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Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless
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Colt Pocket Hammerless
Pocket Hammerless in .380 ACP Caliber
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin United States
Production history
Designer John Browning
Manufacturer Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut
Produced 1903-1945
Variants M1903, M1908 (Types 1-5)
Specifications
Weight 33 oz (936 g)
Length 7 in (178 mm) (Type I)
6.75 in (171 mm) (Types 2 - 5))
Barrel length 4 in (102 mm) (Type I)
3.75 in (95 mm) (Types 2 - 5))
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Cartridge .32 ACP (M1903)
.380 ACP (M1908)
Action single-action Blowback
Feed system 8-round detachable box magazine (M1903)
7-round detachable box magazine (M1908)
Sights fixed front, rear drift-adjustable for windage
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless is a variant introduced five years later in .380 ACP caliber.
These pistols were popular civilian firearms for much of their life, and also served as United States General Officer pistols from the 1940s until their replacement by the M15 General Officers pistol in the 1970s. The Office of Strategic Services issued the Model 1903 to its officers during World War Two.
Many gangsters of the pre-World War Two era favored the Model 1903 and Model 1908 because they were relatively small and easily concealed. It is said that Al Capone kept one in his coat pocket and Bonnie Parker used one to break Clyde Barrow out of jail after smuggling it into the jail by taping it to her thigh.
Note: There was also a Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer pistol in .38 ACP, but this design is unrelated. The FN Model 1903 pistol design is related to the Colt Pocket Hammerless, but it is physically larger due to its chambering in 9x20mm SR Browning Long.