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According to "The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single Action Army" by David Brown, only 44 Colt Single Action Revolvers were produced in .45 ACP.
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LOT 3181
Historic First Generation Colt Single Action Army Revolver in Rare .45 ACP with Factory Letter and Bills of Sale Indicating Ownership by Multiple U.S. Airmen During World War II, the First a Gunner Killed When His Plane was Shot Down in the Pacific - Serial no. 355408, 45 ACP cal., 4 3/4 inch round bbl., blue finish, hard rubber grips. The accompanying factory letter lists this revolver in .45 caliber with a 4 3/4 inch barrel, nickel finish, and grips not listed when it was sold to the Oklahoma City Hardware Co. and as shipped to Bonebrake Hardware Co. in El Reno, Oklahoma, on November 17, 1938. It was the only revolver of its type in the shipment. The revolver has a blade front sight, the two-line address on top of the barrel, “COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .45” on the left side of the barrel, the two-line patent marking and Rampant Colt trademark on the left side of the frame, “4” and the triangular “VP” mark on the left side of the trigger guard bow, assembly number “104” on the loading gate and rear of the frame on the right, “0976” scratched inside the grips, and matching serial numbers on the frame, and “355408” on the frame and right side of the grip straps. The cylinder chambers the .45 ACP round used by the U.S. Military during World War II for the Model 1911 and 1911A1 semi-automatic pistols. Based on research presented by author David Brown in “The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single Action Army,” Colt manufactured only 44 First Generation Single Action Army revolvers in .45 ACP. This chambering was first made available after World War I in 1924 on a special order basis. Per Brown, “Almost all made after 1924 were shipped to men in some branch of the Armed Forces. They could get all of the .45 Auto ammo they wanted but part of them wanted to shoot the Colt Single Action Army instead of Colt Automatic so they would order the Colt SAA made up in the .45 ACP....The only revolvers made in this caliber by Colt were Colt Single Action Armys, and they are extremely valuable to any Colt SAA collection.” We have previously sold only a limited number of .45 ACP First Generation revolvers, including the finest known example which also originally shipped in 1938 and was noted as specifically chambered by John Henry Fitzgerald.
Bills of sale accompanying the revolver state that Staff Sergeant F.S. Nelson purchased this revolver from Stoeger Arms in New York and sold the revolver to Staff Sergeant Paul J. Smith on May 17, 1944. Smith states he sold the revolver on September 10, 1944, to Corporal Charles H. Kern. Kern in turn sold the revolver on December 16, 1944, to Staff Sergeant Moroni Fredrickson. He in turn sold the revolver to his son David G. Fredrickson on September 28, 1966. Who then sold the revolver to an individual whose name is redacted in 1972. The bills of sale demonstrate that this revolver was owned by a series of U.S. Military soldiers during World War II.
Forest S. Nelson listed his Army serial number which allowed us to identify him as a chauffeur and driver from Radford, Virginia, born on August 15, 1924. He enlisted on May 22, 1942, in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was a staff sergeant specializing as a gunner. He served on the B-25 Mitchell Bomber #42-10001 “Dirty Nellie” in the 42nd Bomb Group, Medium, 75th Bomber Squadron. After selling the revolver, he was among the crew on the “Dirty Nellie” when she was engaged in a dangerous low altitude mission attacking Japanese supplies on Celebes Island (Sulawesi, Indonesia). The engine was hit and the pilot crash landed in the ocean. In addition to Nelson, Co-Pilot Edwin F. Fuller and Engineer Elton J. Sinitier were reported missing and declared dead. Newspaper reports indicate he trained at Panama City, Florida, and participated in 52 missions during the African campaign and then 42 missions in the Pacific prior to being shot down.
The other men’s identities are not as clear since they did not list their service numbers and multiple men by the same names appear in the records. A Staff Sergeant Paul J. Smith was a tail gunner on B-17 Flying Fortress 43-38808 in the 487th Bomb Group and 838th Bomb Squadron within the 8th Air Force. If this is the correct man, like Nelson, he was
shot down shortly after selling the revolver and crashed in Mayen, Germany, on October 15, 1944, and is listed as a POW. A Corporal Charles K. Kern is listed as an engineer on B-17 Flying Fortress 44-8390 in the 301st Bomb Group, 353rd Squadron. He was promoted to staff sergeant on February 12, 1945. His plane was reported missing in action on April 3, 1945. Kern is listed among the seven crew that evaded capture and returned to duty while three others were killed.