The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless (not to be confused with the
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was a short-recoil, semi-automatic pistol, designed by the American arms designer John Browning. It was a compact version of the Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model pistol derived from the original Colt M1900. The Col ...
or the
M1903 Springfield
The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century.
The M1903 was first u ...
rifle) is a
.32 ACP
.32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...
caliber, self-loading,
semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
designed by
John Browning
John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms many of which are still in use around the world. He m ...
and built by
Colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
* Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
*Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
. The Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless is a variant introduced five years later in
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...
caliber. Despite the title "hammerless", the Model 1903 does have a hammer. The hammer is covered and hidden from view under the rear of the slide, this allows the pistol to be carried in and withdrawn from a pocket quickly and smoothly without snagging.
History
Approximately 570,000 Colt Pocket Hammerless pistols were produced from 1903 to 1945, in five different types. Some were issued to US Army and US Air Force general officers from World War II through the 1970s; these were replaced in 1972 with the
RIA
A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
Definitions
Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...
Colt M15 general officer's model, a compact version of the M1911A1.
The Shanghai Municipal Police issued the M1908 to its officers in the 1920s and 1930s and it was a popular model with police in the United States such as the
Boston Police Department
The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...
.
In addition to lawful owners, many gangsters of the pre-World War II era favored the Model 1903 and Model 1908 because they were relatively small and easily concealed. It is said that
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
kept one in his coat pocket and
Bonnie Parker
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
used one to break
Clyde Barrow
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
out of jail after smuggling it into the jail by taping it to her thigh. Bank robber
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...
was carrying this model of pistol when he was shot by
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agents outside the Biograph theater on July 22, 1934, and another famous bank robber,
Willie Sutton
William Francis Sutton Jr. (June 30, 1901 – November 2, 1980) was an American bank robber. During his forty-year robbery career he stole an estimated $2 million, and he eventually spent more than half of his adult life in prison and escape ...
, had one when he was captured by police in Brooklyn on February 18, 1952.
This pistol was also used by an Indian revolutionary named
Chandrashekhar Azad
Chandra Shekhar Tiwari ( (23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican ...
in 1931, when he committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
to avoid capture by the
Indian Imperial Police The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Imperial Police or simply the Indian Police or, by 1905, Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in British Raj, as established by ...
in a park at the
United Provinces of British India
The United Provinces of British India, more commonly known as the United Provinces, was a province of British India, which came into existence on 3 January 1921 as a result of the renaming of the ''United Provinces of Agra and Oudh''. It corre ...
.
Note: There was also a
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer was a short-recoil, semi-automatic pistol, designed by the American arms designer John Browning. It was a compact version of the Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model pistol derived from the original Colt M1900. The Col ...
pistol in
.38 ACP
The .38 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as the .38 Auto or 9x23mmSR, is a semi-rimmed pistol cartridge that was introduced at the turn of the 20th century for the John Browning-designed Colt M1900. It was first used in Colt's Model ...
, but this design is unrelated. The
FN Model 1903
The FN Model 1903 (M1903, FN Mle 1903), or Browning No.2 is a self-loading semi-automatic pistol engineered by John Browning and made by Belgian arms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN). It was introduced in 1903 and fired the 9×20mmSR Brownin ...
pistol design is related to the Colt Pocket Hammerless, but it is physically larger due to its chambering in the
9×20mm SR Browning Long cartridge.
General officer models
General officer models were often engraved with the officer's name. Recipients include generals
Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
,
Bradley
Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English.
Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular.
It is also an Anglicisation of t ...
,
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
, and
Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...
. Patton's Model 1908 was embellished with three (later four) stars on the grip panels to denote his rank. They were issued with a fine-grade leather holster, leather pistol belt with gold-metal clasp, rope pistol lanyard with gold-metal fittings, and leather two-pocket ammunition pouch with gold-metal fasteners. They came in russet or black leather (depending on service and regulations) and were made by Atchison Leather Products or Hickok. A cleaning rod and two spare magazines were also included.
