THE HOLY GRAIL! | 2.5 Singer 1911A1 Pistols in one place! | Walk-in Wednesday
Vložit
- čas přidán 22. 07. 2019
- We have 2.5 Singer 1911A1's in one place! The holy grail for any 1911 collector. Only 500 made! This episode even features a possible lunch pail special - a gun that may have been taken from the factory floor and reconstructed part by part! These guns were manufactured by Singer Sewing Machine Company, before WW2, as the U.S. was ramping up weapon production in preparation for our involvement in the war. We want to know, what other production companies made weapons during WW2? Let us know in the comments below!
Other cool walk-ins!
• Walk-in Wednesdays
WW2 Walther Pistols
• WW2 / Pre-1946 Walther...
Walther Factory at the end of WW2
• Walther Factory at the...
Consecutively numbered Colt 1911s
• Walk-In Wednesdays | C... - Krátké a kreslené filmy
35 years ago, as a stockbroker, I had a customer who was an old time retired Singer manager.
He was really proud of that.
The significance was over my head.
Thanks for the explanation.
A friend of mine let me handle his Singer. He died a couple of years ago. The CEO of Colt Industries bought it from Jim's wife. Jim's father carried it during the Nuremberg Trials. That documentation increased it's value dramatically.
I was stationed in Friedberg Germany in '88 and '89 in a tank company with 3rd Armored Division--SPEARHEAD--. My last 6 six months before rotating back to the USA and going right to Saudi Arabia was spent in the company arms room. We still had the 1911A1 pistol at that time, and if my memory is accurate we had a bunch of Ithaca and Remington Rand pistols and I believe about 20 Singer marked pistols. Had no idea of the significance as a 19 year old kid back then.
Xarmcav I’m drooling at the thought
I think you remember wrong, most of these guns never went into service.
I was also stationed in Friedberg Germany from 1978-1981. I was with 3/32Armor and was a platoon leader in B Company. I was issued a Remington, but one of the other platoon leaders did get a Singer issued to him. He worked hard to purchase it from them when he left, but the Army would not allow it! I always wondered what became of them. It sounds like they stayed with you guys, at least until they were turned in for 9 MM Barettas. What a let down that must have been. Thank-you for your service at Ray Barracks, FRG brother!
Rick from Pawn Stars will give you $100. He’s taking all the risk.
Buhahahahahahaha
😂😂😂
Exactly ! All in that family are thieves. Another is the Cajon Pawn Stars people. They are also a family of low-life thieves.
Best he can do is € 120 he needs to make some profit too..
Andy...Absolutely. There's not a big market out there for a gun made by a sewing machine company, so it will sit on the shelf forever.
The Singers were considered the best made 1911's than those manufactured at Colt, Remington Rand, Ithaca and US
Switch and Signal during the War. How that guy came across 2 Singers and had the resources to purchase them is pretty incredible. I always fantasize about going to a gun show and picking one up for $500 from an unsuspecting private dealer.......fat chance! Lol
My wife's late uncle worked at the Singer plant in Elizabeth. He was a machinist, I was given some of his tools.
I live two miles from the old Singer factory.
Have you checked his lunchbox?
@sesquipedalian lol..I wouldn't even go down there anymore unless it's for work.
@@robnewlee1787 I helped clean out the house, years after his passing. The lunch box was empty.
AND?! IDK...I THINK YOU DIDNT FINISH THE STATEMENT!
I have a Singer sewing machine, now i need to get a matching 1911.
Chuck - Well I have a Singer Sewing Machine that looks just like a 1911 ..... Go figure... lol
lol same 1930s singer
Brooklyn brassiere and gaurderr company, made magazine pouches and such, during the war. They are certainly rare and obscure.
Believe it, or not... In 1985 I was a Private in the 82nd Airborne Division (3/325 AIR). I was issued a Singer 1911. It was in the most horrible of shape. If you shook the gun, the slide rattled. I shot it on the range once and about every other round would stovepipe. Pretty scary being a 19 year old kid issued a 46 year old piece of scrap metal. I was pretty happy when about a year or so later we got the new Beretta 92 simply because it was brand new. Years later I finally learned the story of the Singer 1911 and how rare the truly were. If that gun could have talked?
