Colt M1900
| Colt M1900 | |
|---|---|
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Colt Model 1900
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| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | US Army, Navy, Commercial Customers |
| Wars | Philippines 1900 field trials |
| Production history | |
| Designer | John Browning |
| Designed | 1897 |
| Produced | 1900–1902 |
| No. built | 4,274 |
| Variants | "Sight Safety" , First Army Contract, Navy Contract, Second Army Contract, "Sight Conversion" (retrofits and production) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 35 (+-) oz. |
| Length | 8.9 in (230 mm) |
| Barrel length | 6 in (150 mm) |
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| Cartridge | .38 ACP |
| Action |
Short recoil operated Single-action trigger mechanism |
| Rate of fire | Semi-automatic |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,259 ft/s (384 m/s) |
| Effective firing range | 25 yards (23 m) |
| Feed system | 7 round box magazine |
The Colt Model 1900 was a short-recoil operated "self-loading", or semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt's Manufacturing Company at the turn of the 20th century. It also marked the introduction of .38 ACP, the round for which it is chambered (not to be confused with the shorter-cased .380 ACP), and was the first handgun to utilize short-recoil operation.
It was developed from John M. Browning's earlier prototypes in the late 1890s. The United States military tested the design against other semiautomatic pistols by European makers, and adopted some versions forward trial use. The M1900 and variants were also offered commercially. Variants included the Model 1902 Sporting, Model 1902 Military, Model 1903 Pocket (only in .38 ACP models; the .32 ACP model was a different design), and the Model 1905, which introduced the .45 ACP cartridge. The designs of 1909 and later did away with the front barrel link,replaced with a simple bushing, and would become the related, and famed, M1911 pistol.
Unlike the designs of other early semi-automatic pistols, Browning's design used a full length slide that covered the full length of the barrel, as opposed to other designs which utilized a barrel and bolt that slid in grooves machined in the frame. In the Browning design, the slide fitted into rails in the frame, and was integral with the bolt. The barrel rode in locking grooves machined into the interior of the slide, but attached to swinging links secured to the frame, one at the front and one at the rear. When the slide is forward (i.e., in battery), the length of the links holds the barrel up, locking it securely into matching grooves in the slide. Upon recoiling, the barrel and slide move backwards a short distance, locked together, until the arc of the links pulls the barrel downwards, disengaging it from the slide and halting its rearward motion. The barrel then stops moving, while the slide continues rearwards, extracting and ejecting the fired cartridge case and then returns forward, loading a fresh cartridge from the magazine. The barrel is caught, and moved forward with the slide, the camming action of the links lifting it again to lock into the matching grooves. This is identical to the modern style of short recoil action as developed for the later M1911, with the exception of employing both front and rear links, which causes the whole barrel to remain parallel to the slide as it drops out of the locking grooves. The M1911, and most other pistols since, found that it was only necessary to use a single rear link and locking grooves in the rear. When the slide retracts, only the rear of the barrel is dropped, causing it to tilt relative to the slide, while a fixed barrel bushing holds the front of the barrel in place when the slide is in battery, yet allows for movement of the slide and barrel. This approach was found to work perfectly well, and saved in complexity, cost of manufacture, as well as simplicity of assembly and disassembly.
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