ARMOURY: AUTO-ORDNANCE “SQUADRON” 1911

IT’S GOT TEETH!

TAKING A STEP BACK IN HISTORY, BILL TAKES A LOOK AT A “LEGACY MODEL” OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS HANDGUNS EVER, THE VENERABLE COLT 1911, THIS TIME IN AN UNUSUAL GUISE COURTESY OF A COLLABORATION BETWEEN CYBERGUN AND ARMORER WORKS - THE AUTO ORDNANCE “SQUADRON” 1911!

It’s been quite a while since I had a look at a pistol model from Cybergun, even if this one is partly Armorer Works in origin! Cybergun, it has to be said, are huge proponents in the world of airsoft licencing (indeed, their approach has got them into some difficult situations in past years) and guard the licences they have jealously… It’s therefore nice to see them working increasingly with other brands to really make the most of what they have!

I’ve chosen the Auto Ordnance “Squadron” 1911 to talk about here because it sings to me in many ways. Firstly, it’s an absolutely classic 1911 singlestack classic, which I love and, secondly because the licence in point is from Auto-Ordnance, replicators of fabulous WWII firearms like the Thompson SMG, and a part of the mighty Kahr Firearms Group!

But why is the standard “1911” so important to me? Here I’ll take one of my meanderings down memory lane…

The turn of the 19th into the 20th century was an upheaval of change - societal, industrial and certainly in terms of “modern warfare”. It was a time when bolt action rifles were being adopted by armies around the globe and the birth of the “Maxim Gun” was revolutionising how battles were fought. Suddenly the individual infantry soldier was capable of levels of firepower that would have amazed their forebears of only a few years before!

During the Philippine–American War of 18991902, US Soldiers and Marines fighting the Moro guerrillas were still using the then-standard Colt M1892 revolver but quickly found it unsuitable for the rigors of jungle warfare, particularly in terms of stopping power. Even back then, the Moros often used drugs to inhibit the sensation of pain and they just kept coming, even when shot! The US Army briefly reverted to using the M1873 single-action revolver in .45 Colt calibre, which had been standard during the late 19th century, as the heavier bullet was found to be more effective against charging, drug-crazed tribesmen. The problems prompted the Chief of Ordnance, General William Crozier, to authorise testing for a new service pistol.

Enter one of the most amazing gunsmiths to have lived… John Moses Browning! Browning was an American firearms designer who developed many

varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges and mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world to this day (the M1911 pistol, the water-cooled M1917, the air-cooled M1919, and M2 machine gun, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and the Browning Auto-5 to name just a selection of the best known). Online research tells me that he made his first firearm at age 13 in his father’s gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of just 24. He is rightly regarded as one of the most successful firearm designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and pioneered the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms.

From 1907 to 1911 a series of tests were held to decide on a new service pistol for the US Forces and the competition soon whittled down to designs from Savage and Colt, the new model from Colt being designed by Browning. Both designs were improved between each series of tests, leading up to the final test before adoption. Among the areas of success for the Colt was a test at the end of 1910, where six thousand rounds were fired from a single pistol over the course of two days. It is reported that when the Colt began to grow hot it was simply immersed in water to cool it down. The Colt gun passed with no reported malfunctions, while the Savage design had 37!

After these tests the legendary Colt M1911was duly adopted and went on to serve as the standardissue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986. It 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” during the Vietnam War era. Some 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols were manufactured for military contracts during its service life and the pistol was widely copied. The operating system rose to become one of the most successful of the 20th century and it has become widely used by civilian shooters in competitive events such as USPSA, IDPA and the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). Compact variants are popular civilian concealed carry weapons in the U.S. because of the design’s relatively slim width and the awesome stopping power of the .45 ACP cartridge.

LEGACY!

This particular custom 1911 was a part of AutoOrdnance’s WWII commemorative series, and the “Squadron” model was released in limited numbers to firearms collectors in August 2018. This pistol featured custom graphics reminiscent of those painted on fighter aircraft of WWII, and the muzzle displayed the “shark mouth” nose-art often seen on American fighter planes like the Curtis P-40 Warhawk. The Army Air Corps insignia was also shown on both sides, and a rivet pattern was engraved over the pistol. The finish was a highly durable, worn, black and grey Cerakote and the overall appearance made for a pistol that looked like a WWII fighter plane (ish, IMO…). The “Squadron” 1911 was chambered in classic .45 ACP and also featured chequered wood grips with the U.S. logo. It arrived to buyers with a seven round, single-stack magazine and had a retail price of US$1,106! AutoOrdnance offered this custom 1911 in honour of the pilots who flew during WWII and said at the time; “May their bravery and sacrifice always be remembered!”

Thanks to Cybergun and Armorer Works we, as airsofters, can own this piece of history but in 6mm form and at a far smaller cost than that of the real thing and the replica of the original pistol is absolutely nailed, even down to the faded real wood of the pistol grips, the raised “rivet” design, the “weathering”, and even the “shark’s mouth” and Army Air Corps insignia!

However, underneath this super exterior is a fully functional 1911 GBB! It’s worth remembering that the original single stack “daddy” is still a great option for serious pistol shooters and the “Squadron” GBB lives up to that! Power output on green gas (as tested from the box) was a healthy 0.83 Joule/300fps on .20g and through the chrono it ended up with a variance between 299 and 302fps, which is pretty tight! Accuracy on the 10m Short Range was excellent, punching steels consistently with no “flyers” and even delivering hits to the 60x50mm “headspace” on the steels at 5m.

This is a lovely, lovely pistol that perhaps is one that I would not buy for actual shooting, but to hang instead on my office wall. Even though it’s a great shooter and already looks worn enough from new not to worry about the odd scratch, it’s the thought of that “1911 Legacy” that shines and for that reason alone it’s worth adding to anyone’s collection!

My thanks go to Tim at www.iwholesales.co.uk for bringing this lovely pistol to my attention; he knows I’m a sucker for history and classic 1911s… thank you Tim! AA