Heavy Metal Birthday

On this date in 1911, the Colt M1911 .45 caliber automatic pistol became the standard sidearm for the US Army.

The weapon originated in response to problems encountered by American units fighting Moro insurgents during the Philippine-American War in which the then-standard .38 caliber (9.65 mm) revolver was found to be unsuitable for the rigors of jungle warfare, particularly in terms of stopping power. The Army briefly reverted to the .45 Long Colt revolvers which had been standard during the last decades of the 19th Century; the slower, heavier bullet was found to be more effective against charging tribesmen. An Ordnance Board, headed by John T. Thompson, concluded that a .45 caliber (11.4 mm) semi-automatic weapon would be most appropriate, and took bids from six firearms manufacturing companies in 1906.

Of the six designs submitted, two were selected for field testing in 1907, one of them being Colt's model, which Browning had basically modified to government specifications from an earlier autoloading .38 caliber (~9.65 mm) design of his. A series of field tests was designed to decide between the two finalists (the other being a design by Arthur Savage) and the Colt passed with flying colors, firing 6,000 rounds non-stop, a record at the time. The soundness of design is also borne out in its longevity of service (over 70 years).