Browse Items (22 total)

The Colt M1911 was the standard military issued handgun that was used for training, combat, and daily life in the trenches, and was widely preferred by United States soldiers. In the book titled The Colt 1911 Pistol Leroy Thompson explains, "In the…

During both World War I and World War II, women were called upon to serve in factories on the homefront, producing weapons and ammunition for the United States armed forces. In nearly all photographs of Colt Firearm Manufacturing's assembly lines…

M1917 Winchester Rifle that was created during the Great War era

Promotion for women to work at ammunition and firearm factories during World War I

An article from a 1916 issue of the Hartford Courant, describing the government purchase of over 4,000 Vicker Machine Rifles from the Colt Company.

Due to the increased demand for the Colt Vickers machine gun, Colt expanded it's factory, hired…

Soldiers put Connecticut manufactured weapons to use after Colt received their government funding for Vickers machine gun production

While few Vickers machine guns were ready for the start of 1917, many began to reach the front lines by September…

A view of the Colt Armory building in Hartford, Connecticut in 1906

Ammunition fragments from Colt Vickers machine gun in World War I. Shown in this image are intact, battle used ammunition fragments from the Colt-Vickers M1915 machine gun. While production of the gun was slow at first, many Vickers machine guns…

An advertisement for Colt Automatic Pistols, boasting it's recent adoption by the US Government.

The adoption of the Colt M1911 as the standard military issue firearm propelled Colt's reputation above that of it's competitors, including Smith and…

Colt Manufacturing advertising their influence in war efforts, referring to themselves as the National Standard Through All Wars.

While the Colt Manufacturing Company grew tremendously during the Great War Era, the industry did not rely solely on…