Colt .45 Automatic
Springfield Armory Museum, Springfield Massachusetts.
When the US fought the Philippine Insurrection after the Spanish-American War, the standard handgun was a .38 caliber revolver. When you shot an American or a European soldier with one, he had the good sense to lie there and wait for a medic to come and repair him.
It turned out that half-civilized Philippine tribesmen on some of the more remote islands responded differently. When shot with a .38, they would get up, pick up their long sharp machetes, and charge the Americans again.
The US Army put out bids for a new handgun. It had to be rugged, resistant to the elements, and when you shot a savage tribesman with it, he would Stay Down! The Colt .45 Automatic was the result. It was the standard handgun of the US military for most of the 20th Century.
Colt .45 Automatic
Springfield Armory Museum, Springfield Massachusetts.
When the US fought the Philippine Insurrection after the Spanish-American War, the standard handgun was a .38 caliber revolver. When you shot an American or a European soldier with one, he had the good sense to lie there and wait for a medic to come and repair him.
It turned out that half-civilized Philippine tribesmen on some of the more remote islands responded differently. When shot with a .38, they would get up, pick up their long sharp machetes, and charge the Americans again.
The US Army put out bids for a new handgun. It had to be rugged, resistant to the elements, and when you shot a savage tribesman with it, he would Stay Down! The Colt .45 Automatic was the result. It was the standard handgun of the US military for most of the 20th Century.