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LOT 1303
Rare and Desirable U.S. Springfield Armory Refurbished Singer Manufacturing
Co. Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol - Serial no. S800123, 45 ACP cal., 5 inch
round bbl., parkerized finish, plastic grips. Manufactured in 1941 as one of only 500 Model
1911A1 semi-automatic service pistols (serial number range “S800000” to “S800500”)
completed by the Singer Manufacturing Company and accepted by U.S. Ordnance. In 1939,
Singer Mfg. Co., best known for its brand of sewing machines, was one of many firms to
place bids with the U.S. Ordnance Department for educational orders on the manufacture
of the U.S. M1911A1 pistol, which at that time was only produced by Colt’s Patent Fire
Arms Mfg. Co. Singer was awarded Educational Order No. W-ORD-396 from the Ordnance
Department on April 17, 1940, which called for the firm’s Elizabethport, New Jersey, factory
to develop one complete set of tools, fixtures, and gauges to produce the M1911A1,
along with a batch of 500 completed sample pistols. Once the firm had completed the
development of the tooling and batch of sample pistols, the pistols were sent to the
U.S. Springfield Armory in December 1941, and deemed satisfactory. U.S. Ordnance
subsequently placed an order with Singer to produce an additional 15,000 pistols for mass
production, however this was shortly thereafter canceled once it was discovered that the
firm already had a contract to produce M5 artillery directors, which were a higher priority
at the time. As a result, the tooling, jigs, and all other material related to M1911A1 pistol
production developed by Singer was sent to Remington-Rand Inc. in May 1941, with
most of it (along with the canceled order for 15,000 pistols) re-allocated to the Ithaca Gun
Company. Reportedly, most all of the 500 sample pistols produced by Singer were issued
out to the U.S. Army Air Corps, which may also explain this variation’s rarity today given
the high casualty rates suffered by that branch early on during World War II. For more
background information on the Singer Mfg. Co. M1911A1 pistol and its development,
refer to pages 70 to 76 of “U.S. Military Automatic Pistols: 1920-1945” by Meadows. Given
their rarity being the least common variation of issued U.S. M1911A1 pistols, examples
manufactured by Singer are increasingly valued and sought after by serious U.S. military
and 1911 themed collectors in any condition. Features fixed blade front and notch rear
sights, a parkerized replacement barrel marked with “P” on the left of the recoil lug, along
with checkered short milled trigger, magazine release, thumb safety, narrow spur hammer,
slide catch, and arched mainspring housing with lanyard loop. The left side of the slide
bears the two-line “Elizabeth, N.J.” address, with a “P” stamped on top. The left side of the
frame is marked with faint “J.K.C.” (Col. John K. Clement) inspection and “P” stamps, with
the U.S. property mark, model designation, serial number, and a “SA” (U.S. Springfield
Armory) rebuild stamp on the right side. Fitted with a pair of replacement Keyes Fibre
Co. brown checkered plastic grips marked “star/K” on the interiors and an unmarked full-
blued magazine. Includes a craft style box, an extra unmarked full-blued magazine, and a
matching numbered invoice from Simpson Ltd. dated December 22, 1998.
CONDITION: Very fine as arsenal refurbished by the U.S. Springfield Armory, retaining 90%
arsenal parkerized finish with some minor edge wear, some minor handling marks under
the finish, some light cycling wear on the barrel, brown patina/plum coloration visible on
the main spring housing, and some light handling marks. The grips are exceptionally fine
with a few minor handling marks in the otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Overall a very attractive example of a rare Singer Mfg. Co. M1911A1 pistol, overhauled by
the U.S. Springfield Armory, that retains the correct pattern barrel and slide!
Estimate: 35,000 - 55,000