This is a very fine condition and
very rare Colt Government Model 1911A1 Pistol that incorporated the Swartz
Safety mechanism. This particular Colt
was ordered by the Argentine Navy in 1941 and remains in its original Colt high
polish blued finish with the Swartz Safety mechanism still in place.
Argentina, like many countries in
South America, had only a nascent arm manufacturing capacity in the 19th
century and primarily relied on American and European arms manufacturers to outfit
is military and police forces. As a result,
the Argentine Government purchased 21,616 Colt 1911 and 1911A1 pistols from
1914 until 1950, and then produced an additional 112,494 Model 1911A1 pistols in
Argentina under license from Colt.
In 1914, the Argentine military
adopted the Colt Model 1911 pistol as their standard sidearm and contracted
with Colt to supply these firearms.
Between 1914 and 1919, Argentina ordered 2,151 Model 1911 pistols from
Colt. These pistols were marked on the
slide “MARINA ARGENTINA,” and the 321 delivered in 1914 were from serial number
C6201 to C6400, and from C11501 to C11621.
In 1915, a separate order for 1,000 pistols was made and these have the
Argentine crest on the slide and were property marked from 1 to 1,000 on the
top of the slide. Another 1,000 pistols
were delivered from Colt in 1916 and are from serial number C20001 to
C21000. In 1919, an additional 400
pistols were delivered from serial number C86790 to C116594. The pistols in these contracts went to the Argentine
Navy in two ways. First, one group went
directly from Colt to the Argentine Navy, and these were pistols directly
associated with battleships
manufactured in the United States
for the Argentine Navy. The second group
of pistols went through the London Armoury Company. The Argentine Government grew concerned over
its dependency on another country so in 1923, Argentina passed an armaments
bill that authorized the creation of a domestic arms industry. The result was the establishment of an aircraft
factory in 1927, a munitions factory in 1933, and small steel mill in 1934, and
a small arms factory in 1936, all of which were managed by the Argentine Army.
In the meantime, however, the
Argentine Commission for Foreign Acquisitions negotiated a contract with Colt
in 1927 for the manufacture of Model 1911A1 pistols in .45 ACP that were
specially marked and serial numbered in a separate series as well as securing
from Colt a special licensing agreement giving the Argentine Government the
right to produce Model 1911A1 pistols under license. This agreement had three specific
provisions. First, Colt agreed to
manufacture 10,000 Model 1911A1 pistols that would be designed the Ejercito
Argentino Modelo 1927 for the Argentine Army.
Second, Colt agreed to transfer drawings, manufacturing instructions,
material specifications and tooling requirements to Argentina for domestic
production. And third, Colt agreed to
train Argentine technicians in the pistol’s manufacturing and inspection
processes.
The first provision in the
contract led to 10,000 Colts manufactured at Hartford being sent to Argentina
between 1927 and 1933, and these pistols run from serial number 1 to
10,000. These pistols had the Argentine
crest on the right side of the slide along with “EJERCITO ARGENTINO,” and “COLT
CAL. 45 MOD. 1927.” These pistols are
known as the 1927 Hartford Argentine Army Models. With the outbreak of World War Two, and with
Argentina’s national small arm factory unable to produce pistols in large
quantities, Argentina made a special order in 1941 of 500 “off the shelf” Colt
pistols in two shipments of 250 pistols each in the serial number range of
C198700 to C208700. These pistols were
to be hand engraved on the top of the slide with the Argentine crest and on the
right side of the slide with “REPUBLICA ARGENTINA / ARMADA NACIONAL – 1941,” and
they were shipped to the Argentine Naval Commission in Washington, D.C. Of these 500 pistols, most were eventually
recalled for servicing and were then parkerized, so examples in their original
blued finish are incredibly rare. What
is even more rare is that some of these off the shelf Colt pistols were those
manufactured with the Swartz Safety device.
Colt only produced 416 Government Model Pistols with the Swartz Safety
and many of these were brought into American military service early in 1941
with the Swartz Safety removed. There are
only a handful of known Colt Government Models in existence that still retain
their original blued finish and the intact Swart Safety components.
At the time this pistol was
ordered by the Argentine Navy, Argentina was in the middle of a ten-year naval
rebuilding program that cost $60 million and that produced a fleet of two modernized
American-built Rivadavia-class battleships, three modern cruisers, twelve
British-built destroyers, three submarines, minelayers, minesweepers, coastal
defense ships, gunboats, and a naval air force.
