1943 Colt M1911A1 Canadian Lend Lease

This 1943 Colt M1911A1 Canadian Lend–Lease is chambered in .45 ACP and is an excellent example of those pistols shipped as part of the Lend–Lease Act, it has the Canadian C-broad arrow proof and the London Proof House mark. The Lend-Lease allowed the British Empire to receive munitions and Arms from the US Government, however Canada and other countries benefited from the Lend-Lease Act as well.

This M1911A1 is parkerized, wears checkered plastic grips and shows light marks through the face of the slide. The finish shows strong throughout with little silvering on some of the leading and high edges. The front sight is a ramped serrated blade. The rear sight is flat with a square notch. The small parts show strong checkering. 

The markings on the left face of the slide are “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.” and “PAT’D APR. 20,1897. SEPT. 9. 1902. DEC. 19, 1905, FEB. 14, 1911, AUG. 19, 1913.”. The Canadian “C-broad arrow” is behind the slide serrations on the left side. On the frame around the trigger guard the following markings can be seen “G.H.D.” inspectors mark, a second “Candian C-broad arrow”, a “P”, a “P”, a Triangle “VP” and a “W”.  

The right side of the slide “COLT AUTOMATIC CALIBRE .45” in front of the rampant Colt. Above the trigger on the frame, “UNITED STATES PROPERTY” “M1911A1 U.S. ARMY” and the serial number in serif style “No 934417”. Behind the slide serrations and grip panel, two London proof house symbols and the U.S. Springfield Armory crossed cannon cartouche. The barrel hood is marked with Caliber related markings “.45 .900 7 TONS” in front of the London Nitro Proof Symbol. A “P” is on the top of the slide in front of the rear sight. 

This Lend-Lease M1911A1 shows slivering on the muzzle with noticeably light high edge wear. Each face of the slide shows a strong finish, with some marks common with use on the parkerized finish. The frame shows specs of silvering through the trigger guard and front strap. The grip panels show strong checkering throughout, the right-side center grip shows some flattening on two checkers. The mainspring housing shows strong checkering, and the magazine well shows sharp edges. The magazine is finished in blue in excellent condition. 

Disassembled the pistol shows clean internals, the slide is a serial number match behind the firing pin stop. A “G” mark is on the inside top face of the frame near the hammer. The barrel has the following marks, “P” on the lug, and “G” in front of the lug. The side is marked “COLT 45 AUTO” 

This Colt M1911A1 is offered with two Colt factory archive letters, one original and one copy noted, both letters show some ink bleeding. The letter states this pistol was shipped to the Transportation Officer at the Springfield Armory in Springfield Massachusetts on May 24, 1943. It was part of the Colt factory order #2285 in an 800-gun shipment. This is an excellent addition for any World War II collection or M1911 Pistol Collection, due to the rarity of the Canadian Lend-lease Pistols.