When the federal government in 1985 decided to switch to the Beretta 92F 9mm (M9) as the new official sidearm for the military, replacing the venerable Colt M1911A1 45ACP, I was perplexed -- almost appalled.
I imagined that both Samuel Colt and John Moses Browning were looking down with disfavor.
Even so, I purchased a Beretta 92F and gave it a try. I was less than impressed. It wasn't simply that I found it somehow troubling that an Italian-owned company would replace Colt as the supplier of the military's official sidearm, even if the Berettas were manufactured at a new facility in the United States. My personal impression of the 92F was that it was too large for the caliber and that it was just . . . well . . . too subject to damage from hard use in the field. As a result, I sold it to someone who admired it more than I did.
But it now appears that what goes around comes around.
Yesterday, the U. S. Department of Defense announced the following:
"Colt Defense L.L.C., West Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $22,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract July 18, 2012 for production, delivery and logistical support of the close quarter battle pistol. Work will be performed in West Hartford, Conn., and is expected to be completed by July 2017. No contract funds will expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition with three offers received. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-12-D-1056)."
See:
http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4836And here it is, the Colt 45 Close Quarter Battle Pistol, modeled after earlier versions of the semi-automatic 1911 pistol used since the 1980s by Marine Force Reconnaissance units:
This link has more commentary on the contract:
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/08/20/after-30-years-marines-return-to-45-colt.htmlI imagine that both Samuel Colt and John Moses Browning are looking down with favor.
