The Colt Official Police is a medium frame, double-action
revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
with a six-round cylinder, primarily chambered for the .38 Specialcartridge, and manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Released in 1908 as the Colt Army Special, the revolver was renamed the "Colt's Official Police" in 1927 in order to better market to law enforcement agencies. It became one of the bestselling police firearms of all time, eventually coming to exemplify typical law enforcement officer weaponry in the 1950s."Colt's Official Police Revolver" , Shooting Times magazine Web site – Handgun Reviews. Accessed August 13, 2008. The Official Police was also used by various U.S. and allied military forces during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Development and history
As the 20th Century began, the older .32 caliber revolvers which had been standard-issue for the majority of American police departments began to be phased out in favor of the larger-bore .38 caliber. In 1908, Colt introduced a sleek and modernized revolver they dubbed the Army Special, which in the powerful (for the time) and popular .38 Special quickly became the issue service revolver of many departments.Ayoob, Massad "The Colt Official Police: 61 years of production, 99 years of service" Guns magazine. BNET Web site – Find articles. Accessed August 13, 2008. , Bellum Web site. Accessed August 20, 2008.
During the same period, revolvers began to fall out of favor with the U.S. Military, especially after the adoption on the M1911
semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...
. As military sales of their revolvers dropped off, Colt realized the popularity and strong sales of their pistols with
civilian
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
law enforcement agencies could form a replacement market.
By 1927, the overwhelming sales of two popular models, the Army Special and Colt Police Positive, had assured Colt's dominance of the law enforcement firearms market. Colt's
marketing strategy
Marketing strategy refers to efforts undertaken by an Organizational structure, organization to increase its sales and achieve competitive advantage. In other words, it is the method of advertising a company's products to the public through an est ...
was further fine-tuned by making a few superficial alterations to the Army Special revolver and then renaming it as the "Official Police" model. The changes included adding checkering to the trigger, matting the topstrap of the frame and widening the rear sight groove. Colt also upgraded the quality of the gun's finish from a dull blued finish to a highly polished blued surface. In 1930, Colt publicized that their Official Police model could easily handle the firing of heavily-loaded .38 rounds intended for competitor
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American Firearms manufacturer, firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith (inventor), Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the ...
's new large N-frame revolver, the .38-44. None of the comparable S&W revolvers could safely manage this feat. By 1933, the Colt sales catalog listed many law enforcement agencies as having adopted the OP as a sidearm, including the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Kansas City, Compton and Signal Hill, and other police departments. In addition, many state police organizations and even the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
chose the OP as their issue revolver. The U.S. Army also bought some of the revolvers, issuing them to military police and to federal agencies in need of a revolver for their armed agents, such as the Treasury Department,
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
, and Postal Inspection Service. Many Official Police revolvers were also bought by the police forces and militaries of various
South American
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
countries.
Between May 1940 and June 1941, 49,764 Official Police revolvers in .38 New Police or .38/200 caliber were purchased by the British Purchasing Commission and shipped to the United Kingdom for use by British and Commonwealth armed forces as a substitute standard sidearm. These revolvers bore British military acceptance markings, had a 5" barrel, and the butt was fitted with a military-style lanyard ring. Most of these OP revolvers were assembled from commercial-grade parts made before 1942.
When the U.S. became involved in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the U.S. government requested contracts to supply .38 revolvers required for arming security personnel charged with the security of government buildings, shipyards, and defense plant installations against sabotage or theft. Commencing in 1941, small quantities of the .38 Colt Official Police were procured directly from the Defense Supplies Corporation (DSC). When government purchasing officials objected to production delays of the OP, as well as the unit cost, Colt responded by simplifying the gun. Savings were achieved by eliminating all unnecessary exterior polishing operations, substituting a smooth-face trigger and hammer, and fitting the gun with simplified checkered wood grips with the Colt medallion; the latter was soon replaced by 'Coltwood' molded plastic grips. Instead of the normal bluing, the revolver was given a dull parkerized finish. Dubbed the Colt ''Commando'', the new weapon was primarily used to arm units of
Military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
, security guards at U.S. defense plant installations and shipyards, as well as limited clandestine issue to agencies involved in overseas
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
and
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...
.
