This is a mint condition, US Navy issued, WWII Remington-Rand Model 1911A1 .45 ACP Pistol that was manufactured in 1943, along with numerous mint condition issue items belonging to the same US Navy officer.

The Remington Rand Corporation was formed in the mid-1920s with the merger of the Remington Typewriter Company and the Rand Kardex Company. Before WWII, Remington Rand produced typewriters, adding machines, office equipment and storage containers. The U.S. Ordnance Department approached Remington Rand in March 1942 with a request to produce Model 1911A1 Pistols. Remington Rand and the Ordnance Department eventually entered into six contracts for 1911A1 production during WWII. Depending upon the contracts, the price of the Remington Rand 1911A1s ranged from $23.92 up to $39.93 with two spare magazines.

Remington Rand set up pistol production at its Syracuse, New York plant, which was known as "C" Division. "C" Division had previously manufactured typewriters. Remington Rand received all of the necessary tooling, dies, gauges and mechanical drawings from Springfield Armory, which had been used before WWI for Model 1911 production. Springfield Armory also supplied approximately 65,000 receiver forgings to Remington Rand. Later, additional equipment that had been used by Harrington and Richardson and the Singer Manufacturing Company for their educational 1911A1 contracts were sent to Remington Rand. In October 1943, Union Switch and Signal sent some parts and tooling to Remington Rand.

Remington Rand only manufactured the Receiver, Slide, Grip Safety, Safety Lock, Hammer, Mainspring Housing, Slide Stop, Disconnector and Plunger, all at its Syracuse "C" Division Plant. The Barrel Bushing, Mainspring Cap, Recoil Spring Guide, Barrel Link, Magazine Catch, Magazine Catch Lock, Recoil Plate, Recoil Spring Plug, Safety and Slide Stop Plungers, Stock Screws, Sear, Front and Rear Sights, Firing Pin Stop, Hammer Strut, Extractor, Ejector, and all pins were manufactured at one of Remington Rand's subsidiary operations located in either Elmira or Ilion, New York. The Lanyard Loop and all pistol springs were subcontracted to the Humason Manufacturing Company. The Stamped Triggers were subcontracted to the Yawman Metal Products company and the Firing Pin was subcontracted to the Lux Clock Company.

Barrels used during Remington Rand 1911A1 production were furnished by the U.S. Government with the barrel cost being deducted from the sales price of the pistol. Most Remington Rand Pistols were manufactured by the High Standard Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut. A limited number of barrels used in Remington Rand production were supplied by Springfield Armory and the Flannery Bolt Company. The barrels were all blued during WWII.

Magazines were subcontracted to the M.S. Little Company of New Haven, the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut and the Risdon Tool and Machine Company of Naugutuck, Connecticut. All of these magazines were fully blued and can be identified by the letter of the manufacturer, L, R, or S on the upper lip of the base plate. Remington Rand used two types of stocks during WWII production, all of which were manufactured under contract with Remington Rand by the Keyes Fibre Company of New York City. . All were made of a brown, checkered diamond plastic material. The first type had no escutcheon ring around the screw holes. The second and final type had a narrow escutcheon ring around the screw holes.

The Ordnance Department assigned seven serial number blocks to Remington Rand during WWII. Three of the blocks were issued in 1943, two in 1944 and the final two in 1945. Remington Rand manufactured 877,751 Model 1911A1 Pistols during WWII. This particular pistol is serial number 1381965, which falls into Remington Rand's second serial number block manufactured in 1943.  

Remington Rand used three different dies to roll mark their Slides. This pistol contains the third type marking, which has the two-line "REMINGTON RAND INC./SYRACUSE, N.Y. U.S.A." with slightly smaller letters than previously used and the length of the marking reduced from 1 3/8 inches to 1 1/8 inches. The top of the slide has the correct sans serif “P” proof mark, stamped perpendicular to the barrel just forward of the rear sight.  The Rear Sight is the correct Third Type, Third Variation with the curved ledge at the front.  The witness mark on the rear sight aligns perfectly with the witness mark on the top of the slide.  The Front Sight is the correct Third Type with oval front slope and flat, serrated rear slope.  There is no wear noted on the front slope of the front sight or on the front edges of the slide.  The breech face retains all of its original parkerized finish with slight wear from chambering.  The left side of the slide exhibits the slight two-tone finish above the slide lock notch and the front end of the slide from the additional heat treatment to the slide during production.  The rear face of the slide has the correct serif “G” inspection stamp below the firing pin hole.  The slide retains 99% plus of the original parkerized finish. 

The right side of the Receiver, also known as the Frame, has the latter style Remington Rand serial number format, with prefix sans serif “NO” followed by serial number “1381965.”  Above the serial number is the “UNITED STATES PROPERTY” stamp.  To the right of the slide lock hole is the nomenclature “M 1911 A1 U.S. ARMY.”  The U.S. Property and nomenclature stamps were done prior to Parkerizing and will always show a dull appearance.  The serial number, after Remington Rand changed to the “NO” serial number prefix, stamped the serial number after Parkerizing, so the serial number on pistols with original finish will be much crisper.  This serial number exhibits that crispness, which shows that this pistol still retains its original Remington Rand factory parkerized finish. 

