The Colt Gov’t/M1911 Pistol was developed by the famous gun designer John M. Browning. Browning began to develop semi-automatic pistols for the Colt company in the early 1900s. Around six years later, the U.S. Army announced that it would replace it’s service revolvers with new semi-automatic pistols on a trial basis. They wanted the new pistols to have a .45in calibre, so Browning first designed a cartridge that fired a 230 grain (15.64) bullet before designing the new pistol. After extensive testing, the pistol and cartridge were combined into one gun and adopted for Army use as the M1911. The total number of these guns manufactured before and during WW1 was over a million. They were mostly manufactured by Colt and the Springfield Armoury, as well as by Remington-UMC, Burroughs, Savage, and some other companies. The rights to the Colt/Browning design were as sold to foreign countries like Norway and Argentina.

The original design was updated in 1926, following the advice of the US Army Ordnanve Dept. These changes included: a wider front sight, a longer hammer spur, a shorter trigger, curved spring housing, simplified grip panels, index-finger reliefs behind the trigger, and a longer grip-safety spur. The improved design became the M1911A1 pistol, which served the army well until being replaced by the M9 Beretta 92FS. However, many soldiers still favour the M1911A1. A recent survey revealed that each of the 418 000 M1911A1 pistols still in the US Armoury has been either overhauled extensively or rebuilt at least 3 times. And when the M9 came into problems the M1911A1 was put back into action for Operation Desert Storm.

The commercial M1911s are know as Government models. In 1929, Colt introduced a new type of chambering for the Govt, the .38 Super Automatic, to replace the earlier .38 Automatic cartridge. The newer model had a bigger magazine capacity (9 rounds) and sold well to the police. The .38 Super versions are still manufactured, but are mostly used in competitions due to their excellent accuracy.

From 1970 to 1983 Colt manufactured the Mk.IV series Govt model pistol. This was very similar to the M1911A1, with the only difference being accurized barrel bushings. From 1983 onwards Colt manufactured the Mk.VI series 80 Govt model pistol, which had added firing-pin safety. From 1983 onward Colt produced the M1991A, which featured the Series 80 slide with firing-pin safety.

More compact versions of the M1911A1 were also produced. The “Commander” versions (the Combat Commanders, Lightweight Commanders with alloy frames etc) have a shortened barrel and slide but a standard size frame and grip, with a standard magazine capacity of 7 rounds in .45ACP. They were also available in .38 Super and 9mm Luger chamberings. In 1972, the US Army adopted the M15 General Officers Model Pistol, developed by Rock Island Arsenal, as a self-defence weapon for high-level army officers. This gun was very similar to the Colt Commander. It had a brass plate insert in the left-grip panel where the owner could engrave their name.

An even more compact version was developed, the Colt Defender, which has a shorter grip that limits the magazine to 6 rounds of .45ACP. The barrel of the Defender is 76mm (3in) long. These were also very similar to the General Officers model.

The design of the M1911 has been copied by many companies in America and around the world. During WW2 millions of guns of this design were manufactured under government contracts, with probably even more produced for commercial sales. The most common M1911 copies were made by: Springfield Armoury, Les Baer, Kimber, Wilson, STI, and Para Ordnance. Many clones are still custom built for service duty, recreational shooting, and self-defence.

The M1911 is a recoil operated, locked breech semi-auto pistol. It has a single action trigger with a frame mounted safety that locks the hammer and the slide. The hammer can be locked in either the cocked position or the lower position, which allows the gun to be kept cocked and locked with a combat load. There’s also an automated safety incorporated into the rear of the grip that locks the action when the gun is not being held in the hand properly.

The barrel and slide are interlocked by massive lugs on the upper side of the barrel, just in front of the chamber. After the gun is fired, the barrel and slide go back for the short distance, then the rear part of the barrel is lowered by the tilting link, and the barrel unlocks the slide. The slide goes all the way back, extracting and ejecting the spent case and chambering the new round on the way back. When the magazine is empty the magazine follower activates the slide stop that locks the slide in the open (rear) position. The gun is fed from the single stack, 7 round magazine. It’s release button is located on the left side of the frame, just below the trigger guard.

The M1911 clones can differ somewhat, for example, they may have widebody frames that can accept a dual stack magazine, or frames made from steel, aluminium alloys or polymer, while some could have Double Action or Double Action Only triggers, ambidextrous safety switches and slide stops, and so on.

The Colt Govt /M1911 is arguably the most popular gun in the world, famous for its reliability, serviceability, and simplicity. Custom made models are capable of exceptional accuracy, and many of the M1911s clones are still in service with different military and law enforcement agencies in the US today.