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“The Invictus Singer”
LOT 1291
“The Invictus Singer”: Rare, Historic, Documented, World War II U.S. Singer Manufacturing Co. Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol, the Personal Sidearm of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas R. Moss, Pilot of B-24 No. 27 “Invictus” of the 765th Bombardment Squadron, 461st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force - Serial no. S800305, 45 ACP cal., 5 inch round bbl., blue finish, plastic grips. In late 1941, despite attempts by the under prepared United States government and the American people to stay out of the war raging in Europe, a surprise attack by the Japanese on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor thrust the U.S. into a global conflict that would engulf the world for the next four years. Though woefully unprepared for a conflict of such magnitude, the events that followed would cement not only the strength of the American military, but the determination of its people, and the manufacturing might of its industrial base on the global stage. There is perhaps no better physical representation of this determination and manufacturing might than a Singer Model 1911A1 pistol.
By the start of the 20th century, Singer had become an undisputed global leader in sewing machine manufacturing, operating massive production facilities in Elizabeth, New Jersey; Kilbowie, Scotland; and Podolsk, Russia, to name a few. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 saw all three of these facilities retooled for wartime production, making various armaments, ammunition, and parts. The Kilbowie plant alone is said to have produced 303 million artillery shells as well as other items. In 1925, the New York Ordnance district conducted an industrial survey of the Elizabeth, New Jersey, facility, assessing their capacity for producing .45 automatic pistols, and, in 1939, both Singer and the Nash-Kelvinator Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, were invited to undertake a production study of the Model 1911A1 pistol. In late 1939, eight companies including the likes of Singer, Winchester, Marlin, Harrington & Richardson, Savage, and Iver Johnson were invited by Springfield Armory to bid on educational orders, with Singer and Harrington & Richardson eventually selected to receive the orders.
Singer received Educational Order No. W-ORD-396 which was awarded on 17 April 1940. The
pistols were to be produced alongside a set of gauges, jigs, fixtures, machines, patterns and other equipment necessary for mass production. The total cost of the educational order amounted to $278,875.67, or about $538 per pistol, a princely sum for 1940, and the equivalent of approximately $9,945 per pistol today. However, much of this cost would be recuperated by the government as the extremely valuable production equipment made by Singer would immediately become government property upon completion of their contracts. Most of this equipment would later be utilized by Remington-Rand in June of 1941. Singer completed the initial order for 500 in December of 1941, which was then shipped to Springfield Armory for distribution. Singer was awarded a larger order
for 15,000 pistols, a contract which would never be fulfilled. Shortly after that, it became clear to Singer and the government that their specific talents of manufacturing could be far better utilized elsewhere. For the remainder of the war, the company manufactured more intricate materials such as the M5 Artillery Fire Control Directors and the Sperry T-1 bomb sight.
It is reported that almost all of the 500 pistols that were produced were issued to the Army Air Corps in various theaters early in World War II. Given the terribly high casualty rates amongst the Army Air Corps early in the war, especially amongst bomber crews fighting the Luftwaffe in Europe, it is clear that far fewer than 500 of these pistols survived in any condition, let alone the exceptionally fine condition this one is in. Unlike many of the Singer M1911A1 pistols, which we can only assume were issued to members of the Army Air Corps, this historic example is documented to a decorated Army Air Corps veteran and B-24 Liberator pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Randolph Moss (1921-2020).
Thomas Moss joined the Army Air Corps as a private in February of 1942 and was quickly sent to Maxwell Field in Alabama as an aviation cadet. By the end of 1942, Moss had completed primary flight training and was on to Blytheville, Arkansas, for advanced flight training. On 25 March 1943, Moss graduated from advanced flight training, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and married his wife Marguerite “Margie” Williams all on the same day. Training continued, with Moss becoming quickly qualified as a first pilot in a B-17 and then transferred to do the same in the B-24. Eventually, he was assigned to the 461st Bombardment Group in Fresno, California, where he was made First
272 Pilot of Crew #27, 765th Bombardment Squadron.