Today for Gus’ Gear I have a special Colt 1911 pistol that was carried by an officer in Lord Strathcona’s Horse Royal Canadians by Lt. H. Hill. I have been trying to acquire this pistol for several years and recently was able to add it to the collection. Five thousand Colt Model of 1911 pistols were shipped to Canada between September and November of 1914, these pistols fired the standard .45 ACP cartridges, unlike the pistols shipped to the United Kingdom which fired the .455 Webley automatic cartridges.
The left side of the pistol has the same patent dates and Colt address, the rampant colt trademark is at the back of the slide on this pistol, the U.S. Army models have the rampant colt mark between the patent dates and address. This pistol has a removeable box magazine that holds 7 rounds. It has a safety on the rear of the frame that can be engaged with the hammer fully cocked, allowing an aditional cartridge to be carried in the chamber. On the back of the frame is a grip safety that must be depressed to fire the pistol. Just above the trigger the external hold open latch can be seen. When the last shot is fired the magazine follower will activate the slide hold open feature. By depressing the external latch, the slide can be closed with an empty chamber and magazine. If the shooter wants to lock the slide back with a loaded magazine, the lever can be moved up to lock the slide back. The button behind the trigger is the magazine release, this is a positive release and the magazine will be ejected by depressing it.
The markings on the right side are different than the Model of 1911 markings on U.S. Army models. On the slide it is marked Colt Automatic, Calabre 45, and on the frame it is marked Government Model with a serial number prefaced with a “C”. The Colt Model of 1911 utilizes a short recoil locking action with a single link at the rear of the barrel, with the front of the barrel supported by a bushing. This is a more reliable locking system than the double link system found on the Colt Model of 1905, the predecessor to the Model of 1911.
Field stripping the Colt Model of 1911 Pistol is simple and can be done without tools. As with all weapons, it is important to remove the magazine and check to make certain that the chamber is cleared, most accidental shootings occur with a weapon that was assumed to be empty. The recoil spring plug can be depressed and the barrel bushing turned to release the recoil spring. With the spring removed, the bushing can be rotated counterclockwise and removed from the slide. The slide can then be moved to the rear to line of the smaller notch behind the hold open notch, this allows the hold open lever to be removed. This allows the slide to be moved off the front of the frame. The barrel than can be removed from the front of the slide. Reassembly is a reverse process.
On the front of the grip, Lt. H. Hill, L.S.H. (RC) is engraved. Lt. Hill Served from the beginning of the war. I am still working on gathering information on him and his service.
