An uncommon 1916 Colt M1911

[Scott Gahimer]

There weren't very many 1916 Colt M1911 pistols to begin with, and far fewer were marked "S" on the receiver, slide and barrel. The "S" mark was used by temporary inspector Strong, apparently in Hosmer's absence.







No barrel markings on the top of the chamber. "S" mark on the back of the hood extension.


The "P" proof is stamped on the back of the barrel lugs. Wear patterns match on the breech face of the slide.


The pistols shows wear patterns from a M1912 holster. Obviously, in 1916 there were a lot more M1912 holsters in the system than new M1916.

Information

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[Scott Gahimer]

Hmmm? Don't know what happened to the image of the stop plate when I posted it, but...a better shot showing the matching wear pattern.

[Johnny Peppers]

Frank Hosmer was temporarily transferred from Colt to San Antonio Arsenal for a brief period in 1916. William E. Strong who normally inspected 1903 Springfield rifles at Springfield Armory was sent to Colt to take the place of Mr. Hosmer until his return. This created a variation in a Model 1911 from a very low production year.

While this one has the S on the back of the barrel hood, the P proof is on top the chamber.

[Scott Gahimer]

Yes, there were some interesting variations. I thing Strong (or someone else) even used Hosmer's "H" on some barrels in 1916. I have another 1916 with an "H" on the hood extension and the "P" on the back of the lugs. Other pistols in 1916 were assembled with some parts "S" marked, and others "H" marked (receivers, slides and barrels). There are a lot of things to inspect when authenticating the 1916 pistols in this serial range and the Marine Corps pistols in the 151*** range.