On the upper right side of the Frame, to the left of the right grip panel, is the Ordnance Escutcheon, which has crisply struck edges.  The Ordnance Final Inspection mark was also stamped after Parkerizing, which is yet another indication that this pistol still wears its original finish.  The left side of the Frame, just below the slide lock and above the trigger finger cutout, is the Ordnance Department Inspection mark “FJA,” which is the stamp for Army Colonel Frank J. Atwood.  Colonel Atwood was the commander of the Rochester Ordnance District, which included the Remington Rand plant at Syracuse, New York. 

Just below the magazine release hole on the left side of the Frame is the sans serif “P” proof mark. On the upper left of the trigger guard is a serif “L” inspection stamp.  The recoil spring housing recess has a sans serif “A” inspection stamp.  The top of the Frame, adjacent to the disconnector hole, has a “G” inspector’s stamp.  On the upper right side of the trigger guard is a serif “K” inspection stamp and on the lower portion is a “1” stamp.  The Frame retains 100% of its original factory parkerized finish.  There is no handling wear on the front grip strap and on the bottom, rounded edge of the trigger guard, all of which retain all of the original parkerized finish.  The interior portions of the Frame also retain all of the original parkerized finish.  The bullet ramp is correctly polished to the white.  This polishing was done after the frame was parkerized to facilitate smooth feeding.

The Hammer is the 6th Type, 2nd Variation, which was used by Remington Rand for the entirety of its production. The diamonds in the knurling on the thumb piece have the characteristic flat tops and the more pronounced line on the forward edge of the checkering. The Hammer retains 99% of its original dark finish. The Hammer Strut retains virtually all of its parkerized finish. The Sear is in mint condition and retains 100% of its original parkerized finish. The Disconnector is also in mint condition and retains 100% of its parkerized finish. The original Type 2 Sear Spring is in fine condition and retains 95% of its original blued finish. The Trigger is the correct Remington Rand Type 2, 2nd Variation stamped and brazed type that is in mint condition and it retains 98% of its original parkerized finish.

The Safety Lock or Thumb Safety is the correct Type 3 with contoured edges of the thumb piece. The Safety Lock retains 99% of its dark parkerized finish. The Grip Safety is the 4th Type, which was used by Remington Rand for the duration of their production. The Grip Safety is in fine condition retaining 99% of its original dark parkerized finish with wear noted only on the sharp edges. The Mainspring Housing is the correct Remington Rand 3^rd Type with longitudinal grooves.  This type housing was incorporated into Remington Rand pistols at around serial number 1,320,000.  The Mainspring Housing and Lanyard Ring are both in fine condition and retain 99% of their original dark parkerized finish. The Mainspring Cap is in mint condition and retains its original case-hardened colors. The Second Type Mainspring Housing Pin retains all of its original finish.

The Magazine Catch Housing is the correct Type 4 that was used by Remington Rand from serial number 1,041,405 until the end of production. It has the correct six full diamonds across the face of the release button. The Magazine Catch Lock face is single-slotted. The entire Magazine Catch is in fine condition and retains 99% of its dark parkerized finish. The Slide Stop is the correct Type 3 used by Remington Rand from serial number 975,001 until the end of production. It has the correct five parallel grooves (which replaced the checkering at around serial number 975,000).  The Slide Stop retains 99% of its original parkerized finish.

Both Plastic Stock Panels are the original Remington Rand Type 3 Stocks manufactured by Keyes Fibre Company, and both are in mint condition. The backs of both panels have the cross-shaped reinforcing ribs. These particular stocks are the correct 2nd Variation Keyes Fibre stocks with reinforcing rings around the screw holes and have the Keyes Fibre "K" without serif inside a five-pointed star and the mold number “11” on the left panel and mold number “12” on the right panel.  All four original Stock Screws are single-slotted and retain all of their original parkerized finish with unmarred slots.

The original Extractor is in very fine condition and retains 99% of its original dark parkerized finish with wear noted only on the friction “knuckle.”  The Firing Pin remains correctly in the white. The Firing Pin Spring is in the white and is in fine condition. The correct Type 2 Firing Pin Retainer Plate is in fine plus condition exhibiting wear on the face above the Firing Pin Hole from the impact of the Hammer and at the radius curve at the front, bottom of the Plate where it rides over the Hammer during recoil.

