Colt Model 1910

Last updated
Colt Model 1910
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of originUnited States
Production history
Designer John Browning
Designed1910
Manufacturer Colt's Manufacturing Company
Produced1910
No. built8
Specifications
Cartridge .45 ACP
Action Short recoil operation
Feed system8-round detachable box magazine
SightsFixed open iron sights

The Colt Model 1910 was a prototype .45 ACP caliber automatic pistol developed by John Browning as an improvement of the earlier Colt Model 1909, which was rejected by the United States Department of War due to the Cavalry's belief that the design was too complicated for use by enlisted men, and because it lacked a safety mechanism. The M1910 was a drastic modification on Browning's part, modifying and adding many features that the M1909 was not equipped with.

Contents

History

On February 9, 1910, Browning demonstrated the new Model 1910 design to Colonel John T. Thompson of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps, as he had with the M1909 the previous year. While firing, the pistol developed ejecting problems, and Browning attempted to repair the malfunction by removing the ejector and filing it down. When this failed to resolve the issue, Browning was left with no choice but to send it back to Colt's Manufacturing Company for repairs. [1]

Design

The Model 1910 differed in many ways from the previous M1909 design, that had been rejected by the War Department. The grip was changed from an 84 degree angle to 74 degree angle, which created a more natural grip when being fired from an outstretched hand. [1] The M1910 was not manufactured with a mechanical safety mechanism by Colt, which was one problem the War Department saw in the design. Browning developed a type of relatively simple safety that could be retrofitted on the outside of the pistol, that would keep the slide locked in the forward position, and could be easily disengaged with a movement of the thumb. [1] Another improvement was that the extractor mechanism was redesigned to fit on the inside of the slide, unlike the exterior extractor from the M1909 and other early Browning automatics. [1]

Trials Performance

At Springfield Armory in November 1910, the Colt Model 1910 was tested against the Savage Model 1907, a competing .45 caliber pistol design from the Savage Arms Company of Utica, New York. [2] A .45 caliber Colt M1909 revolver was used as a control. [3] The M1910 had 12 malfunctions overall, while the Savage M1907 had 43. 6000 rounds were fired through each of the pistols, the Colt, although having a number of issues, performed far superior to the Savage, which had to have many various parts replaced during the duration of the trials. The board of officers present at the trials recommended that Browning's Model 1910 be adopted for use by the War Department. The Commanding Officer of the Springfield Armory, the Chief of Ordnance and the General Staff concurred, and by March 29, 1911, the Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson approved Browning's design as the new issued sidearm for the United States Army and, in 1913, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luger pistol</span> German semi-automatic pistol

The Pistole Parabellum or Parabellum-Pistole, commonly known as just the Luger or Luger P08, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Browning</span> American firearms designer (1855–1926)

John Moses Browning was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms – many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and pioneered the development of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M1911 pistol</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle</span> United States light machine gun family

The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed by John Browning in 1917 for the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe as a replacement for the French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benét–Mercié machine guns that US forces had previously been issued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-automatic pistol</span> Type of pistol

A semi-automatic pistol is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. Only one round of ammunition is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin/striker until the trigger has been released and reset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colt Single Action Army</span> Revolver handgun

The Colt Single Action Army is a single-action revolver handgun. It was designed for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and was adopted as the standard-issued pistol of the U.S. Army from 1873 until 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.45 ACP</span> Pistol cartridge designed by John Moses Browning

The .45 ACP or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it was adopted as the standard chambering for Colt's M1911 pistol. The round was developed due to a lack of stopping power experienced in the Moro Rebellion in places like Sulu. The issued ammunition, .38 Long Colt, had proved inadequate, motivating the search for a better cartridge. This experience and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904 led the Army and the Cavalry to decide that a minimum of .45 caliber was required in a new handgun cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remington Model 51</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Remington Model 51 is a small pocket pistol designed by John Pedersen and manufactured by Remington Arms in the early 20th century for the American civilian market. Remington manufactured approximately 65,000 Model 51 pistols in .32 ACP and .380 ACP calibers from 1918 to 1926, though small numbers were assembled into the mid-1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocket pistol</span> Term for a small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol

In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or similar space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless</span> Semi-automatic pistol

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colt M1900</span> Semi-automatic pistol

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. It also marked the introduction of .38 ACP, the round for which it is chambered, and was the first handgun to utilize short-recoil operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colt Double Eagle</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Colt Double Eagle is a double-action / single action, semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company between 1989 and 1997. It was available in standard full-size, as well as in more compact versions. It featured a decocking lever, and was chambered for several calibers. The family of models was known as the Series 90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colt M1902</span> Semi-automatic pistol

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MEU(SOC) pistol</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The MEU(SOC) pistol, officially designated the M45 MEUSOC, is a magazine-fed, recoil-operated, single-action, semiautomatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. A variant of the M1911, it has been the standard-issue side arm for the Force Recon Element of the United States Marine Corps' Marine Expeditionary Units since 1985. It is assigned NATO Stock Number 1005-01-370-7353.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Island Armory 1911 series</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Rock Island Armory 1911 series is a product line of single-action recoil operated semi-automatic pistols. They are designed and manufactured by Armscor in Marikina, Philippines, and distributed in the United States by Armscor USA, located in Pahrump, Nevada. Armscor is an ISO 9001 certified-compliant company.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage Model 1907</span> Semi-Automatic Pistol

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springfield Armory XD</span> Polymer frame semi-automatic handgun

The Springfield Armory XD is a series of semi-automatic pistols sold by Springfield Armory, Inc., in the United States along with follow-on variants: XD-M, XD-S, and XD-E. Polymer-framed and predominantly striker-fired, the series is manufactured by HS Produkt in Karlovac, Croatia.

The Colt Model 1909 was a prototype automatic pistol developed by John Browning for testing by the United States Army Ordnance Corps in 1909.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 US Army Pistol Trials November 1910. MrColt45acp. January 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2021 via YouTube.
  2. 1 2 Colt Automatic Pistols 1896-1955 - Bady, Donald
  3. "Home". sightm1911.com.

[[Category:Semi-automatic pistols of the United States]