A very interesting Pearl Harbor Colt used by the US Navy..

[John Holbrook]

Ensign Tom Anderson was the OOD on the USS UTAH when the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor. He had just assumed the watch at 0800 when a torpedo struck the ship....

She sank very quickly taking a number or her crew with her. Ens. Anderson was then assigned to the Sampan Group which were confiscated Japanese fishing boats in Hawaii. They were fitted with weapons and depth charge racks and used during the rest of the war to patrol Hawaiian waters.

I acquired this historic Colt from Ens Anderson's daughter several years ago when he was still alive.

Information

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[BC Mike P]

That's a great story. It's interesting to note that the pistol is from around 1918 yet issued in 1941. I suppose there were a lot of surplus stores that were left over and used around this time.

Mike in Vancouver BC

[browningautorifle]

Until the war broke out MOST of what was issued appears to have been WW1 leftover. For the first year they still issued WW1 equipment.

[mike radford]

With only about 56,000 1911A1's completed by the date the pistol was issued, one would expect the 1911 to be the primary pistol of issue. That one is most interesting and a piece of history for sure. Thanks for posting John.

[enbloc8]

Interesting to see that the unit value of an M1911 was $15.92 in 1941. (Not exactly pocket change in those days!)

(Move the decimal over two spaces and it'd probably be pretty close!)

---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------

With only about 56,000 1911A1's completed by the date the pistol was issued, one would expect the 1911 to be the primary pistol of issue. That one is most interesting and a piece of history for sure. Thanks for posting John.

Not to mention, wouldn't the 1911A1s supplied to the Navy have been going straight to newly-constructed ships?

[Rafsob]

Very nice. It is a shamehe left it in the holster and got the rust on the gun. Many people do this not realizing the damage it will do to a gun.

but backto the gun. A documented sidearm like this one just increases the value. A valued piece for sure.