M1911 pistol

The M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986. It was first used in later stages of the Philippine–American War, and was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The pistol's formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the M1911A1, adopted in 1924. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam era.

In total, the U.S. procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols in military contracts during its service life. The M1911 was replaced by the 9mm Beretta M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in October 1986, but due to its popularity among users, it has not been completely phased out. Modernized derivative variants of the M1911 are still in use by some units of the U.S. Army Special Forces, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

.45 ACP

The .45 ACP (11.43×23mm) (Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P. or 45 Auto by SAAMI, is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.

Design and history

The U.S. Cavalry had been buying and testing various handguns in the late 1890s and early 20th century. The .45 Colt Single Action Army (SAA) had largely been replaced, even by some double-action versions of the same. The Army had fielded some double-action revolvers in .38 Long Colt. They determined the .38 caliber round was significantly less effective against determined opponents, such as the warriors encountered in the Moro Rebellion of the Philippine–American War, than the .45 Colt. The current issue rifle at the time, the .30-40 Krag, had also failed to stop Moro warriors effectively; the British had similar issues switching to the .303 British, which resulted in the development of the dum-dum bullet. This experience, and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904 led the Army and the Cavalry, to decide a minimum of .45 caliber was required in the new handgun. Thompson and Major Louis Anatole La Garde of the Medical Corps arranged tests on cadavers and animal remains in the Chicago stockyards, resulting in the finding that .45 was the most effective pistol cartridge. They noted, however, training was critical to make sure a soldier could score a hit in a vulnerable part of the body.

American Eagle

American Eagle may refer to:

IMI Desert Eagle

The IMI Desert Eagle is a semi-automatic handgun notable for chambering the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine fed, self loading pistol. It has a relatively unique design with a triangular barrel and large muzzle. MRI is the most recent company to design and develop the Desert Eagle, having done so for more than 25 years. The design was refined and the actual pistols were manufactured by Israel Military Industries until 1995, when MRI shifted the manufacturing contract to Saco Defense in Saco, Maine. In 1998, MRI moved manufacturing back to IMI, which later reorganized under the name Israel Weapon Industries. Since 2009, the Desert Eagle Pistol has been produced in the United States at MRI's Pillager, MN facility. Kahr Arms acquired Magnum Research in the middle of 2010. The Desert Eagle has been featured in roughly 500 motion pictures and TV films, along with several video games (especially the Resident Evil series, Counter-Strike series, Grand Theft Auto series), and Call Of Duty series, making it well known in popular culture.

.45 caliber ammunition

.45 caliber ammunition comprises bullets (approximately 0.45 inch in diameter), first standardized by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in 1872.

That original .45 Colt round was developed along with the Colt Single Action Army revolver for the U.S. Army.

The .45-70 cartridge followed the next year, developed at the Army's Springfield Armory for the breech-loading Springfield Model 1873 rifle.

The .45 ACP is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in the prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol he also designed. This ammunition also served the M1911 pistol adopted by the Army in 1911.

The .45 GAP is a variant of the regular .45 cartridge, designed on behalf of Glock for more compact handguns.

See also