in (100 mm) (Type I) 3.75 in (95 mm) (Types 2 - 5) |
Width | 1.2 in (30 mm) [1] |
Height | 5.5 in (140 mm) [1] [ citation needed ] |
Cartridge | .32 ACP (M1903) .380 ACP (M1908) |
Action | Blowback, single-action |
Feed system | 8-round detachable box magazine (M1903) 7-round detachable box magazine (M1908) |
Sights | fixed front, rear drift-adjustable for windage |
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless is a variant introduced five years later in .380 ACP caliber. Despite the title "hammerless", the Model 1903 does have a hammer. The hammer is covered and hidden from view under the rear of the slide, this allows the pistol to be carried in and withdrawn from a pocket quickly and smoothly without snagging.
Approximately 570,000 Colt Pocket Hammerless pistols were produced from 1903 to 1945, in five different types. Some were issued to U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force general officers from World War II through the 1970s; these were replaced in 1972 with the RIA Colt M15 general officer's model, a compact version of the M1911A1.
The Shanghai Municipal Police issued the M1908 to its officers in the 1920s and 1930s and it was a popular model with police in the U.S. such as the Boston Police Department.
In addition to lawful owners, many gangsters of the pre-World War II era favored the Model 1903 and Model 1908 because they were relatively small and easily concealed. It is said that Al Capone kept one in his coat pocket and Bonnie Parker used one to break Clyde Barrow out of jail after smuggling it into the jail by taping it to her thigh. Bank robber John Dillinger was carrying this model of pistol when he was shot by FBI agents outside the Biograph theater on July 22, 1934, and another famous bank robber, Willie Sutton, had one when he was captured by police in Brooklyn on February 18, 1952. [2]
This pistol was also used by an Indian revolutionary, Chandra Shekhar Azad in 1931, when he committed suicide to avoid capture by the Indian Imperial Police at the Alfred Park in the town of Allahabad in India.
There was also a Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer pistol in .38 ACP, but this design is unrelated. The FN Model 1903 pistol design is related to the Colt Pocket Hammerless, but it is physically larger due to its chambering in the 9×20mm SR Browning Long cartridge.
General officer models were often engraved with the officer's name. Recipients include generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George C. Marshall, and George S. Patton. Patton's Model 1908 was embellished with three (later four) stars on the grip panels to denote his rank. They were issued with a fine-grade leather holster, leather pistol belt with gold-metal clasp, rope pistol lanyard with gold-metal fittings, and leather two-pocket ammunition pouch with gold-metal fasteners. They came in russet or black leather (depending on service and regulations) and were made by Atchison Leather Products or Hickok. A cleaning rod and two spare magazines were also included. [3] Generals were issued the Model M in .380 ACP, until 1950, when supplies ran out. At that point, they were substituted with .32 models until their replacement in 1972. The Pocket Hammerless was replaced by the M15 pistol made by Rock Island Arsenal in .45 ACP. Today, the Pocket Hammerless is manufactured by U.S. Armament, and is licensed by Colt. [4]
This pistol is actually fired by action of a hammer striking and driving a firing pin into a center-fire cartridge's primer. The hammer is covered by the rear of the slide. The "hammerless" designation was merely an advertising designation pointing out the pistol's particular suitability for concealed carry. Special features include a serrated slide to prevent slippage during manual cycling of the slide and two safety mechanisms (a grip safety and a manual safety). The grip safety is a spring-loaded piece making up the back strap of the pistol. The grip safety, though not solely restricted to them, was a typical feature of Colt automatic pistols. A magazine safety was added on later models; this feature prevents the pistol from being fired with a round in the chamber and the magazine removed. [3]
In 1908, a .380 ACP version of this gun was introduced. Called the Model 1908, it is nearly identical to the Model 1903 except for the bore diameter and the magazine, which holds seven rounds (one fewer than the Model 1903). [3]
Grip panels are black checked hard rubber, checked walnut, or special order materials (ivory, mother of pearl, inset medallion). [3]
Sights are fixed, although the rear sight is drift-adjustable for windage. [3]
In October of 1944, the design was modified with the addition of enlarged sights, an increase in the number of slide serrations from 17 to 19, allowing 1911 tooling to be used. The .32 ACP model also was changed from a blued finish to a parkerized one. [5]
Metal finish is blued or nickel, and some special-order finishes such as engraved, silver- or gold-plated. [3]
There was an M1903 version with a military Parkerized finish, which is otherwise the same as the Model IV, SN 554,447 through 572,214. [3]
Former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo used a Colt Model 1903 to attempt suicide shortly before his arrest for war crimes on September 11, 1945. Tojo was convicted at trial and was executed on December 23, 1948. Tojo's pistol is on display at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless was used in the assassination of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich (top Nazi officer) in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia on May 27, 1942, in Prague. The assassination was successful due to wounds he suffered from the bomb thrown into his car.
