In 1906 the US Military, under the direction of General William Crozier of the Ordinance Department, began evaluating several pistol designs along with the suitability of a new cartridge that was designated the. 45."Ībout this time two new armament technologies were also emerging - smokeless powder and the autoloading pistol. While somewhat subjective by modern standards, the tests resulted in an official recommendation “…that a bullet, which will have the shock effect and stopping effect at short ranges necessary for a military pistol or revolver, should have a caliber not less than. In these tests a variety of military cartridges of the day were tested for their penetration, ‘stopping ability’ and energy transfer, using both live and dead cattle at the target medium. The battlefield experience against the Moros resulted in the famous Thompson-LeGarde tests by the US Military in 1904. The combat pistol situation became so acute that old stocks of Model 1873 Colt revolvers in 45 caliber, many of which dated back to the Plains Indian Wars were returned to active service, where they quickly demonstrated a much better track record of stopping an attacker with one well-placed shot. Obviously the US troops’ morale suffered badly in this situation. 30 caliber rifles proved effective in stopping the attackers, the US troop’s handguns demonstrated an unnerving lack of stopping power, resulting in numerous reports of Moro warriors absorbing multiple pistol bullets while they continued to hack away at the Americans. 30 caliber Krag or Springfield bolt-action rifles and.
Much of the combat was at close quarters, where the Moros’ long-bladed kris knives were used to lethal effect.Īt the time US troops were armed with either. US ground forces then went ashore to overthrow the Spanish colonial government and occupy the islands.Ĭontinuing the armed resistance they had previously shown against the Spanish, the Moro tribesmen of the southern islands (reportedly fueled by a dangerous combination of religious zealotry, ardent tribalism and potent opiates) engaged the American forces in a long bout of guerrilla warfare that ultimately lasted nearly 15 years. Along with an invasion of Cuba, US Navy forces engaged, routed and destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in March 1898, in one of the most lop-sided victories in naval history. In the wake of the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor in February of 1898, the United States went to war with Spain. It was here in the tropical heat of those islands that US Soldiers and Marines found themselves locked in combat with fanatic local insurgents and the immediate need for an effective, large caliber defensive pistol became sorely evident. Any complete history of the Model 1911 must start a decade or more before that legendary year, and half a world away in the Philippines.
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