Colt 1911 govt serial C61535

[vinson]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum but very interested in the history of old 1911s. I have an old Colt 1911 govt serial C61535 with British proofs and a broad arrow and C on L of frame near trigger guard. Any idea of the history of this firearm. Maybe an Canadian lend lease? Thanx

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.

[LimeyCarbineLover]

Vinson i have a C prefixed M1911 45 auto also ( C160**) and was told that this is not a military 45 at all but a rarer Colt "Commercial"....pistol.Believe Johnny Peppers is the Colt guru Vinson he will be able to guide you correctly.
Nice looking gun by the way lovely early Lozenge grips

Regards

Lloyd

[jmoore]

Squarely in the middle of the Russian Contract pistol run, IIRC. Which makes it scarcer than usual. The British gov't release markings are quite odd.

[jmoore]

Why the Canadian connection?

Is there a C broadarrow marking somewhere?

[badabing]

What type of information were you looking for specifically? History of a particular firearm is often times very difficult to obtain. If you want to spend $100 - maybe more I'm not sure what they charge now - you can send a letter to the Colt Historian and they can tell you where it was shipped to when it left their factory. After that, it's up for grabs. What did you grandpa have to say about it? It was made in 1916 and somehow got to England. It was there until at least 1952. It may have been shipped back to the U.S. when it was released by the British Gov't. During the 1950's up to about 1968, it was pretty easy to buy guns by mail order. Importation of firearms to the U.S. was not that difficult and were sold by a variety of stores through catalog sales. Judging by the condition it wasn't used very much and it's possible not at all. That's about all I can tell you and no, it was most likely not part of Lend Lease.

[vinson]

Thanx guys, appreciate all your input

[Johnny Peppers]

Vinson i have a C prefixed M1911 45 auto also ( C160**) and was told that this is not a military 45 at all but a rarer Colt "Commercial"....pistol.Believe Johnny Peppers is the Colt guru Vinson he will be able to guide you correctly.
Nice looking gun by the way lovely early Lozenge grips

Regards



Lloyd

Not ignoring the question, but I gave a detailed explanation of my thoughts on the pistol where it was posted on another forum.
JP

[LimeyCarbineLover]

Which forum Johnny ? i for one would be interested in knowing more about this please buddy and all C prefixed 1911 autos.

Regards

Lloyd

[jmoore]

It didn't show up specifically in the serial number listing contained in Goddard's The Government Models book.

[Johnny Peppers]

Which forum Johnny ? i for one would be interested in knowing more about this please buddy and all C prefixed 1911 autos.

Regards

Lloyd

Sorry about that. Missed your post.

Canadian lend lease I think - 1911Forum