1916 Model of 1911

Nice one, thanks for sharing.

Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. Thanks for showing that one.

Thanks for sharing. I can look at these all day. Beautiful gun.

Awesome!

So, is there a W.E.S. inspector stamp on it?

Scottz63 said:

Awesome!

So, is there a W.E.S. inspector stamp on it?

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No. Just like Francis L. Hosmer whose stamp was an H, W.E. Strong only used an S.

There were some 1903 Springfield rifles with the W.E.S. acceptance mark.

Got it. Thanks!

Thanks for the pictures and brief tutorial. The 1916 is assuredly a rare item.

One thing that doesn't show in the photos, in addition to the barrel being correct the bore is also excellent.

Nice gun, I'm aware that 1916 for some reason was a low production year for the Model of 1911. But do you know where this gun shipped to and what branch of the service it went to? My brother has a 1916 gun also that as I recall shipped to the USMC through Bush Terminal in New York. Although not stamped USMC i would assume based on 1916 shipping date and the USMC history it would command more of a premium?

trains2planes said:

Nice gun, I'm aware that 1916 for some reason was a low production year for the Model of 1911. But do you know where this gun shipped to and what branch of the service it went to? My brother has a 1916 gun also that as I recall shipped to the USMC through Bush Terminal in New York. Although not stamped USMC i would assume based on 1916 shipping date and the USMC history it would command more of a premium?

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The pistol shown was in the first shipment, September 30, 1916 to Springfield Armory. There were also shipments to Hawaiian Ordnance Depot, Rock Island Arsenal, and San Antonio Arsenal.

Clawson lists serial numbers 151187 - 151386 and 151387 - 151986 as being shipped October 12 and November 27, 1916, to the U.S.M.C., Depot Quartermaster, Philadelphia, PA.
The only information I have seen is that the serial numbers were assigned and manufactured out of sequence. He shows serial number 137401 as being the first pistol manufactured in 1917. Maybe some of the forum members have more information on this.

The first 1911's shipped out of Bush Terminal that I am aware of was in April of 1918.

U.S.M.C. pistols do bring a premium.

There are always new things to learn on this forum.

Jimmy2Dogs said:

There are always new things to learn on this forum.

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Absolutely.

There was a 133k frame at the Lakeland Gun Show this past weekend that had no inspection mark on the frame. The polishing looked correct. The serial and US Property looked right also. What are your thoughts in this.

It would depend on what the last three digits were. The 1916 pistols started at 133187. A 133000 range lower than that would be in the Springfield Armory suspended range.

I thought of that but it looked like COLT serial number. IIRC it was 133(5 something.). I have a 131k Colt finished Springfield, and there is a difference.

JohnnyP said:

A fairly hard to find variation of the Model 1911 pistol. In 1916 Francis "Frank" Hosmer, the Principal Inspector at Colt was temporarily transferred to San Antonio Arsenal. In his absence W. E. Strong was appointed as inspector of Colt Model 1911 pistols. No pistols were shipped in 1916 until September 30, with a total of approximately 4200 being shipped that year.

The right side slide logo sits noticeably higher on the 1916 pistols

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Nice Piece: Definitely a scarce prod year

That is a gorgeous weapon.. thank you for sharing it with us.