Looking for a special 1911
Hello everyone. I hope someone out there can help me or point me in the right direction. I was sorting through some old papers of my father's and came across a receipt from the War Department, Caribbean Division, signed by Major Volk, stating that he sold a Colt 1911, Serial Number 390970 to my father in 1942. I would love to track this down if it is still out there. I spoke with the archive's division at Colt and they said to contact this and other forums. They said there are a lot of knowledgeable collectors here and this would be a great place to start my search. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping that it might be sitting in the back of somebody's safe. I know this will be a long shot but a fun task to say the least. If I can locate it and purchase it that would be wonderful. If the current owner does not want to sell, the document would be a great piece to put with the gun. I can be reached at (302)690-0399. Please contact me with any good news. Thanks.
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your Colt was made in 1918 commonly termed BLACK ARMY as the finish on these were not Polished as much as pistols made earlier.I have two 1918 Pistols but one has serial in the 425XXX range and the other one is a LUNCH BOX GUN no serial never had serial but have letter from BATF stating OK to own because it has an 1918 frame with HEART SHAPE Grip frame cut out only made in 1918 before even pistols had to have a serial number 0 -
A slim chance but you can also post at
http://forums.1911forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30
http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?81-US-Military-Issue-M1911-and-M1911A1-Pistols
And consult Scott Gahimer at
http://www.m1911info.com0 -
I can't make out any details of the letter you posted. You need to resize to a larger size on your computer's photo editing software before you upload it to the photo posting website. Press the preview button before you post; if you can't see the picture then, it won't show when you post.
Locating a specific gun last seen during WW2 is the proverbial needle in a haystack. There are hundreds of thousands of pistols that belong to folks who aren't collectors, plus many collectors just keep to themselves. But, you just may get lucky. Another forum where you may want to post your request is:
http://www.milsurps.com/forumdisplay.php?f=123
Unless your father was a general officer issued a Colt 1903, it's likely that your document was not for a legal transfer. No one in the War Dept during WW2 had the authority to sell government issue 1911's or 1911A1's. We occasionally see "war trophy" forms for government issue firearms from WW2, but such documentation was valid only for foreign-made firearms.
The Director of Civilian Marksmanship sold thousands of .45's in 1963-1970. The US Military also swapped some .45's for "services" over the years after the Korean War.
Neal0 -
...with a little URL surgery, here is the fullsize letter:
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/scan_1911_letter0001.jpg
...and a medium version:
**************
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Thanks for all your help and input. I think that it was a private sale not a military sale. Thanks for giving me a heads ups on the photo issue also. I am still going to try and find that 1911. A shot in the dark but a bulls eye if I find it. 0
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