Gun Collecting: Some WWII Collectors Prefer Rebuilt M1917 .45 Revolvers
Posted by John Kullman on September 9, 2010 · 6 Comments
The United States was the only major combatant of WWI and WWII that widely issued handguns to non-commissioned officers. Most nations treated handguns as a symbol status to be handed out to officers, not as a frontline battle weapon. The U.S. considered side arms an important supplement to the trench fighting of the First World War. The average combatant of the Great War carried a bolt-action rifle and the use of a quick-firing pistol is easy to understand when it comes to defending or assaulting trenches.
The standard military pistol at the time of the U.S.’s entry into WWI was the M1911 .45 automatic. But because the country was woefully unprepared to fight, a supplementary pistol was required that could be more quickly manufactured. Colt redesigned its M1909 revolver and the M1917 was born. The M1917 fired the same round as the M1911 and filled the combat gaps that weren’t able to procure the more desirable M1911’s. Colt produced 150,000 M1917s, with Smith & Wesson adding an additional 153,000 M1917s to military stocks during the war.
After the war, the M1917 was retired and became part of the country’s reserve stock. When the United Stated entered WWII, it was once again woefully under armed. The M1917’s were taken out of the reserve stock and refurbished. Most were cleaned and the original blued metal was parkerized. Most retained their walnut grips but a few were given plastic grips. The arsenal performing the refurbishing work was stamped on the frame.
Most refurbished M1917’s were used by the Military Police and as training weapons, but nearly 21,000 made it to the various fronts. Many WWII collectors prefer the refurbished M1917’s to the same model used in WWI. Evidence of parkerization, buffing and arsenal initials indicates a refurbished pistol. After WWII, the M1917 was retired and many were sold to civilians.
Are you kidding? Many countries routinely issued pistols to non-coms and enlisted men, particularly the Germans.
According to Canfield’s book, U.S. Infrantry Weapons of World War II, page 49, “During the First and Second World Wars, most of the European armies issued handguns primarily as badges of rank for officers. The American military, on the other hand, has viewed the handgun as a valuable weapon in its own right and has issued pistols and revolvers in much greater numbers than most other nations during this period.”
So other countries only issued handguns to officers? What a crock! For example the British issued handguns to artillery drivers, machine gunners, tankers, and to many other troops whose primary job was not infantry
I think the point of the original source material, which was quoted in this article was about infantry troops. Yes, it was absolutley common for artillery drivers, machine guns and tankers to carry sidearms. But for the average infantryman most nations tended not to provide handguns to the NCOs.
Of course, during World War II it was also common for the German paratroopers to jump with only a sidearm and retrieve their rifles and SMGs from the drop crates.
Regardless of whether the statement is worthy of debate does not lessen that fact that the U.S. Army appreciated the role of the sidearm as something more than a status symbol. This has given a rise to a greater appreciate by collectors as well. That is actually the bigger point.
Just to add one more point, by the end of WWI 60% of American soldiers in France were armed with the M1911. Does anyone have any authoritative evidence that the other WWI powers came even close to this? I didn’t think so.
Greetings,
During training, I have seen combat personnel (qualifying reservists) assigned side arms. However I am not sure if they are issued side arms during combat operations. An observation: The way these folks where handling their weapons indicates that they (all) probably where issues side arms. It was impressive to note the ease of use of the M9A1.