At the end of WWII the Army wasn't happy with the 1911 and immediately began a solicitation to see what handgun could replace the 1911. Specifications released in 1947 included but were not limited to being 9mm, double action, a length of no more than seven inches, and weight of 25 ounces. It was already known that standardizing with our European allies on 9mm would be beneficial, and that the Soviet Union was now the new threat.
Their interest in replacing the 1911 was based on the performance of the .45 ACP, it's weight factor, the aging design of the 1911, lack of being to pull the trigger with the hammer down to fire it, and the extensive comparison to the HiPower, Walther P38, and other designs that had been fielded by that time.
Colt submitted new designs for the trials the T4, as did Hi Standard the T3, and S&W came in after an internal leadership change. The resulting pistols were tested - but the final decision by 1954 was to terminate the solicitation. The reason given was budgetary - there were 2.5 milllon 1911's in the inventory and no money to refit.
It was not recorded at the time that the 1911 was found superior, or that it was even in consideration as a competitor. The purpose and intent of the competition was to replace it with a firearm that wasn't a 1911 or even a product improved model. Colts primary samples were NOT the Commander, which was more an engineering analysis with Alcoa to see if an aluminum alloy frame was feasible.
All this documented at the time but largely difficult to find on the internet, as the sources are in books, not web pages. The effort to discover the information requires a library and possession of printed materials which are no longer for sale.
One reference on it is "Combat Handguns" by Major George Nonte, of the Ordnance Branch who was serving at the time. He later produced some of the benchmark books on gunsmithing in the day and his final work was finished by Edward Ezell. In it is a chapter on those trials and also prints pictures of the competing firearms with descriptions.
Trying to research online with the internet won't pull up much material on this - pics of the Colt T4 in museums don't show the sheet metal trigger guard pictured in Nonte's book. What is important, tho, is that the efforts to replace the 1911 did come to market. Colt did bring the Commander into production, seeing as a lot of the parts were the same with little change. It has never been a brisk seller and is rarely found in 9mm. S&W marketed it's auto pistol, the M39, and thru successive generations it became the most noted and common LEO sidearm replacing revolvers in the '70s and 80s. At that point Glock began to market their firearms and the price point for them was substantially lower. Polymer could cut the price in half.
For those who think the 1911 was retained because of some superiority, the real issue is recognizing in what areas it existed. It was already there, paid for, in service, and the need for a newer design in the age of the newly fielded jet, atomic bombs, and the public's concern we needed to focus on the home front more. That we coasted along with the 1911 for another 25 years isn't a testimony to it's design as much as the lack of any real game changing upgrade - pistols are not major combat weapons and are largely symbols of status in the organization. Once we began approaching limited conflict in urban situations - which LEO's had already been engaged in much longer - then we changed to meet our already ongoing NATO obligations and the tactical situation.
I like 1911's too - own a P938 if you will - but consider that if the Army had changed, then something along the lines of the S&W M39 could have been adopted much earlier. The Navy did exactly that in Vietnam, and that was the weapon used by SEALS in a suppressed model.
Now we have the new SIG P320, and we have finally accepted what was proposed a long time ago. It's not 40 oz, closer to 28. It's not .45, remains to be announced but the chassis accepts 9mm and .40S&W. It's a striker fired DAO, not SA. It has an external safety on the accepted model. It uses double stack magazines. And if the grip or mag well is damaged, that part alone can be replaced as the trigger works are not integral like the aging Glock design.
We finally moved into the modern pistol era, something the Army has been struggling to do since 1947. The bureaucrats and bean counters couldn't object any longer.
Their interest in replacing the 1911 was based on the performance of the .45 ACP, it's weight factor, the aging design of the 1911, lack of being to pull the trigger with the hammer down to fire it, and the extensive comparison to the HiPower, Walther P38, and other designs that had been fielded by that time.
Colt submitted new designs for the trials the T4, as did Hi Standard the T3, and S&W came in after an internal leadership change. The resulting pistols were tested - but the final decision by 1954 was to terminate the solicitation. The reason given was budgetary - there were 2.5 milllon 1911's in the inventory and no money to refit.
It was not recorded at the time that the 1911 was found superior, or that it was even in consideration as a competitor. The purpose and intent of the competition was to replace it with a firearm that wasn't a 1911 or even a product improved model. Colts primary samples were NOT the Commander, which was more an engineering analysis with Alcoa to see if an aluminum alloy frame was feasible.
All this documented at the time but largely difficult to find on the internet, as the sources are in books, not web pages. The effort to discover the information requires a library and possession of printed materials which are no longer for sale.
One reference on it is "Combat Handguns" by Major George Nonte, of the Ordnance Branch who was serving at the time. He later produced some of the benchmark books on gunsmithing in the day and his final work was finished by Edward Ezell. In it is a chapter on those trials and also prints pictures of the competing firearms with descriptions.
Trying to research online with the internet won't pull up much material on this - pics of the Colt T4 in museums don't show the sheet metal trigger guard pictured in Nonte's book. What is important, tho, is that the efforts to replace the 1911 did come to market. Colt did bring the Commander into production, seeing as a lot of the parts were the same with little change. It has never been a brisk seller and is rarely found in 9mm. S&W marketed it's auto pistol, the M39, and thru successive generations it became the most noted and common LEO sidearm replacing revolvers in the '70s and 80s. At that point Glock began to market their firearms and the price point for them was substantially lower. Polymer could cut the price in half.
For those who think the 1911 was retained because of some superiority, the real issue is recognizing in what areas it existed. It was already there, paid for, in service, and the need for a newer design in the age of the newly fielded jet, atomic bombs, and the public's concern we needed to focus on the home front more. That we coasted along with the 1911 for another 25 years isn't a testimony to it's design as much as the lack of any real game changing upgrade - pistols are not major combat weapons and are largely symbols of status in the organization. Once we began approaching limited conflict in urban situations - which LEO's had already been engaged in much longer - then we changed to meet our already ongoing NATO obligations and the tactical situation.
I like 1911's too - own a P938 if you will - but consider that if the Army had changed, then something along the lines of the S&W M39 could have been adopted much earlier. The Navy did exactly that in Vietnam, and that was the weapon used by SEALS in a suppressed model.
Now we have the new SIG P320, and we have finally accepted what was proposed a long time ago. It's not 40 oz, closer to 28. It's not .45, remains to be announced but the chassis accepts 9mm and .40S&W. It's a striker fired DAO, not SA. It has an external safety on the accepted model. It uses double stack magazines. And if the grip or mag well is damaged, that part alone can be replaced as the trigger works are not integral like the aging Glock design.
We finally moved into the modern pistol era, something the Army has been struggling to do since 1947. The bureaucrats and bean counters couldn't object any longer.
- Winner!!