3657

Fantastic, One-of-a-Kind, "Carbine Williams' Prototype Service Model Ace'', Made by Him on this Colt

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:12,000.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Fantastic, One-of-a-Kind,  Carbine Williams' Prototype Service Model Ace'', Made by Him on this Colt
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Estimate: $30000 - 50000
This an exceptionally rare and historically significant find in that its the original Colt Model 1911A1 pistol that was sent by Colt Firearms to David Marshall Williams (the famous "Carbine Williams") soon after Colt and the military helped get him released from prison. Mr. Williams used this exact pistol as the working model in the development of the innovative and unique ''floating chamber'' design that evolved into the ''Service Model Ace'' and 22LR conversion kit for the Model 1911A1, that have been employed by the military and civilian shooters for the past 74 years. This Colt Government Model (shipped as a 45 caliber) is accompanied by two Colt factory letters, dated April 1988 and August 1979; both verify that this specific pistol was sold through the A.F. Stoeger company on November 1930 directly to David Williams. For those of you that are not familiar with David ''Carbine'' Williams, he was a mechanical genius that became famous for designing the ''piston driven, short-stroke'' recoil system used in the U.S. Army M1 Carbines. These carbines were made in larger quantities than any other gun in WWII, and still are a favorite of WWII Veterans and shooters today, with thousands being sold by the DCM and CMP. His contribution to the design and development of the M1 Carbine became instantly known after the release of the movie ''Carbine Williams'' in 1952, which featured the famous actor, Jimmy Stewart portraying David M. Williams. Williams' "floating chamber" design, as seen in this Colt Prototype, was scaled up by him to convert 50 and 30 caliber machine guns to 22 caliber, for Military training, and those are just like this gun in the detail design of the chamber. Being too expensive to produce, Williams built the 4 sets of barrel, chambers, and magazines to take the prototype to a production gun. His patent was also used in Winchester's Model 50 automatic shotgun, the "floating chamber" allowing it to be the world's first "non-recoiling barrel" automatic shotgun (unlike Browning's design). The book, "Carbine, the Story of David Marshall Williams," included in this lot, details his extraordinary life (book is also displayed in the Carbine Williams Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina). David M. Williams was convicted of murder when a lawman was shot during a raid on a moonshine still, operated on Williams' farm property. While in prison for eight years, Williams conceived of, and built some examples of the "floating chamber" that allowed a 22 caliber cartridge to amplify its energy to cycle a heavy action. These are in the museum, as the state of North Carolina confiscated them. But the Governor, Military, and Colt thought the invention was important enough to release David Williams from prison in 1930. Colt soon sent this 45, serial 158117, to him for the purpose of converting it to 22 LR, as Colt's new Ace was troublesome, and the military had rejected it as a training gun. David Williams then built this pistol (hand making many parts in his distinctive way), and then actually signed a design/technical rights agreement with the Colt Firearms Company in April 1934. Colt went on to produce the very successful "Service Model Ace" pistols with this "floating chamber" principle. The Williams concept saved millions of dollars in ammunition costs for the military and civilian shooters. The unique aspect of this design is that by using one of these conversion kits on a standard Model 1911A1 pistol you replicate the weight, feel, and recoil of the full-power 45 ACP, while using the low-cost 22 LR cartridges for training. The actual pistol with this lot is a Colt Government Model pistol manufactured circa 1930, that shows the modification to the slide, the new rimfire-firing pin, extractor and ejector mechanism, the completely new barrel and chamber design he developed, along with a new enlarged magazine release button and magazine, and new barrel bushing. The slide has no factory markings, as Williams lightened it, and the frame is marked on the right side with only "COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL/C158117" with a single Colt sub-inspector mark on the trigger guard bow on each side. Also accompanying this pistol are the four prototype 22LR barrels (one like the Ace), each one with a slightly different mechanical design showing the development of the floating chamber, along with four different prototype 22LR magazines. The various barrels and magazines are housed in a dark purple cloth with pockets to store each piece. In addition to the pistol and barrels/magazines, this lot has the two noted Colt factory letters, copies of the technical agreement between Colt and David Williams, Application of Patents with the United States Government, article written by Julian Hatcher in 1938, plus several original photographs of Jimmy Steward and Wendell Cory in the original movie along with signatures of both Jimmy Steward and David "Carbine" Williams. Topping the collection are original photographs of the Carbine that were used in the book (which, as noted, is included in this lot). What a fantastic, stand-alone historical Colt display this is by itself. This complete grouping in and of itself would certainly make the centerpiece of any advanced Colt Commercial, Colt martial or Model 1911 handgun collection, a very rare and historic find! For more information on this gun, the only known prototype of the Colt Service Model Ace, see Scott Meadows' new book, "U.S. Military Automatic Pistols, 1920-1945," starting on page 320, with this very gun pictured on page 333 (including a photograph of the disassembled parts with the unique "floating chamber").
BBL: 5 inch
Stock:
Gauge: 22 LR
Finish: blue/parkerize
Grips: walnut checkered
Serial Number: C158117
Condition: Very fine with 97% of a matte/parkerized type of finish, with only wear on the edges and high spots overall. The Colt letter listed the original finish as "blue" however the finish was most likely done by "Carbine" Williams, however by any ones standards this is really exceptionally rare in this condition as usually these prototype/tool room model pistols usually showed extreme wear and use overall with most being really beat-up, while this one remains in superb condition. The checkered walnut grips are also in excellent condition with nice sharp checkering overall, with no wear or handling marks anywhere. The various other prototype barrels and magazines are also in excellent condition, all being in "The White" which would be correct for these types of barrels as they would not have received any final blue finish. The other documentation and photographs are all in excellent condition, and provide a clear direct link from David Carbine Williams to this pistol. A fantastic example of certainly a "One-of-a-Kind'' historically significant pistol design, worth of any advanced collection.