German use of Norwegian Colt .45's?

[Boosh]

I read somewhere that there was limited use of the M1911A1 by German soldiers who got them in Norway. Does anyone have more information relating to this topic, or better, a picture of one of the Norwegian .45's?

[The Edge]

http://hem.fyristorg.com/robertm/norge/ ... apons.html

One of these Colts was recently identified in Serbia (owner didn't had a clue of its origins) - so Germans probably used them both in & outside Norway.

[jacobtowne]

Can't comment on actual use, but German Ordnance had a classification for the M1914.

Pistole 657(n) Ex Norwegian Colt/Browning Government M/1911, Kongsberg M/1912, and Kongsberg M/1914, all caliber 11.25mm (.45acp)

JT

[jacobtowne]

Here's a photo.
JT

While I'm unfamiliar with the Norwegian Browning, I can tell from the photo that the slide stop is quite different from that on the U.S. pistol.

[varjag]

One makes the reflection - that ammunition for a .45 would have been scarce anywhere in occupied Europe - outside Norway, even there I don't think it was abundant.....Varjag

[Bret van Sant]

I wish to show link to the colt you speak of.
http://kongsbergcolten.com/

a book has been printed and you can order it.
this gun is one of the holy grails of my collection. hundreds of times more rare that a chained SS! i still collect on a limited scale but after a time it all is not that big of a deal. here is my 42 slide dated 11.25

http://militaryedgedweapons.com/19141.jpg

http://militaryedgedweapons.com/19142.jpg

http://militaryedgedweapons.com/19143.jpg

a true vet bring home. holsters are even more rare. not the black ones but the tan type. very few period photos of this gun have surfaced over the years. the 1945 slide dated ones with the Wa stamp is the lowest production and even more rare than the gun i show. sorry i dont moderate here anymore nor do i check in often so i'm a bit slow on post readings. if anyone wants more info on these pieces just ask i'll post more. Bret

[Boosh]

Thank you Bret van Sant, that gun's a beauty!

[Bret van Sant]

Boosh, hello.
thank you. I really dont get to any of the boards often anymore. Guess I should look in more. I think these M1914's are one of the most overlooked axis pistols of the period. Many do not even know they exist and let alone a axis gun .45 cal.
I would also like to mention that to my knowledge this is the only axis gun that a factory letter can be had for. I believe the cost was 65 usd or so. Given the limited production and M1914 with a factory letter..... amazing! Bret

[stril]

Hello
below a link to the forum at Nuav.net, some info about the Colt.
regards
stril
http://f16.parsimony.net/forum28300/messages/7667.htm

[Bret van Sant]

Hello, thanks for the link to that. If I read one of the posting correct? The member states all occupation guns were Wa proofed? (I may have read it wrong also?) The only M1914 pistols that were Wa proofed were the ones made in 1945. The 1941 and 1942 slide dated examples are not Wa proofed.
Here also is a link to Jan Stills luger forum with more information. If this doesnt work you may need to sign up for that forum, I'm not sure.
M1914 info here.

http://luger.gunboards.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=681

Much of the information supplied on production dates are from Per Mathisen a noted P38 researcher and collector. Per's main focus is on Spreewerk guns, the factory and the workers involved in making the cyq guns.
I never bought the book when purchasing the letter. As I dont speak or read Norwegian, but I am told it is full of very nice pictures. Bret

[Dix]

Bret van Sant, thank you for bringing the Kongsberg Colt into the consciousness of the historically interested. Please note, however, that 11,25 is not a date but the caliber designation in millimeters. The guns are mostly very well made, rivalling early Colts for finish but perhaps not for fit. All parts big enough for a number or number suffix are indeed numbered, so identifying a complete original example is easier than with many others.

[Bret van Sant]

I wanted to also add this also; over at Jan Still's luger gunboards forum (I see that the link wont work unless you are a member, so sign up lots of good info on lugers!) I noted a member stated that some of these M1914's were imported into the United States at some point in the 1950's by a company or maybe a single person? At any rate the name of the importer was"ye olde scrounger". Remember now that at that time in the USA no imports were marked as such. So you wont find an import mark as you would see now. The member at the luger forum stated they sold for 50.00$ USD. At that time 50 bucks was a good chunk of change. I have no way to verify if this is fact or not, but I will be doing further research on the "ye olde scrounger" I would think that I may find a reference to this in old american rifleman magazines and the like. I will contine to update this as I find new information. As the last post stated "bringing the Kongsberg Colt into the consciousness of the historically interested" this gun is overlooked and overshadowed by most every other firearm of WW II.

[stril]

Hello
Im adding a link to two auctions. The first one is perhaps a collectors nightmare. A deactivated Colt M/1914, produced in 1942.
Next one, a holster for Colt M/1914, norwegian navy.
Its not for promotion i add this, just tought it could be of interest. (The Colt is not for sale outside Norway)
regards
stril
http://my.qxl.no/accdb/viewItem.asp?IDI ... Catg=22485

http://my.qxl.no/accdb/viewItem.asp?IDI ... Catg=22485

[Pax Melmacia]

I'm just wondering how much of a problem supplying .45 cal. pistol ammunition was. I would think that German owners of the Norwegian Colts would keep them as a 'just-in-case' sidearm, and not as a primary weapon. They wouldn't burn their ammo so rapidly in the field. Too, rear-echelon troops with Colts wouldn't shoot them off very much.

[Norseman]

Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongsberg_Colt

http://www.kongsbergcolten.com/