This particular Colt, which was
manufactured in Hartford in 1941, still retains 95% plus of its beautiful and
original bright polish blued finish with wear noted on the sharp points and
numerous very small scratches throughout.
The left side of the trigger guard has the stylized Colt “VP” in a
triangle proof stamp below a sans serif “x” inspection stamp. On the top of the frame, just to the right of
the disconnector hole is the smaller Swartz Safety firing pin disconnector arm
hole with a sans serif “S” stamp adjacent to it. All four original stock screw bushings are present, and
all retain the majority of their original blued finish. The original type one
ejector, with angled nose, is present and retains virtually all of its original
blued finish. The plunger tube retains 99% of its original finish.
The front grip strap retains the vast majority of its
original polished blued finish that is now beginning to thin. There is very minor wear noted on the inside friction
points. Both the front and rear walls of
the magazine well retain 95%+ of the original blued finish. The back, interior
mainspring housing portion of the frame also retains 95% plus of the original blued
finish. The interior portion of the recoil spring housing retains virtually all
of its original blued finish. The right
side of the frame has the correct sans serif “GOVERNMENT MODEL” stamp over the
serial number, “C200776.”
The Hammer is the correct Colt short beavertail type
with rounded rear edge of the spur. The upper portion of the hammer, to include
the top checkered portion of the spur, retains all of its original polished
blued finish and it correctly has no border around the checkering. Very minor wear
is noted principally towards the lower portion. The strut retains virtually all
of its original blued finish as does the strut pin. There is a serif “D”
inspection stamp on the left side of the hammer. The Disconnector retains 95% of the original blued
finish with a polished bevel. The Sear retains 98% of its original blued finish
with polished sear hook face and inside cam surface. The disconnector pin
retains considerable original blued finish along the pin shaft and sides, and
it retains its polished rounded end and trigger interface. The Swartz Safety Arm remains correctly in
the white. The Hammer Pin also retains considerable
original blued finish.
The safety lock is the correct Colt Type without the
milled shelf below the thumb piece with checkered thumb piece top and bottom.
The front portion of the safety retains 98%+ of the original polished blued
finish. The backside of the safety also
retains virtually all of its original blued finish to include the sear stop
surface and integral pin.
The sear spring is the correct 2nd Type with right
angle bend on the sear leaf. The sear spring retains the vast majority of its
original blued finish with wear noted on the edges and the back surface. The
grip safety is the correct Colt 4th Type with long tang (this modification was
first seen on the Transition Model as one of the design improvements to prevent
the hammer from pinching the wearer’s hand). The grip safety retains 95% of its
original bright blued finish with very minor wear noted on the left and right
sides from friction with the frame.
The mainspring housing is the correct Colt 3rd
Type with 27 diamonds on the center row.
The back, checkered portion retains traces of its blued finish in the protected
areas with the tops of the diamonds worn to the white. The rounded end of the main spring cap pin
retains all of its original blued finish. The left, right and back sides retain
98%+ of the original blued finish. The bottom portion retains 98% of the
original blued finish. The outer surfaces of the lanyard ring exhibits wear on
the very bottom. The mainspring housing pin retains approximately 95% of its
original blued finish along the shaft with the majority of the original finish
remaining on both ends. The Mainspring
Housing Pin retains virtually all of its original finish.
The Trigger is the correct short Colt 3rd Type,
which was introduced around the time this pistol was manufactured and was
milled from a single piece of steel. The trigger bow retains the majority of
its original blued finish on both the interior and exterior surfaces. The face
of the trigger retains all of its original blued finish over the deep milled diamond
checkering. The sides and back of the trigger retain 99%+ of the original blued
finish.
The magazine catch housing is the correct Colt 3rd Type
that retains 95%+ of the original blued finish. There are, correctly, 6
diamonds across at the widest point on the button release. The magazine catch
lock is the correct Type 3 with slightly marred single slot. The magazine catch
spring remains in the white.
The Slide retains 95% plus of the original bright polished
blued finish and is marked on the left side with the correct and very crisp
Colt commercial Hartford, Connecticut address and patent stamps in two
rows. The stamping on the frame and
slide are still sharp and crisp, indicating this pistol was never refinished.
