Colt M1907 – DAR - USA
WEAPON ROF DAM PEN BLK MAG SS/BRST RNG
DAR 2 1-nil 1 6i Var* Var*
ROUND .45ACP
MAG 6 rounds swing-out cylinder
WEIGHT Var*
PRICE
OTHER *depends on barrel length
History & Development:
The "United States Revolver, Caliber .45, M1917" was produced to fill a gap in the availability of the M1911 .45 automatic pistol, at
that time the standard U.S. Army pistol. Production of the M1911 could not meet all requirements so orders were placed with both
Colt and Smith & Wesson for a heavy frame revolver that would be compatible with the .45 ACP cartridge used by the M1911
automatic. The revolvers chosen by the U.S. Army were the Colt New Service and the S&W Hand Ejector pistols both being
produced at the time for the British .455 Webley cartridge, to be modified for the .45 ACP. Designated the "United States Revolver
Caliber .45 M1917" for both weapons, Colt and S&W each delivered over 150 000 pistols to the U.S. Government.
In Action:
WWI, WW2, Korean war, Vietnam war
Users:
Australia, USA
Versions:
There were two sub-variations of the M1917, one from Colt and one from S&W.
Colt M1917 revolver: Colt had produced a revolver for the U.S. Army called the M1909, a version of their heavy-frame, .45-caliber,
New Service model in .45 Long Colt to supplement and replace a range of 1890s-era .38 Long Colt Colt and Smith & Wesson
revolvers (that had demonstrated inadequate stopping power during the Philippine-American War). The Colt M1917 Revolver was
based upon the Colt M1909 with a cylinder bored to take the .45 ACP cartridge and the half-moon clips to hold the rimless
autopistol rounds in position. In the early Colt production revolvers, attempting to fire the .45 ACP without the half-moon clips was
unreliable at best, as the cartridge could slip forward into the cylinder and away from the firing pin. The later production Colt
M1917 revolvers had headspacing machined into the cylinder chambers (as the Smith & Wesson M1917 revolvers had). The later
versions of the Colt production could be fired without the half-moon clips, but the empty cartridge cases had to be ejected with a
device such as a cleaning rod or pencil, as the cylinder extractor and ejector would pass over the rims of the rimless cartridges.
Smith & Wesson M1917 revolver: Smith & Wesson had produced a rugged service revolver for the British Army in .455 Webley
caliber based on their heavy .44 frame (due to shortages in British production facilities of standard-issue Webley Mk VI top-break
revolvers). The S&W conversion was similar to the Colt modification, except the cylinder was machined to headspace the cartridge.
In the Smith and Wesson, the .45 ACP could be fired with or without the half-moon clips.
Capacity & Feed:
6 rounds (swing-out cylinder) - Half-moon stamped metal clips were used to grip the rimless .45 ACP cartridges, primarily so they
could be extracted in groups. The Smith & Wesson Model 1917 was adapted from the Second Model .44 Hand Ejector chambered
and re-barreled for .45 ACP and with the cylinder slightly shortened to allow for the half-moon clips. A shoulder was machined into
the cylinder to allow cartridges to be easily removed without the half-moon clips, a distinguishing feature vs. the Colt New Service
based M1917.