The mint condition, original and correct Barrel is manufactured by the High Standard Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut. High Standard was awarded the contract to produce barrels for Remington Rand, Ithaca and Union Switch and Signal. High Standard was awarded its initial Barrel subcontract in March 1942 and by July 1943, High Standard was producing most of the barrels used by Remington Rand, Ithaca and Union Switch and Signal until the end of the war. The exterior of this Barrel is in mint condition retaining 95% of the original blued finish. The sans serif "P" stamp is present on the left side of the lug at the 2 o'clock position to the link pin hole. The right side of the lug has the sans serif High Standard "HS" stamp, located at the 10 o'clock position to the link pin hole. The Link itself retains the vast majority of its original finish. The rearmost face of the Barrel exhibits almost no wear.  The bore is in mint condition with sharp rifling and a mirror finish along its entire length. 

The Barrel Bushing is the correct Type 1, 2nd Variation that is in mint condition. The Bushing retains 98% of its original finish. The correct, short leg Recoil Spring Guide retains the vast majority of its original finish, and the Recoil Spring remains in the white with the correct 30 coils. The Recoil Spring Plug is the correct type with ten, sharp pointed diamonds across the diameter of the face and it retains an elongated, rounded end detent. The Plug retains 98% plus of the original parkerized finish with wear on only the outer edge of diamonds.

This pistol comes with an original, mint condition, and correct WWII 7-round blued Magazine manufactured by the M.S. Little Company of New Haven, Connecticut.  As noted previously, M. S. Little was one of the principal subcontractors for magazines for Remington Rand during WWII. The spine is the "no seam" type, and the Floor Plate is spot welded to the sides. The body of the Magazine is in mint condition and retains 100% of the original blued finish. The Floor Plate also retains 100%% of the original blued finish and has the sans serif "L" stamp on the top exposed portion of the Plate lip. The Follower retains 99% of its original blued finish and the spring is still strong.

This is a mint condition, as issued, and all correct WWII Remington Rand Model 1911A1 Pistol that functions perfectly.

As noted previously, this particular Remington Rand Model 1911A1 Pistol is a WWII-identified, U.S. Navy-issued pistol.  This pistol was issued to Hamilton M. Jones, United States Navy Reserve.  Jones was born on March 13, 1914, in New Douglas, Georgia.  Prior to the war Jones was employed by Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida.  Jones enlisted in the National Guard on June 29, 1934, and he was assigned to the 107^th Motor Transport Company.  He left the National Guard at some point and joined the Navy on December 16, 1939.  His initial U.S. Navy enlisted serial number was 2254739.  He was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy on September 18, 1942, promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade on October 1, 1943, and full Lieutenant on January 1, 1945.  As an officer, Jones was given a classification C-VS, for communications officers.  He was also given the designator 1105 for unrestricted surface officer, and D-VS for unrestricted Deck Officer. 

Jones was married to Joyce E. Scally on August 10, 1935, and they resided in Florida after the war.  Jones died on June 19, 1977, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was buried in Thomaston, Georgia.  His wife died on June 7, 2005, and was buried beside him. 

Also included in this lot is Jones WWII U.S. Navy-issued shipment chest that is marked with his name and Florida home on the lid.  Inside are numerous wartime items that belonged to him.  There is a green web belt in mint condition that is marked “H.M.J.,” Jones’s initials.  The belt holds the 1918-dated Mills pistol magazine pouch in mint condition.  Inside the pouch are two WWII-issue 7-round magazines that remain wrapped in their original protective wrapping.   Also included is a mint, khaki first aid dressing pouch with original, unopened Carlisle bandage.  The dressing pouch is marked on the back, “WASSON / MFG. CO. / 1942.”  There is a mint condition canteen with canteen cover and canteen cup.  The cover is marked “U.S.” and has his “H.M.J.” initials.  The back of the cover indicates it was manufactured by the “SHANE MFG. CO.,” and is dated “1942.”  The canteen is in mint condition and is marked “U.S. / VOLLRATH / 1944” on the bottom.  The canteen cup is marked on the handle, “U.S. / FOLEY MFG. CO. / 1944.”  There is also a mint condition Model 1907 leather holster.  The holster retains its original rawhide tie down.  The back of the holster is marked “BOYT” and “42” for the year of manufacture.  There is also an original 1911 pistol cleaning rod and bore brush and a blued 1911 disassembly tool.  In addition, there is an original and unopened box of twenty .45 ACP rounds.  The box has damaged edges, but it remains tied with its original cordage.  The box was made by the Western Cartridge Company. 

Also included is an original pair of what appears to be unissued Army brown leather service shoes with the original brown laces.  The boots are size 9C and appear never to have been worn.  Jones’s original white Sea Bag is included, and it is marked in numerous places with his “H. M. JONES / 196019” stencil.  There are also two original USN duffle bags that are in mint condition and that are also marked with his “H. M. JONES / 196019” stencil.  And finally, there is an original WWII-issued sleeping bag that belonged to Jones.

This is a wonderful time capsule of original and mint condition items that belonged to a U. S. Navy officer, to include his issued, mint condition Remington Rand Model 1911A1 Pistol.