The M15 General Officers is a

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...

pistol developed by the U.S. Army's

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...

from stock

M1911 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...

pistols as a replacement for the aging Colt Model 1903 and Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless pistols. The pistol was issued to United States Army

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

s as a personal weapon. The M15 is quite similar to the

Colt Commander The Colt Commander is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, and recoil-operated handgun based on the John M. Browning–designed M1911. It was the first mass-produced American pistol with an aluminium alloy frame and the first Colt pis ...

and is operationally similar to the

M1911A1 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for the ...

. Formally adopted in 1972, it is no longer produced but remains in service with some long-career officers.

History

Originally intended for high-ranking military personnel, the M15 was built from an existing stock of Colt M1911 pistols. It is similar to the Colt Commander, but has internal differences. Colt later released a similar pistol called the

Colt Officer's ACP The Colt Officer's Model or Colt Officer's ACP is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, and recoil-operated handgun based on the John M. Browning designed M1911. It was introduced in 1985 as a response from Colt to numerous aftermarket c ...

. This model is commonly referred to as the "Officer". It was adopted to give officers a weapon with greater stopping power and effectiveness over previously issued sidearms. There is some disagreement in sources over its formal designation, possibly either ''Pistol, General Officers', Caliber .45, M15'' or ''Pistol, Cal. .45, Semi-automatic, M1911A1, General Officer's''. The M9 9mm replaced the M15 as the general officer pistol in the 1980s.

Operational traits

Functionally, the M15 operates the same as a basic M1911 Colt pistol. The shorter barrel is reported to have a greater muzzle blast, yet even with the abbreviated barrel, the pistol maintains a muzzle velocity of 245 m/s (800 ft/s). The pistol's sights are larger than the standard M1911A1's, including a taller front sight. Magazines remain interchangeable between the two models. A

lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lower ...

may be attached to the mainspring housing.

Officer weapon distinction

The M15 is made to a higher standard of finish to distinguish it as a general officer's pistol. The finish on the guns was a deep blue on portions of the slide and frame. The exposed metal parts such as the safety and slide lock have a polished blued finish, while the top of the slide has a black matte-type finish. It has select-grade

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

grips with a brass placard on the left grip, with the owner's name engraved in it, and the Rock Island Arsenal seal on the right grip. The slide is also engraved, "General Officer's Model" and the abbreviation "RIA" for Rock Island Arsenal. The pistol came with a black leather belt, black leather holster, black leather two-pocket magazine pouch, cleaning kit, and three magazines that were serial-numbered to the weapon. The belt's buckle and any other metal parts were either in gold for the Army or silver for the Air Force. The M15 pistol was issued from 1972 to 1981, after which it was replaced in Army and Air Force service with the unmodified

. A total of 1,004 were made and issued. When a general left active service he was given the choice of returning it or purchasing it. Most chose to buy it as a memento of their service, a tradition that continues to this day.

Users

* McNab,Chris ''The Great Book of Guns'', p. 108, Thunder Bay Press, 2004.

References

Bibliography

* Kinard, Jeff. ''Pistols: an illustrated history of their impact'', ABC-CLIO, Inc. Santa Barbara, CA(USA) 2003. * McNab, Chris, ''The Great Book of Guns'', Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA(USA), 2004. .

External links

General Officer Pistol Rock Island Arsenal
{{DEFAULTSORT:M0015 Pistol Semi-automatic pistols of the United States .45 ACP semi-automatic pistols 1911 platform