Great story. thanks for sharing !!
No you didn't
@@niccosaur7778 funny how you know, or think you know
jrs80920 👍🏼
I believe that.
I never saw a Singer (I was a Gunner's Mate 1987-1991), but we had plenty of Remington Rands (somewhat rough finish), at least one U.S. Switch & Signal (worst finished of the lot), some Colts (nicely finished), and some Ithacas (equal to or better finished than the Colts), but I'm sorry to say that by that time, all of them were pretty well shot out, with lots of feeding failures, stovepipes, and other issues.
I suspect that the Gunner's Mates who were there over the years had mixed and matched parts from one gun to another while cleaning them, introducing all sorts of problems that might have been avoided if each gun had been cleaned individually and reassembled after with its fully original parts.
Whatever the case, those old WWII-era 1911s were taken out of service a few years after my service ended and replaced by the Beretta M9, I believe right before the turn of the century.
"International Harvester" switched from farming implements to weapons. Kind of the opposite of the biblical quote "Beat your swards into plowshares" I also love the fact that an IBM 30 Cal. carbine is still technically an "International Business Machine"
bossiest company name ever: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES -.-
If you're talking about International Harvester M1 Garand's they weren't made until the Korean War.
I don't know that IH made any weapons during WW2, I don't think I've ever heard of any.
There's a joke from Serbia in the late 90's:
People were scraping to make a living even before NATO bombing. It got even worse once major infrastructure and factories were hit. People raided whatever ruins were left behind in search for parts and equipment they could use or sell. A now out of work employee of a destroyed sewing machine factory is complaining to his neighbor that he's unable to find enough parts to assemble a sewing machine. He says: "No matter how many components I collect and assemble it always turns out as a machine gun!"
Now seriously, sewing machine factories are some of the easiest to adapt to firearm production. I don't find anything surprising in the fact that Singer made handguns.
It was so shameful and wrong that the Bill Clinton and the U.S. stuck its nose into the Serbia conflict in the first place. Just ask the people who were getting their property confiscated by the Muslims. The Clintons are nothing but upscale trailer trash.
Speaking as an engineer I totally agree with your analysis!
@@duradim1 ''''confiscated by the Muslims'''' :) WTF ? I think you have still your ass pain after too many years . It's good for your ass :)
If I remember well it was related to vacuum cleaners factory. Never the less, point stays...
I used to race motorbikes 90-91. Had a problem with modification of dox box shifter. Went to some guys in an arms factory, some 70+ wizards of guns...oh boy...I got not the bloody gearbox working, it was shifting in nanoseconds, tight, quick, survived three or four engines. Best regards to all from Cologne.
Absolutely right...In Romania the city of Cugir is well known for their sewing machines but also for most of the military equipment....Clearly it's about precision machining.
H.J Heinz (yes the ketchup) of Pittsburgh, Pa made gliders, shell canisters, pontoons, and aircraft seats.
Coca Cola made soda for the nazis and called it fanta...
I own a monarch lathe that was used at the singer factory during the war to make these guns. Interesting to finally see an example of the guns it produced.
In Australia in the late 80's the army adopted the Steyr AUG as the F88, these rifles have a lot of plastic components made by Tupperware.
Pete Veen - A guy I grew up with, we were real close when we were young, started working on the floor at Ford factory in Geelong. He worked there pretty much up to the day it closed up. Well over 20 years.
I caught up with him at my dear ol' man's funeral. We sat talking - and drinking my Dad's single malt - until we heard the birds start tweeting. A Good memory.
Anyway, He told me that that over the years, and especially towards the end when they were winding down, some weird secretive shit was happening at an off site Ford factory in Geelong. He said that it definitely was not vehicle related, but the signage all indicated that it was. He only went there once to deliver some parts for broken lathe and it was... just weird. These guys just happened to be hanging around the front gate and way too keen to 'help him out by lifting the parts out of his ute and into there own, they'd 'take care of the paperwork' etc. According to him these 4 guys didn't fit the usual Ford employee type and them just happening to be hanging out at the front gate and pretending to be normal helpful guys doing him a favour so he didn't need to actually go into the facility was just not kosher. You know, it's usually "whatever fella, go see Doris..."
