MEU(SOC) pistol

{{Infobox Weapon|is_ranged=yes| | image= | caption= MEU(SOC) pistol with SureFire weapon light, Gemtech lanyard, and Strider Gunner Grips | name= Pistol, Caliber .45, MEU(SOC) | type= Semi-Automatic Pistol | origin= | designer= Trained Weapons Training Battalion armorers | design_date= 1986 | prod_design_date= | serv_design_date= | used_by= United States Marine Corps | wars= Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan | spec_type= Semi-automatic pistol | part_length= 5.03 in (127 mm) | cartridge= .45 ACP | feed= 7 rounds (standard-capacity magazine) | action= Recoil-operated, closed bolt | rate= Semi-automatic | velocity= 830 ft/s, is a magazine-fed, recoil-operated, single-action, semiautomatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It is based on the original M1911 design by John Browning, and has been the standard-issue side arm for the Force Recon Element of the United States Marine Corps' Marine Expeditionary Units from 1985 to today. Its National Stock Number is 1005-01-370-7353.

In 2002, an article in American Handgunner Magazine stated that "Marine armorers from the Precision Weapons Section, MCBQ" are making 789 MEU (SOC) 1911's. The revised parts list included barrels, bushings, link pins, sear springs, ejectors, firing pin stops, mainspring housings and mainsprings, all from Nowlin Manufacturing.

A Marine operator may shoot as many as 80,000 rounds from this pistol during a training-cycle and subsequent deployment. A rebuild entails discarding almost all of the gun's parts except for the frame, which prior to 2003 was a U.S. Government frame last manufactured in 1945.

However, as the U.S. Marine Corps began its process of hand selecting members from its Force Recon to be submitted to USSOCOM as Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Detachment One (MCSOCOM Det-1), the selection of a .45 ACP M1911A1-based pistol meant roughly 150 units would be needed, more quickly than the PWS could produce them, as PWS were already backlogged with producing DMRs, USMC SAM-Rs, and updating M40A1s to M40A3s, so DET-1 began the search for COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) surrogates to use.

ICQB Pistol

Discovering that the Los Angeles Police Department was well pleased with their special Kimber-made M1911 pistols, a single source request was issued to Kimber Manufacturing for a similarly built pistol, despite the imminent release of their TLE/RLII models. This is the same pistol used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation SWAT and Hostage Rescue Teams; however, it had previously been rejected for adoption as the ICQB. Despite the planned purchase of the commercial pistols, Marine Corps Systems Command has continued to solicit parts to build additional MEU(SOC) pistols. In 2010, requirements were once more issued for an off-the-shelf system to replace the custom-built pistols. Three pistols have been offered to the USMC as a replacement for current M45 Pistols. Colt is offering their 01070RG (Rail Gun) pistol, which is derived from their existing XSE line of 1911-style pistols with a desert sand-colored surface treatment and Novak night sights. Springfield Armory is entering a variant of the full-sized Loaded MC Operator M1911A1 pistol with a military-standard 1913 rail, tritium night sights and finished with a two-tone black slide with an olive-drab green frame. The third entry from Karl Lippard Designs, a Colorado Springs-based arms maker, is called the Close Quarter Battle Pistol: an M1911A1-style pistol, built using S7 tool steel and a large number of proprietary components including accessory rail, grip safety, and sights.

Specifications

The original pistols were hand-selected standard government issued Colt M1911A1s that were gutted, deburred, and prepared for additional use by the USMC Precision Weapon Section (PWS) in Quantico, VA.

The pistol's components are hand-fitted and are not interchangeable. The last four digits of the weapon's serial number are stamped on the top of the barrel, on the right-side of slide assembly, inside of the beavertail grip safety, on each side of the ambidextrous thumb safety, and on the inside face of the mainspring housing group.

See also

List of weapons of the U.S. Marine Corps

References

Category:United States Marine Corps equipment Marine Corps