Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-11
THE ARMY AUTOMATIC
Uncle Sans Soldiers Are to Use a
Powerful Weapon.

Powerful Weapon.
The other automatic pistol which Is
to be manufactured at the armory is q
/ big brother to the new Smith & Wes.
SON pistol, says the Springfield Repub-
l:can. 1t is Of the Colt model 1911, with
Q caliber Of As, and was adopted by
the United States army a year and a
half ago. The government found II
necessary to use a small arm which
was faster and surer than the old blue
six shooter which is even now in use,
and the makers of automatic pistols at
once began to submit their designs.
Pistol after pistol was put through ex-
haustive tests by the army experts, but
all Of them were. rejected until Samuel
Colt presented his newest idea in the
fall of 1911. The Colt weapon was
rusted with acid and steam, according
to the prescribed test, but its shooting
powers were unharmed. It was placed
in tight box and fine dust was blown
into all the parts with air pressure,
and still 1t shot perfectly. Orders were
placed with the Colt company for sew
eral thousand. For more than a year
the new guns were sent out to the off,
GERS and those enlisted men who are
armed with revolvers. and finally the
government decided to make the pis-
tolls in its own armories.
The army pistol is Of large caliber
and shoots bullet that Is calculated to
stop any man at any distance under
$50 yards. The experience of the Unit
ed States with revolvers in fighting
savages and fanatics has taught that
II small arm Is to be effective 1t
must not only have high power, but 1t
must shoot heavy enough projectile
to knock its victim to earth. The .45
pistol has sufficient power to drive its
slug through six inches Of white pine
at distance Of 25 yards. and through
four inches at distance Of $50 yards.
The penetration Of one inch Of white
pine corresponds to dangerous
wound. The Colt pistol will carry q
mile and quarter when aimed at a
high enough angle, but 1t is not intend
ed for use at ranges exceeding ESQ
yards. l',@ -
The First Pistol. 'it,...
The history of the automatic revol-
yer, which Is a descendant Of the old
The original pistols were single and
double -barreled affairs with smooth
bore muzzles, the rified pistol barrels
not coming in until the 10Th century.
So far as Is known at present, the in
ventor Of the first pistol was Camin-
elleo Vitelli. who fiourished in Pistoia
Italy, in 1910. 1t was from the name of
the city that the term pistol" was first
derived. The weapons had short single
barrels with heavy butts at right
angles to them. and although this last
feature was later modified and the
butts were heightened out into almost
direct line with the revolvers, the old
style is being to some extent renewed
In the new automatics.
Early revolvers were fired with per-
cussion caps and were made with all
the barrels, six, seven or eight in num-
Der, revolving at once. This brought
the characteristic name Of pepper
box" and inspired Mark Twain's re-
mark that If "she didn't land one thing
she was pretty sure to fetch another"
The pistols were single action, by
which the hammer was raised and the
barrels revolved by the trigger. This
was a cumbersome device and no ac-
curate aim was possible owing to the
strength and the strong pull which had
to be exercised on the trigger. 1t was
soon superseded by the revolving
breech.
In 1914 the first self-acting revolver
was manufactured in England. but 1t
remained for an American, Samuel
Colt, to perfect the first practical re-
volving pistol. which Is believed to have
been inspired by an ancient revolving
weapon in the Tower Of London. The
chambers Of the first Colt were loaded
with powder and bullets from the muz-
zle, and each chamber had nipple to
be capped. The first American revolver
makers caused the cooking Of the ham,
mer to revolve the cylinder, while the
English makers effected the same by a
pull Of the trigger. In 1855 Adams Of
Lcndon and Tranter Of Birmingham,
England, brought in the double action
re Yolver, with both methods in force Of
re volving the cylinder.
some time later the Smith & Wes-
sea self Extracting revolvers with joint
eG frames were introduced, in which
the dropping Of the barrel forced out
the extractor as in an ordinary double
gun, the extractor acting simultaneous
ly in all the chambers Of the pistol. A
spring returned the extractor to its
place when the empty cartridge cases
had been rejected, and brought the
barrel to an angle Of about As degrees
for convenience in loading. The origi-
nal model has been greatly improved
upon by subsequent changes.