Here is another General Officer’s Pistol I own and it is an authentic one. This maybe gets a little long but I think the story needs to be told.
I walked into my Gunsmith’s shop about 4 or 5 years ago and the Rock Island Auction catalog was open on his counter. It was the listing for a military 1911 produced by the Rock Island Arsenal. The Rock Island Arsenal is a government defense facility located in our metropolitan area and is actually on an island in the Mississippi River. I knew my Gunsmith’s father was an armorer who had retired from the Arsenal.
I asked my Gunsmith about the listing and he explained that his Father was instrumental in the design and development of these GOP’s designated the Model 15. He and his boss both built prototypes and his boss’s would never function right so they adapted and further developed his father’s design.
The Generals had always been offered a 1903 hammerless, designated Model M in 380 and then 32 acp as part of their commission for a personal sidearm. The Government was running out of them to give them so the Model 15 GOP was developed as a replacement. Only 1004 of them were made and they started distributing them in 1972. When the 1004 were all gone they went to a commercial 1911A1 and then to a Berretta.
I bid on the GOP at the Rock Island Auction but I did not win it. I posted a question on the Colt Forum about these guns and learned more about them and their value. I also mentioned that they were produced in my home community and a friend of mine’s father was one of the original developers.
A Gentleman from Pennsylvania who had one for sale read my post. He thought his should go back to my area and offered it at a fair price so I bought it. It included all the paper work from the General that it was issued to including his resume, a photo of him in uniform, the paperwork when he received it in 1979, and the bill of sale when he bought it upon retirement in 1980. I also received the belt and holster that was issued, 3 magazines as issued, a double mag holder as issued, and a copy of The Rampant Colt Magazine with an article on the Model 15’s. The seller of this pistol had originally bought it directly from the General who it had been issued to.
Pictures of the package.