In Warlord Era China, some cottage artisans created pistols that were visually similar to the Colt Model 1903, but dissimilar in mechanics (such as the lack of a grip safety and a heel magazine release). [6]
It was the pistol of choice for Raymond Westerling, a captain in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. He is known for orchestrating counter-guerrilla operations and for his alleged war crimes during the Indonesian National Revolution. His personal Colt is now on display at the Nationaal Militair Museum in Soesterberg, The Netherlands.
The Colt M1911 is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model adopted in March 1911, and Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the improved M1911A1 model which entered service in 1926. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era.
A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. The modern derringer is often multi barreled, and is generally the smallest usable handgun of any given caliber and barrel length due to the lack of a moving action, which takes up more space behind the barrel. It is frequently used by women because it is easily concealable in a purse or a stocking.
The .380 ACP, also known as .380 Auto, .380 Automatic, or 9×17mm, is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge that was developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, for use in its new Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless semi-automatic, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since, seeing wide use in numerous handguns. Other names for .380 ACP include 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short, and 9mm Browning Court. It should not be confused with .38 ACP. The .380 ACP does not strictly conform to cartridge naming conventions, named after the diameter of the bullet, as the actual bullet diameter of the .380 ACP is .355 inches.
.32 ACP is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pistol. It was introduced in 1899 by Fabrique Nationale, and is also known as the 7.65 mm Browning Short.
Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) denotes various John Moses Browning cartridge designs primarily used in Colt and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal semi-automatic pistols. All of these cartridges are straight-sided and appear similar. The .32 ACP, .38 ACP, and .25 ACP are semi-rimmed and headspace on the rim, while the rimless .45 ACP and .380 ACP headspace on the mouth of the case.
The Thunder 380 is a lightweight, relatively small semi-automatic pistol series chambered in the .380 ACP caliber made by Argentine firearms manufacturer Bersa, S.A.
The M15 General Officers is a .45 ACP pistol developed by the U.S. Army's Rock Island Arsenal from stock M1911 pistols as a replacement for the aging Colt Model 1903 and Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless pistols. The pistol was issued to United States Army general officers as a personal weapon.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or a similar small space.
The .38 ACP, also known as the .38 Auto, .38 Automatic, or 9×23mmSR, is a semi-rimmed pistol cartridge that was introduced at the turn of the 20th century for the John Browning-designed Colt M1900. It was first used in Colt's Model 1897 prototype, which he did not produce. The metric designation for the round is 9×23mm SR (semi-rimmed), which is not to be confused with other 9×23mm cartridges.
The Colt Model 1900 is a short-recoil operated "self-loading", or semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt's Manufacturing Company at the turn of the 20th century. The M1900 was the first firearm to be chambered in .38 ACP and was the first handgun to utilize short-recoil operation.
The FN Model 1903, or Browning No.2 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and manufactured by Belgian arms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN). It was introduced in 1903 and fired the 9×20mmSR Browning Long cartridge. It should not be confused with the US-made Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, nor with the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer. The FN Model 1903 is based on the same mechanical design as the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, which Browning sold to both companies, but enlarged to handle the more powerful 9mm Browning Long cartridge. The M1903's reliability, accuracy, light weight, and quick reloading made it a popular service pistol for many police forces and militaries. The pistol was initially introduced by FN as the Browning Modèle de Guerre or Browning Grand Modèle.
