Make: Colt
Model: 1911, US Navy
Serial Number: 38606
Year of Manufacture: 1913. Shipped July 25, 1913 to the US Navy, Brookly Navy Yard.
Caliber: .45 ACP
Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of the slide is marked “PATENTED APR.20.1897. / SEPT.9,1902. DEC.19,1905. FEB.14,1911.” and “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. / HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.”, with a Rampant Colt logo at the rear of the slide. The right side of the slide is marked “MODEL OF 1911. U. S. NAVY”. The right side of the frame is marked “NO 38606”. The left side of the frame is marked “UNITED STATES PROPERTY” and behind the trigger with a circled “WGP” (Maj. Walter G. Pennfield). The chamber is marked "P" and "H". The left barrel lug is marked “5”, there is an incomplete marking on the bottom of the barrel just in front of the lugs. The top rear face of the slide is marked “H” (vertical, no serif). The flat on the top of the frame around the disconnector is marked “H”, "C", and “4”. The flat on the underside of the slide is marked “T” and “2”.
Barrel Length: 5”
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short rounded blade. The rear sight is a round-top “U” notch dovetailed into the slide.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are checkered walnut with smooth diamonds around the grip screws. The grips have some scattered light nicks, scuffs, and scratches, some of which have blunted or damaged individual checkers. The checkering is generally well defined. There are no chips or cracks. The grips rate in about Very Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is gray with well defined rifling. There is scattered light erosion and some minor pitting in the bore, mostly in the grooves. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates about a 6 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 80% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. Most of the balance is handling wear in the grip areas, there is a patch of finish wear on the left of the dust cover. There are scattered light nicks, scuffs, and scratches. There is a cluster of small but more notable nicks on the top-left of the slide, at and in front of the left slide serrations. There is some scattered minor surface oxidation. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to disfigured with usable slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Very Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The trigger pull is crisp. The slide has minor play to the frame. We have not fired this pistol. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one scarce, original US Pre-WW1 “Keyhole” Lanyard Loop Two Tone 7-round magazine. This is the classic Type II 1911 magazine with the “keyhole” cutout (also known as a punch-and-saw-cut) below the feed mouth, lanyard loop (also called a lanyard ring) on the bottom of the floorplate, and two tone finish on the body. It retains a very good amount of that “two tone” partially blued finish, with a somewhat distinct temper line around the middle body. The magazine has operational wear and some discoloration from oxidation. The feed lips are intact and the spring is strong. Type II mags were produced from Serial Number 4500-30000, so this one likely predates the pistol by a few months.
Our Assessment: The Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol was designed by the legendary firearms inventor John Moses Browning, and developed for the US Army in 1911 after the .38 revolver failed to stop charging Moro warriors in the Philippines. The US Navy also quickly adopted the Colt Model 1911, receiving their first shipment of 500 in 1912. The powerful .45 would see service aboard ship by US Navy sailors during the Great War, as four pipe destroyers escorted large convoys across the Atlantic to deliver "doughboys" and US Marines "over there". This particular Colt Model 1911 was shipped to the US Navy, Brooklyn Navy Yard on July 25, 1913. Only 15,307 of these pistols were made by Colt with the desirable US Navy slide marking, all of which were delivered before April 1915. Thereafter, all Model 1911 pistols delivered to the US Navy carried the standard US Army marking, of which there were approximately 578,463 manufactured, making any US Navy marked Colt 1911 rare and sought after today. With 80% of its original blued finish, classic "double diamond" walnut grips, a scarce Type II "keyhole" lanyard loop two tone magazine, strong mechanics, and a good bore with well defined rifling, this is a wonderful example of a rare, early US Navy Colt Model 1911.
Pistol