I am getting one of these from a neighbor that belonged to her deceased Dad. Its gray with a four inch barrel and exposed ejector rod. I found some skimpy info. online on this model. I'm trying to figure out what type of grips it takes-early D frame maybe. The owner put these plastic imitation stag grips on. I'd like to find a set of original issue and a nice carry set. If anyone has more info. on this model I'd love to hear about it.
Colt Commando Revolver
- Thread starter timdennis
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Gordon
Member
I think the exposed rod Commando is pretty valuable. What say Old Fuff?
LWCmdr45
Member
The Commando is the WWII production Official Police. Any stock made for the O.P. frame (which includes those marked as for the Python) will work.
Steve
Steve
dfariswheel
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From a post on another forum:
The original Colt Commando was a World War II war-time expedient gun.
It was simply a Colt Official Police with a rough parkerized finish, made only during 1942-45, and only for "official" use.
No sales were made to ordinary civilians.
These were for state-side defense plant guards and police departments, with some being issued to military personnel.
The Commando was made in a 4" barrel, a few with 2" barrels, and possible a 6" version.
There were approximately 50,000 made.
The S&W counterpart was a parkerized Model 10 M&P known as the Victory model.
In the mid-1980's Colt went through a period of attempting to reduce cost and keep making guns during the long labor strike.
They were using replacement workers who didn't have the skills of the regular employees, so Colt offered a short-lived series of revolvers with rough black parkerized finishes.
The Detective Special version in this series was also named the Commando. This is a small "D" framed 2" barreled gun, and should not be confused with the larger WWII Colt Commando.
Quality-wise, the WWII Commando was as high quality as the Pre-war Official Police it actually was. The only real difference is in the parkerized finish.
After the war, the Government gave large quantities of both the Commando and Victory models to civil defense and police departments. From there they made their way into civilian sales.
The original Colt Commando was a World War II war-time expedient gun.
It was simply a Colt Official Police with a rough parkerized finish, made only during 1942-45, and only for "official" use.
No sales were made to ordinary civilians.
These were for state-side defense plant guards and police departments, with some being issued to military personnel.
The Commando was made in a 4" barrel, a few with 2" barrels, and possible a 6" version.
There were approximately 50,000 made.
The S&W counterpart was a parkerized Model 10 M&P known as the Victory model.
In the mid-1980's Colt went through a period of attempting to reduce cost and keep making guns during the long labor strike.
They were using replacement workers who didn't have the skills of the regular employees, so Colt offered a short-lived series of revolvers with rough black parkerized finishes.
The Detective Special version in this series was also named the Commando. This is a small "D" framed 2" barreled gun, and should not be confused with the larger WWII Colt Commando.
Quality-wise, the WWII Commando was as high quality as the Pre-war Official Police it actually was. The only real difference is in the parkerized finish.
After the war, the Government gave large quantities of both the Commando and Victory models to civil defense and police departments. From there they made their way into civilian sales.
I'll just add that some Commando guns were made in .38 S&W (.38/200) caliber (not .38 Special) for the British Commonwealth. I read a book by one of Wingate's Chindits who carried one in Burma against the Japs. He also had a Thompson SMG.
Some .38 Specials were issued to US naval and Marine aircrews, and the USAF got some in the 1960's, until enough S&W M15 Combat Masterpiece revolvers were available. I shot both a Commando and a commercial Official Police made about 1940, as well as S&W Victory Models. My understanding is that we (USAF) got these guns via transfer from the Navy.
Lone Star
Some .38 Specials were issued to US naval and Marine aircrews, and the USAF got some in the 1960's, until enough S&W M15 Combat Masterpiece revolvers were available. I shot both a Commando and a commercial Official Police made about 1940, as well as S&W Victory Models. My understanding is that we (USAF) got these guns via transfer from the Navy.
Lone Star
Well the “Old Fuff†has arrive late ….. again.
The previous posts have pretty well covered the subject. Over the years Colt has used the “Commando†name on different guns, but the one in question is the “Commando†model made during World War Two. Relatively few were made because Colt was more involved in other things – particularly making 1911-A1 pistols. Fortunately during the Great Depression they had stocked up on parts to keep they’re work force employed so now they were able to assemble many revolvers without having to make the parts. However they did make some because I knew a former employee that worked in the forge shop during the war and he remembered making revolver frames, among other things.