The Model 1908 Vest Pocket is a compact, hammerless, striker-fired, semi-automatic single-action pistol. Manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1908 to 1948, it was marketed as a small concealable firearm which could be easily tucked into a vest pocket for unobtrusive carry. Designed by John Moses Browning, the Model 1908 followed Browning’s earlier European version, introduced by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal as the FN Model 1906. Both pistols were chambered for the Browning-invented .25 ACP cartridge.
A snubnosed revolver is a small, medium, or large frame revolver with a short barrel, generally less than 3 inches in length. Smaller such revolvers are often made with "bobbed" or "shrouded" hammers and there are also "hammerless" models ; the point is to allow the gun to be drawn with little risk of it snagging on clothing. Since the external movement of the mechanism is minimal or nil, shrouded and hammerless models may be fired from within clothing. The design of these revolvers compromises range and accuracy at a distance in favor of maneuverability and ease of carry and concealment.
The Model 1902 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by famous American firearms designer John Browning and produced by the Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in the early 20th century. The Model 1902 was not a new design, but rather an incremental improvement upon the nearly identical M1900, and would transition from the 1900 into three distinct but related pistols with the same action and cartridge, the 1902 Sporting Model, the 1902 Military model, and the 1903 Pocket Hammer model. The 1902 Sporting model was so similar to the 1900 that it continued the serial number range, while the 1902 Military Model featured a different serial range as did the 1903 Pocket Hammer model. The 1902 Military Model featured a square and lengthened grip frame with an additional round in the magazine, while the 1903 Pocket Hammer featured a shortened barrel and slide but retained the Sporting model grip frame. The Colt M1905 .45 ACP pistol would be derived from the same lineage, also with a different serial number range.
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was a short-recoil, semi-automatic pistol, designed by the American arms designer John Browning. It was a compact version of the Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model pistol derived from the original Colt M1900. The Colt M1902 Sporting Model and 1903 Pocket Hammer models differ significantly from the military-inspired Colt 1902 Military Model although they fire the same cartridge. Its design is in no way related to the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless or the FN Model 1903 pistol.
Llama Firearms, officially known as Llama-Gabilondo y Cia SA, was a Spanish arms company founded in 1904 under the name Gabilondo and Urresti. Its headquarters were in Eibar in the Basque Country, Spain, but they also had workshops during different times in Elgoibar and Vitoria. The company manufactured moderate-priced revolvers and self-chambering pistols in a wide variety of models. These were popular mainly in the European and Latin American export market, as well as domestically in Spain.
The Taurus Millennium series is a product line of double-action only (DAO) and single-action/double-action hammerless, striker-fired, short recoil operated, semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Forjas Taurus S/A in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The Millennium line was designed to contend in the civilian concealed carry firearms market, and to be sold as backup weapons for law enforcement officers.
The Savage Model 1907 is a semi-automatic pocket pistol produced by the Savage Arms, from 1907 until 1920. It was chambered in .32 ACP and, from 1913 until 1920, in .380 ACP. Although smaller in size, it is derived from the .45 semi-automatic pistol Savage submitted to the 1906-1911 US Army trials to choose a new semi-automatic sidearm. After several years of testing the Savage pistol was one of two finalists but ultimately lost to the Colt entry, which became famous as the Colt Model 1911. A total of 181 of these .45 ACP pistols were returned to Savage after the testing and sold on the civilian market.
The Colt Officer's Model or Colt Officer's ACP is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, and recoil-operated handgun based on the John M. Browning designed M1911. It was introduced in 1985 as a response from Colt to numerous aftermarket companies making smaller versions of the M1911 pistol.
The Colt Mustang XSP is a lightweight, single-action pocket pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge, produced by Colt's Manufacturing Company. This firearm model was introduced in 2013 with an updated polymer frame version, of the Mustang Pocketlite.
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