M1917 (revolver)
| M1917 (revolver) | |
|---|---|
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| general information | |
| Military designation: | M1917 |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | S&W , Colt |
| Development year: | 1917 |
| Manufacturer country: | United States |
| Production time: | 1917 to 1954 |
| Model variants: | US revolver, Model of 1917, Caliber .45 |
| Weapon Category: | revolver |
| Furnishing | |
| Barrel length : | 140 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | .45 ACP |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 6 cartridges |
| Number of trains : | 5 |
| Twist : | Left |
| Visor : | Rear sight and front sight |
| Lists on the subject | |
The US Revolver, Model of 1917, Caliber .45 , M1917 for short, is a six-shot revolver of the US armed forces in the M1911 pistol caliber .45 ACP . It was procured by the US Army towards the end of the First World War . COLT'S PAT. FA M'F'G. CO and Smith & Wesson manufactured the revolver under the same army name, at Colt this corresponded structurally to the .45 Colt New Service Revolver Model 1909 , at Smith & Wesson to the .455 S & W Hand Ejector, which was supplied to the British government from 1918
history
After the United States entered World War I , there was an increased need for weapons and other equipment. Since the production capacities for M1911 pistols at the then manufacturers of the M1911 pistol, the Colt company, Springfield Armory , Massachusetts , Remington and the North American Arms Company in Quebec, Canada reached their limits, which was true for the production of large-framed revolvers was not the case with Smith & Wesson and Colt. The two companies were then commissioned to manufacture the US revolver, Model of 1917, Caliber .45 .
Colt
Colt had designed the revolver model M1909 in caliber .45 Colt (revolver cartridge), but it was inferior to the M1911 pistol, so that the pistol was introduced in 1911.
At Colt, the weapon was manufactured as a variant of the .45 Colt New Service Revolver Model 1909 in accordance with the specifications of the army in pistol caliber .45 ACP, barrel length 5½ inches, with a drum shortened at the rear for the purpose of using the Half-Moon clip (.45 ACP- Cartridges could also be fired without clips, but the case ejector did not work). The non-grooved handle scales were made of walnut. A carrying ring was attached to the bottom of the handle frame. 150,700 revolvers had been produced by the end of the war.
Smith & Wesson
Messrs. Smith & Wesson had for the British armed forces .455 S & W Hand Ejector made revolver, as well as the British to a lack of production capacity suffered.
At Smith & Wesson, the US Revolver, Model of 1917, as a variant of the .455 Hand Ejector manufactured on the N-frame, was manufactured , as at Colt, according to army specifications. These weapons, too, did not have grooved handles made of walnut. Handle frame with carrying ring. 163,476 of these revolvers had been produced by the end of the war.
The half moon clip
Since the .45 ACP ammunition used was rimless ammunition, it had to be ensured that the cartridges fired in revolvers were fixed in the drum and that the fired cases could be ejected using the hand ejector. The half-moon clips developed by S & W were used for this purpose . This is the flat, semicircular sheet metal part developed by Joseph Wesson, into which three cartridges could be inserted at their extraction groove . The revolver could be loaded with two such clips. Later clips for 6 cartridges were also used.
The development of the Half Moon Clips is justified by S & W as follows: The loading clip developed and patented by Mr. Joseph Wesson allows the use of rimless .45 ACP cartridges in a revolver, which was previously not satisfactorily possible. (Text "Document from Smith & Wesson Model 1917 Revolver and Half-Moon Clip").
Later civil productions
Colt manufactured 1000 Civilian Model 1917 .45 ACP revolvers, blued, in serial numbers 335,000 to 336,000 with 5 1/2 inch barrels after the war . The barrels were marked COLT MODEL 1017 .45 AUTO on the left . CTGE.
Smith & Wesson The Model 25-2 is the civil version of the M1917 with grooved grip scales, which was manufactured by Smith & Wesson between the two world wars.
Around 25,000 of the predecessor of the Model 25-2 , the .45 Hand Ejector , were delivered to Brazil in 1937 . The weapons delivered to Brazil had grooved walnut handles with medals, and instead of the S&W logo on the frame behind the drum, the Brazilian coat of arms (star) was embossed.
With the revival of shooting sports, the 1950 model (Target) was first released. This was followed by the 1955 model with a heavier barrel, which was named Model 25 from 1957 . From 1957 there was also the Model 26 which, however, went back to the earlier model from 1950. The designation Model 25-2 was introduced for .45 caliber revolvers .
The .45 auto-rim cartridge
Since larger numbers of the M1917 revolvers were sold in the civilian market after World War I, the Peters Cartridge Company introduced a new cartridge in 1920, which is essentially a .45 ACP with a thick rim. This made it unnecessary to use the clips.
The cartridge was named the .45 AUTO RIM . It was equipped with a lead bullet to avoid excessive barrel wear from the solid jacket bullets of the .45 ACP.
The Colt and S&W revolvers, which shoot the .45 ACP with a clip or the .45 AUTO RIM cartridge, can be recognized by the larger space between the drum and the frame.
literature
- The Book of Colt Firearms , 1971 by Sutherland & LRWilson.
- A History of the Colt Revolver from 1836 to 1940 1940 by Haven & Belden, Bonanza Books, New York.
- Colt Firearms from 1836 1981 by James E. Serven, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, USA, ISBN 0-8117-0400-9 .
- Smith & Wesson 1977 by Roy G. Jinks, German edition Verlag Stocker Schmid AG, Dietikon, Switzerland, ISBN 3-7276-7025-8 .