The right slide of the Slide is correctly marked in
sans serif “REPUBLICA ARGENTINA / ARMADA NACIONAL – 1941.” I have highlighted this stamping in white
crayon, which can be easily removed. Also
on the right side is the correct Colt commercial stamping, which is a large “COLT”
followed by “AUTOMATIC CALIBRE 45” and the rampant Colt logo. The top of the slide, just forward of the
rear sight, has the Argentine crest, which I have also highlighted with white crayon.
The rear of the Slide, above and below the firing pin hole, has the serial
number “199” and “828,” which, although a different serial number than the
frame, is in the same serial number series as ordered by the Argentine
Navy. It is likely that this slide was
substituted during its Argentine Naval service.
The front sight is the correct Colt 2nd
Type, which is a rounded type without serrations. The front sight retains the majority of its
original blued finish with wear on the shar p edges and a slight ding in the
top. The rear sight is the Colt flat top type with
vertical sides, rounded shoulders, and squared notch that is beveled at the
front. The front slope of the rear sight has a witness mark that is aligned
with the corresponding witness mark on the slide just forward of the rear sight
dovetail. The rear sight exhibits wear
to the top and front surfaces, probably from holster wear. The breech face exhibits very minor wear from
firing. The forward portion of the
extractor tunnel also exhibits minor operational wear. The barrel bushing seat
retains the majority of its original finish. The interior portions of the
slide, to include the slide locking lugs and slide rail, retain virtually all
of the original blued finish. There is another sans serif “S” stamp on the
bottom of the slide, indicating it was a Swartz Safety model. The Swartz Safety firing pin block is present
in the bottom of the slide, and it still works perfectly.
The extractor retains 98% of its original blued finish.
The rounded nose of the extractor is correctly polished to the white. The firing pin retainer plate is the correct
2nd Type with more gradual taper to the bottom edge. The front (rear facing)
side of the plate retains 95% of the original blued finish. The back (forward
facing) side of the plate retains 95% of the original blued finish. The firing
pin is in fine condition with almost no wear on either the tip or the
hammer-end and it is the unique Swartz Safety type with the firing pin block
groove. The firing pin spring has 38 coils and remains in the white.
The Barrel appears to be an Argentine manufactured Colt
barrel that remains in the white. On the
left lug is the correct Argentine stylized “R” inspection stamp. The Link remains blued as does the link
pin. The bore is in mint condition with
a mirror bore and strong rifling. This
barrel was probably installed in this Colt during its Argentine naval service
as the pistol was originally manufactured with a Colt marked barrel.
The Barrel Bushing is the correct Colt 1st Type that
retains 95% of the original finish throughout. The Recoil Spring Plug is the
correct 3rd Type with rounded tab. The body of the Plug retains 90% plus of the
original blued finish. The front, checkered portion of the Recoil Spring Plug
retains most of the original blued finish in the recessed area of the
checkering with the tops of the checkered diamonds slightly worn to the white.
There are 10 diamonds across the face of the Plug at the widest point. The
Recoil Spring Guide is the correct 2nd Type with short "legs" at the
front. The Recoil Spring is the correct 2nd Type with 30 coils that
remains in the white.
The Slide Stop is the correct Colt 2nd Type that
retains 95% of the original blued finish on the front face, to include the
checkered thumb piece. The checkering correctly does not align parallel with
the top edge of the Slide Stop, which was a change that began with Transition
Model production. There are 15 diamonds on the bottom row and 17 diamonds on
the topmost, uninterrupted row. The back of the Slide Stop retains 98% of its
original blued finish.
All four single-slot Grip or Stock Screws are present. All
of the screws retain 95% of the original blued finish on the domed heads with
98% plus of the original finish on the threaded portions. All four screws have unmarred single
slots. Both original Colt walnut grip
panels are present. The checkering
remains very crisp throughout with some oil staining towards the bottom portion
of the left grip panels. There are no
cracks or chips in either panel.
This Pistol comes with an original WWII Contract
magazine manufactured by the M. S. Little Company. This type Magazine incorporated a pinned base
with no seam. The Magazines retains 98%
plus of the original blued finish. The
follower retains the majority of its original blued finish. The top lip of the base has a serif “L,”
which is the mark of the M. S. Little Company.
This is a replacement magazine and was not original to the pistol.
This is an extraordinarily rare Colt Government Model
Pistol with the original Swartz Safety still installed. Very few Colts were manufactured with the
Swartz Safety and fewer survived to this day.
This Colt is equally rare because it was a 1941-dated Colt that was sold
to the Argentine Navy and martially marked.
This pistol still functions perfectly.