Remington Rand M1911A1, Type I Logo
1943 Production
Shown below is an early Type I rollmark Remington Rand. The Type I logo has
the words NEW YORK spelled out in full, unlike the Types II/III rollmarks.
The Type I rollmark is observed from the beginning of production to about sn
955000. In addition, the "No" (as opposed to "NO") serial number prefix is
also observed in the early Remington Rands up to about sn 101500 (ref. Clawson).
The finish is Du-Lite blue over sandblasting, and shows a characteristic blue-
gray color, similar to that of the US&S pistols and very early Ithacas. As with
all Remington Rands, the receiver bullet ramp was polished after the finish was
applied and is bare metal.
During Remington Rand's early production, much of the machinery was inherited
from the Singer Mfg. Co. when Singer discontinued production of it's contract
M1911A1's. Thus, there are a number of similarities between these early Rands
and Singers:
- The mainspring housing is very finely checkered, more so than the US&S.
- The M 1911 A1 U.S. ARMY rollmark is nearly identical.
- On the earliest Rands, the milled trigger checkering pattern is similar.
This particular example shows the stamped trigger; earlier Remington Rands
displayed the milled trigger up to approximately 926xxx-927xxx.
The pistol has an interesting history. The former owner was a WWII vet who
served in the Pacific conflict. He was one of 513 POW's at Cabanatuan and
was a survivor of the Bataan Death March (Philippines). The following are
excerpts from my correspondence with his son.
"My Dad purchased it from an individual when he was repatrioted from Jap
prison camp around 1945. It was used for home protection and I know it has
not been fired more than 20 times since dad bought it. Dad did not like to
fire guns unless he had to and noone else in the family had access to it
until after he passed away in 1999. It has not ever been used for target
practice or competition. I shot it maybe 20 times after I inherited it in
1999. It worked perfect and it has not been cleaned or taken down in 58
years...still looks great."
"If you will purchase Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides which is a non-fiction
story of the Bataan Death March, write or call me when you are prepared to
read the book. I will mail to you copies of the appox. 80 pages I have
inherited from his experience in the Phillipines. I am writing a book about
my Dad and what it was like to be the son of a true American war hero. The
first chapter includes a story about the gun you just purchased from me so
I'll forward this text along with the pictorial."
Here is a link to Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides.
CLICK on link of interest and picture will open in a separate browser window.
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