Generals were issued the Model M in .380 ACP, until 1950, when supplies ran out. At that point, they were substituted with .32 models until their replacement in 1972. The Pocket Hammerless was replaced by the
M15 pistol
The M15 General Officers is a .45 ACP pistol developed by the U.S. Army's Rock Island Arsenal from stock M1911 pistols as a replacement for the aging Colt Model 1903 and Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless pistols. The pistol was issued to United States ...
made by Rock Island Arsenal in .45 ACP. Today, the Pocket Hammerless is manufactured by U.S. Armament, and is licensed by Colt.
Design
![1903partswiki mod](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/1903partswiki_mod.jpg)
This pistol is actually fired by action of a hammer striking and driving a firing pin into a center-fire cartridge's primer. The hammer is covered by the rear of the slide. The "hammerless" designation was merely an advertising designation pointing out the pistol's particular suitability for concealed carry. Special features include a serrated slide to prevent slippage during manual cycling of the slide and two safety mechanisms (a grip safety and a manual safety). The grip safety is a spring-loaded piece making up the back strap of the pistol. The grip safety, though not solely restricted to them, was a typical feature of Colt automatic pistols. A magazine safety was added on later models; this feature prevents the pistol from being fired with a round in the chamber and the magazine removed.
In 1908, a .380 ACP version of this gun was introduced. Called the Model 1908, it is nearly identical to the Model 1903 except for the bore diameter and the magazine, which holds seven rounds (one less than the Model 1903).
Grip panels are black checked hard rubber, checked walnut, or special order materials (ivory, mother of pearl, inset medallion).
Sights are fixed, although the rear sight is drift-adjustable for windage.
Metal finish is
blued or
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
, and some special-order finishes such as engraved, silver- or gold-
plated
Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improv ...
.
Variants
*Type I: Integral barrel bushing, four-inch barrel, no magazine safety, serial numbers 1 through 71,999
*Type II: 32 cal separate barrel bushing, 3-inch barrel; 1908–1910, SN 72,000 through 105,050
*Type II: 380 cal separate barrel bushing, 3-inch barrel; 1908–1910, SN 001 through 6250
*Type III: integrated barrel bushing, 3-inch barrel; 1910–1926, SN 105,051 through 468,789
*Type IV: integrated barrel bushing, 3-inch barrel, magazine safety
*Type V: integrated barrel bushing, 3-inch barrel, military sights, magazine safety on both commercial and "U.S. property" variations. SN 468,097 through 554,446.
There was an M1903 version with a military Parkerized finish, which is otherwise the same as the Model IV, SN 554,447 through 572,214.
Trivia
Former Japanese Prime Minister
Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...
used a Colt Model 1903 to attempt suicide shortly before his arrest for war crimes on September 11, 1945. Tojo was convicted at trial and was executed on December 23, 1948. Tojo's pistol is on display at the
MacArthur Memorial
The MacArthur Memorial is a memorial, museum, and research center about the life of General Douglas MacArthur. It consists of three buildings on MacArthur Square in Norfolk, Virginia.
* Memorial – located in the former Norfolk City Hall buildin ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
.
The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless with SN539370 took part in the attempt of assassination SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich (top nazi officer) in Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia on May 27th 1942 in Prague. The assassination had been successful due to wounds he suffered from the bomb thrown into his car.
See also
*
List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
*
Ruby pistol
The Ruby pistol was a semi-automatic pistol of .32 ACP calibre made by Gabilondo y Urresti and other Spanish companies. It saw use in both World Wars as the service weapon of the French Army under the name ''Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 g ...
References
External links
*
*
Colt pistol hammerless model 1903 (infographic tech. drawing)*
{{Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt semi-automatic pistols
.32 ACP semi-automatic pistols
.380 ACP semi-automatic pistols
World War II firearms of the United States
Police weapons
Semi-automatic pistols 1901–1909
Simple blowback firearms
Firearms by John Browning
Weapons of the Philippine Army