| Auto Pistol of the 20th Century - Page Two | |
Page Two - Model 1911 History & Evolution
Though
its name still bears the date 
of
its original introduction, the Government Model 1911 design has never been frozen
in time and has been subject to continuing refinement, improvement, and modernization
as handgun design and manufacturing technology has evolved during the course
of this century.
Colt identifies the current MK IV Series 80 generation of Model 1911-form autoloaders as the sixth major platform modification of the original Government Model .45 ACP since its introduction in 1911. Here’s a brief summary of the basic Model 1911 platform’s evolution over the decades, centering on the “official” Colt lineage without attempting to detail foreign variants or recent high-tech adaptations such as the modular versions or polymer-frame introductions from competition-oriented specialty houses such as STI, Briley, SVI, or Wilson Combat.
The first major comprehensive change after the original Model 1911 introduction occurred in 1923 when Colt modified the basic Model 1911 at the behest of the military to include a narrower trigger, a wider and longer grip safety spur to reduce hammer pinching of the web of the hand, and an arched mainspring housing to improve the natural alignment of trigger finger and barrel when gripping the gun. The new version was designated the Model 1911A1 in US government nomenclature, and this iteration remained unchanged as the basic US service sidearm until 1985. Nonetheless, flat mainspring housings remain the choice of many Model 1911 shooters—not all hands being shaped alike—and most shooters still require the use of an accessory beavertail grip safety for total elimination of grip safety/hammer pinch. The next notable step in the evolution of the Government Model form came with the introduction of the .22 Long Rifle Service Ace pistol in 1931. Incorporating a floating chamber devised by famed firearms designer David “Carbine” Williams, the Ace duplicated the ecoil “feel” of the .45 ACP cartridge with the utility and economy of the .22 LR, allowing a shooter to become skilled and effective in the handling of the Model 1911 without extensive expenditure of costly centerfire ammunition. The Ace has been in and out of the Colt lineup over the years and is not currently cataloged as a complete gun. Ace II conversion kits are available from Colt for Series 80 pistols.
In 1949 the history of the Model 1911 .45 ACP auto reached another important milestone with the introduction of the Commander version. This pistol was a half-inch shorter than the standard Government Model and featured an aluminum-alloy frame that substantially reduced the carrying weight of the gun. It was the first time that any name-brand auto pistol manufacturer had used an aluminum frame in a regular-production big-bore gun. Aluminum-frame autoloaders soon became commonplace from many manufacturers, and the Commander-style version of the Model 1911, both lightweight and all-steel versions for those who prize its size rather than light weight, remains popular today.
The next major variant of the by-then-venerable Model 1911 came along about a decade later in 1957. Called the Gold Cup National Match, it was a match-ready, target-sighted model drawing a premium price. Its predecessor had been the National Match .45 ACP introduced in 1932 at the National Matches at Camp Perry to help establish the autoloader as a competition-grade design in the eyes of the top shooters of the time. It was not as popular as the company had hoped, as competitors remained revolver-oriented until after World War II, during which time production of all of Colt’s domestic-market firearms was suspended.
After the war most Armed Forces team shooters turned to refined and “accurized” Colt Government Model .45 autos, with civilian shooters following suit, so Colt resurrected the National Match pistol. It was officially called the Gold Cup National Match, and Colt promoted it as an out-of-the-box competition tool ready to win matches at the highest levels with no additional expensive tuning, accurizing, or custom modifications. It had all the features of the earlier National Match pistols and a few more refinements besides, and it has remained an integral element of the Colt Model 1911 autoloader catalog line ever since.
As the flagship form of the Model 1911, the Gold Cup has of course shared in all of the Model 1911 engineering upgrades and modifications that have come along since and has itself provided a context for the development of other performance-enhancing features that have since been applied to the more “standard” items in the Government Model line. The most important of these is the skeletonized collet-type barrel bushing that was introduced in 1970 as the hallmark of Colt’s Mark IV Series 70 Model 1911-form autoloader upgrade, which included the production of 9mm and .38 Super guns as well.
“...when
you pick up and handle an
original gun and a current gun, they feel
and handle just about the same. I guess
that’s what the whole concept of a
‘classic’ design really means.”
Insofar as the mainstream Colt-made Government Model design is concerned, the most recent major evolutionary stage of Model 1911 development came in 1983 with the announcement of the Mark IV Series 80 line, which included all full-size Model 1911-form guns as well as the medium- and small-frame series of Model 1911-type .380 ACP pistols that Colt began to introduce that same year. The Series 80 upgrade emphasized safety with the addition of a self-actuating, spring-loaded firing pin plunger that blocks the firing pin from moving at all times unless the trigger is pulled fully to the rear. The final noteworthy step in the Model 1911 saga came with Colt’s final adoption of stainless steel in the Model 1911 line, beginning with the basic Government Model .45 in 1985.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this whole story is that despite all the century’s worth of refinement and engineering improvement that’s gone into the Model 1911 since John Browning’s original patent was issued, when you pick up and handle an original gun and a current gun, they feel and handle just about the same. I guess that’s what the whole concept of a “classic” design really means.
Page One - Model 1911 - Auto Pistol of the Century
Page Two - Model 1911 History & Evolution
Page Three - The Most Underrated Auto Pistol, Metcalf's Top 50
This article was originally published in Shooting Times magazine in January, 2000.