For some reason he was convinced that it involved American Military and (he thinks) Pine Gap.
Look- I got this info 2nd hand from a goodly pissed mate I hadn't seen in years, so take it for what it's worth...
But - I can't think of any reason why he would make that shit up. He wasn't bragging. Neither of us are veterans, so it's not a topic that we would normally be talking about, and he is *way* anti gun (his father did murder/suicide some time after they became estranged...) so who knows??
Thanks for the story an history lesson about the Singer 1911's Sir. Also thanks to your friend, for showing them.
Appreciate you watching. Lots more to come
When I was in the ARMY in the early 1980's as a 11C, the barrels for the 4.2 inch mortar was made by Whirlpool. They were made in 1955 and were in great shape! I was the driver of the M106 mortar carrier and assistant gunner. Fun times in Baumholder West Germany!
I have a Remington Rand 1911 45 acp handed down from my dad , don't actually know when he got it but it was probably in the 50's maybe earlier , I'm going to hand it down to my boys , I'm 67 my #1 son is 47 and my baby is 44
Gotta give it to your baby boy...
No military 1911s were made post war...every 1911 in the inventory of my unit in Germany (Nov '71 - Jul '74) were WWII manufacture (or earlier - dunno - I had no serious interest in collecting, or I'd'a made it a point to check each one - looking for that elusive Singer, USS or 1911 - NOT A1)
The war department sought out numerous companies that had high precision milling equipment for the purpose of decentralized production, or backup production of many firearms. If the main Colt production plant were to get sabotaged, others were already up to speed on how to swing into production and keep the numbers moving. Others that made similar short production runs include National Cash Register and Pitney Bowes.
When I saw the word "singer" in the title I was stunned and held my breath a second while it sank in. It bugged me that you were handling those guns bare handed because there's only so much life in the finish of those guns. Well, thanks for the very unique video!
A very interesting video.
My Great Great Grandfather was an agent, machinist and authorised repair technician for Singer in the UK.
Beautiful piece of American history. Thank You for sharing.
Thank you very fascinating. When I was in the USN we used to be issued 1911 pistols for our topside watch at the submarine base in New London Connecticut. And I remember having a Singer branded pistol on numerous occasions.I also recall Smith Corona .45s.in hindsight we should have appreciated them but at the time we thought they were junk. They were pretty old and rattly!
Love your Videos, I learn alot and they are kinda fun to watch.. Thanks.
I am a retired Colonel in the Brazilian AF. When I was a Lieutenant in Santa Cruz AFB, some 30 miles south of Rio, I remember there was a 1911 Singer in the inventory of the Armament Section of the Base. We did not care very much about it during our regular training because it was not as precise as the others available. It just an example of the immense industrial mobilization capacity of the US. Only in recent times did I learn
through Legacy, of its value.
Some years ago, the Brazilian Armed Forces changed its standard handgun caliber to 9mm and all the 1911 pistols were converted to 9, probably the Singer one too.
Singer definitely is the most unthinkable company to produce such magnificent 1911s. Thank you. Zaffar Baloch
My Older Brother had one around 69 or 70.First 1911 45ACP I had ever seen or seen fired.I was only 13 or 14yrs old.To bad he let it go.Thanks for the video.
Very informative,
thanks.
I had one of these in 1976 .Bought for about $100. Sold for 250. Thought I did pretty good. I kick myself every time I am reminded of it. Beautiful Parkerized finish.
I always liked the story of GM's Guide Lamp Division making the FP-45 Liberator handguns.