In mid-1942, the Springfield Ordnance District (SOD) was given control over procurement and distribution of the Commando, which transferred the revolvers to the end user. A few Commandos were shipped to the U.S. Maritime Commission and used as small arms equipment on U.S. merchant ships and ships provided to the Allies under Lend-Lease.Pate, Charles, The World War II Commando Revolver '', Man At Arms Magazine, Mowbray Publishing (October 1997), retrieved 3 April 2011 Most Commando wartime production went to the DSC for use by security and police forces, while approximately 1,800 Commandos were used by the U.S. Navy, and another 12,800 revolvers distributed to various military intelligence agencies. Control over procurement changed in 1944, after the DSC formally objected to being charged additional handling fees by the armed forces, and was then authorized to procure the Commando directly from Colt.
After World War II, Colt resumed commercial production and returned to the prewar polished blued finish, but retained the 'Coltwood' grips until 1954 when the checkered wooden grips were reintroduced. During the postwar period, Colt fell on difficult financial times and the company introduced few new models. At Smith & Wesson, both output and new model civilian and police sales improved, and the sales margin gap between the two corporations progressively tightened. Finally, in the 1960s, S&W took over the lead. A contributing factor to this change may have been Smith & Wesson's generally lower cost per unit, accompanied by a double-action trigger pull on their Model 10 that was preferred by many agencies teaching the new combat-oriented double-action revolver training. Colt announced the discontinuation of the Official Police in 1969, stating that competitive production of the design was no longer economically feasible. With a total production of over 400,000 pistols, the Official Police ranks as one of the most successful handguns ever made.
Features
The Official Police was machined of fine
carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
, with blued or nickel-plated finishes, and was offered in barrels. Built on Colt's .41 or "E" frame, it was manufactured in a variety of chamberings, including .22 LR, .32-20 (discontinued in 1942), .41 Long Colt (discontinued in 1938), and the most common and popular, the .38 Special. Colt's "Positive Lock" firing pin block safety is a standard feature of the revolver, preventing the
firing pin
A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed sprin ...
from striking the primer unless the trigger is deliberately pulled. The pistol's sights consist of a blade front and a simple U-notch shaped groove milled into the revolver's top strap. The top strap has a matte finish to reduce glare down the sight plane.
Variants
Commando
The Commando was a wartime variant of the Official Police, manufactured with either a two or four inch barrel, and incorporating several production economies including a non-gloss Parkerized finish. The Commando also lacked the usual metal checkering on the hammer, trigger, and cylinder latch, as well as the reflection-deadening treatment of the commercial version's top strap. In addition, plastic material replaced the wood grips of the civilian model. Approximately 48,611 Commando revolvers were purchased by the government during World War II. Of this total, approximately 12,800 were issued to various intelligence services such as US Military intelligence and the
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
(OSS). Many of the latter were procured with the two-inch barrel, referred to as the "Junior Commando". A few Commandos saw service overseas in the war zone. Regular production deliveries of two-inch "Junior Commando" revolvers began in March 1943, at approximately serial number 9,000. More than 12,000 of the two-inch Commandos encountered today are actually postwar conversions from four-inch models produced during the war.
Marshal
A rare variant featuring a rounded grip, with barrel lengths of two and four inches. With a very limited production run of 2,500 units produced from 1955–1956, the Marshal became a true collectable.
MK III
The moniker "Official Police" was borrowed by one model in a new generation of revolvers Colt introduced in the late 1960s, called the "MK III" series. MK III models consisted of simpler versions of several classic Colt revolvers with updated lockwork, based on a new "J" frame, which failed to attain commercial success and was cancelled after only three years.
Users
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*Walter, John: ''Rifles of the World (3rd ed.)'', page 123. Krause Publications, 2006.
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Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft)
* 28 naval vessels:
** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign)
* ...
stockpiles or later purchases of surplus arms after World War II
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Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong.
Pursuant to the one c ...
.
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* US Military Assistance Program 1,332 in 1971 and 3,943 in 1972
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Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
(To be phased out).
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United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
Panama Defense Forces
The Panama Defense Forces (; FFDD), formerly the National Guard (of Panama) (), were the armed forces of the Panama, Republic of Panama.
It was created in 1983, led by Panama's dictator General Manuel Noriega and his general staff. It was disma ...
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Chaco War
The Chaco War (,
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Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal Police, law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; hum ...
before switching to the Taurus Model 85 revolvers in 2002 and the Model 85 revolvers are still in service today.
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* : Used by Korean National Police Agency. Also utilised by ROK Forces during the Korean War and Vietnam War.http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=61603&efYd=19880225#0000
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United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
New York Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...