The “standard†guns were based on the Official Police model and had 4†barrels. A few were made with 2†ones for domestic law enforcement and military CID. In a pinch some 6†barrels were used, but they are very rare. Look out for fakes, made out of relatively common 4†guns rebarreled with surplus 2†parts. Unlike the S&W Victory models they were not fitted with lanyard loops.
They were Parkerized, with brown “Coltwood†plastic grips. Numrich Arms (www.e-gunparts.com) bought up most of the leftover parts after the war and still has some of them, including original grips. Value of an unaltered gun with the original grips in 95% condition is around $350 - $400 dollars.
The previous posts have pretty well covered the subject. Over the years Colt has used the “Commando†name on different guns, but the one in question is the “Commando†model made during World War Two. Relatively few were made because Colt was more involved in other things – particularly making 1911-A1 pistols. Fortunately during the Great Depression they had stocked up on parts to keep they’re work force employed so now they were able to assemble many revolvers without having to make the parts. However they did make some because I knew a former employee that worked in the forge shop during the war and he remembered making revolver frames, among other things.
The “standard†guns were based on the Official Police model and had 4†barrels. A few were made with 2†ones for domestic law enforcement and military CID. In a pinch some 6†barrels were used, but they are very rare. Look out for fakes, made out of relatively common 4†guns rebarreled with surplus 2†parts. Unlike the S&W Victory models they were not fitted with lanyard loops.
They were Parkerized, with brown “Coltwood†plastic grips. Numrich Arms (www.e-gunparts.com) bought up most of the leftover parts after the war and still has some of them, including original grips. Value of an unaltered gun with the original grips in 95% condition is around $350 - $400 dollars.
Commando
First chance I had to repond to everyone. I thank you all for the information. For some reason I thought it was a D frame but reading the comments reminded me of the brief D frame Commando Colt made back in the 80's. Now that I know the correct grip size it is no problem-I see grips for the Official Police around a lot.
My neighor's parents passed away. Her dad was A Sgt. in WWII(Army),then a Police Officer in Mississipi. I'm not sure if its his duty gun or not. It came in a nicely made brown flap type holster. She found it cleaning out a closet along with two old knives-a kabar type and a handmade knife with a knuckle guard and an Old Parker double barrel shotgun. The shotgun is in poor condition-cracked wood stocks and looks like it has not been cleaned or used in 50 years. The Colt Commando however looks great,clean,oiled and loaded when found.
Thanks again everyone.
First chance I had to repond to everyone. I thank you all for the information. For some reason I thought it was a D frame but reading the comments reminded me of the brief D frame Commando Colt made back in the 80's. Now that I know the correct grip size it is no problem-I see grips for the Official Police around a lot.
My neighor's parents passed away. Her dad was A Sgt. in WWII(Army),then a Police Officer in Mississipi. I'm not sure if its his duty gun or not. It came in a nicely made brown flap type holster. She found it cleaning out a closet along with two old knives-a kabar type and a handmade knife with a knuckle guard and an Old Parker double barrel shotgun. The shotgun is in poor condition-cracked wood stocks and looks like it has not been cleaned or used in 50 years. The Colt Commando however looks great,clean,oiled and loaded when found.
Thanks again everyone.
Thanks for the comment, but it’s my library that is smart, not me. What I do is combine over 50 years of experience with a lot of reference books. Back in the dark ages when I was young a very knowledgeable friend told me I should buy a book whenever I acquired a new gun. So over the years I’ve picked up a fair quantity of books. I have also had the good fortune to have been employed as a writer/editor/researcher by an industry trade publication, and as such had the opportunity to meet and know many of the legendary figures in handgunning who generously shared their expertise with me.
Gatorfan83
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- Jan 24, 2008
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Love this gun
I have a Colt commando that my grandfather used in WWII its a great gun for home defense an i look forward to passing it on to my son
I have a Colt commando that my grandfather used in WWII its a great gun for home defense an i look forward to passing it on to my son
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