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LOT 1306
Outstanding, Recently Discovered, and Highly Desirable World War II U.S. Singer
Manufacturing Co. Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol with Holsters - Serial no. S800442,
45 ACP cal., 5 inch round bbl., blue finish, plastic grips. Manufactured towards the end of 1941,
this is an exceptionally fine example of one of the most sought after of all U.S. military firearms, the
Singer Model 1911A1. Only 500 of these pistols were produced by the sewing machine company
throughout the course of 1941, all of which were shipped to Springfield Armory around the time
of the devastating surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan. This
attack thrust an under-prepared United States into a war that had already been raging in Europe and
the Pacific for years. The vast majority of these high quality Singer pistols are believed to have been
quickly issued to men in the Army Air Corps, who suffered astoundingly high casualty rates early in the war,
leading to far fewer of these pistols available to collectors today, and an extreme few remaining in high condition
like this example. These Singers are extremely desirable, not only because they represent one of the highest quality U.S. sidearms ever produced, but
because they are also a tangible symbol of the resilience and unwavering spirit of the United States, its manufacturing base, and its people in the face
of adversity.
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 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 for production of the Model 1911A1 pistol, 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 1942. Singer completed the initial order for 500
pistols in December of 1941, which were then shipped to
Springfield Armory for distribution.
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