M1917 Colt

[steved409]

My question concerns the manufacture date of a Colt M1917 I recently obtained. The Colt serial number is 170xxx (it's not that I don't want to include the rest of the number I just don't remember it offhand, and of no consequence in this discussion I don't think). M1917 production began somewhere around 150xxx sometime in the last half of 1917, yet when I look up on the net it says 170xxx was made in 1919. I know that production ran into 1919 with some 150,000 plus being built. But it just doesn't make sense to me with it being only about 20,000 into the run that it would have been made in 1919.

Thanks, SteveD

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Johnny Peppers]

You didn't mention the source of your information, but I have seen this same question about the date ask before. Some of the sites just have bad information. Production is probably going to be in February of 1918.

[steved409]

Thanks Johnny: I corrected my mistake in posting when I found the info I needed right here on this site, but the post didn't show up. By using fictitious numbers and plugging them into the source here I've found that this M1917 was probably made around the first week in 1918. It would have been the 445th Colt M1917 made in 1918. I got this weapon from a local 80 year old man who said it belonged to his uncle who went over during the Great War with the 84th Division in the 325th FA, Battery D. He came back as the first sergeant of the unit. The fellow's father, a cabinet maker, subsequently made a pair of fancy tiger maple stocks and inscribed the name, rank and unit info on the left grip. The nephew later sent me four leggings (one pair with 1917 contract tags), a stack of rank insignias (pfc thru 1st Serg), complete helmet with 84th hatchet emblem, eating utensils/meat can, itinerary by a fellow serg/friend in the unit, a newspaper obit and a framed photograph with our man marching in the front row, taken at Camp Stewart where the unit was disbanded in early 1919.

Though the 84th didn't fight as a unit, it was chopped up to fill devastated infantry combat units. As artillery usually wasn't wasted it was probably posted to corps artillery and put to use, but I've had no luck in finding any info on this. I was able to find that the 85th's artillery units were assigned to the 6th Corps.