Ladco77 and m3a1
Thanks for the help I didn't need. I used to have a very small chance of finding a U.S. Navy issued Singer 1911. because of this video EVERYONE knows they are desirable and now I have NO CHANCE of finding one. Thanks again ( and don't expect ANYTHING for Christmas! )
Burkhold St. Rudderberg I feel this way every time I'm working on acquiring something and Ian does a video
All Singers went to the US Army Air Force. None went to the Navy.
GarandNewbie
Interesting. I wonder if at some point one of those pistols was sent back for rebuild? If it did, then the Army who is the item manager for small arms would have placed it in storage. It would have been shipped out to any service that ordered one. To tie a particular pistol to the Navy you’d need a copy of the shipping document (DD1348) which would reflect the serial number, activity that it was shipped from, and activity it was shipped to.
I used to work in engineering in that plant. They had some of the most interesting machines in storage from the war years. One that I remember was a sewing machine for stitching the parachute straps that looked like they were for air dropping jeeps or, possibly, tanks!
I don’t know much about military equipment but as a collector of old sewing machines, especially Singers, I can totally see the connection. Singer sewing machines made prior to 1960 are the best of the best. They were built to last a lifetime and built with such precision and quality that they have lasted more than one lifetime! They have a stitch quality that far surpasses any sewing machine made today. They are also far more quiet than today’s machines. I have restored several old Singer sewing machines and I am always in awe of each one. I rarely get to know the history of a sewing machine I get but I always think…If only you could talk. What would you tell me? A lot of unknown history I imagine. I enjoyed your video. Thanks.
"Lunch pale guns" Sort of like Johnny Cash's Caddy.
Glad to know I wasn't the only one to remember "One Piece at a Time."
Haha, me too!
Pail?
This here is the Cottonmouth in the Psychobilly Cadillac 🤘
Loved the video. I've built a few 1911s. A former employer had a drug rep. Who had a union switch and signal pistol. He gave it to me to check out and clean and oil it. It was his dad's gun who was a career officer which started in the O.S.S. he served in
Ww2, Korea, Vietnam. Was a nice pistol . No I didn't shoot it ,but I wanted to. I had it for 3.5 months before he finally came and got it back.
Much thanks for the view and the history - have always wanted to see one in real time. 👍
Great videos thank you 🙏
Love the stories in your videos... keep'em coming! Eastman Kodak Company made the T-13 "Beano" handgrenade.
Love it !! I just learned something. Did not know that. Thanks
A great story and an A+ for the history lesson. On the other hand you'll need to repeat a class you failed... this summer. Gun safety 101!
Dude your the man AWSOME uploads 🇬🇧
Excellent and informative !
Rockola jukebox Company made M1’s and M1 carbines
That's a great example. I was thinking of that one as well. One of my first Carbines was a Rockola
Actually, I believe Rockola made Thompsons.
Rockola made M1 carbines but to my knowledge They did not make the M1 Garland.
Russell Parrish nobody made a garland
@@russellparrish5745 garland? Wut
Amazing information! Never ever thought that a sewing machine or typewriter company could make pistols.
Love from Pakistan!!!
Thanks for the videos. Lots of great information and history. I always seem to learn something on each video.
Beautiful & awesome presentation and informative
AC spark Plug made M2 .50 cal. ;also Westinghouse. (I've seen those in french military possession in 80s) Westinghouse also made Moisin Nagants (have one). Either Brother or Olivetti made BARs. Guide Lamp made "grease guns", also Liberators(I think?).
Didn't know about Westinghouse, but YES Guide Lamp made the Liberators.
Nice Video Tom, you're gonna give the History Channel a run for it's money! Very Knowledgeable, and good stuff!
Wonderful vid, thanks for sharing
I was stationed at Marine Barracks NAD Hawthorne, Nevada from September 1975 until roughly September 1977 when it was turned into an Army Ammunition Plant. The Admin building had an armory in the basement where the bulk of the M-14s (yes we used M-14s for stationary guard posts--and qualified with them!) as well as a number of M-16A1s, M1911A1s, Remington 870 police model shotguns, and even a bunch of Colt Woodsman .22 semi-autos we could check out for recreational use. But the weapons we used on post starting in the late afternoon and through evening were stored in a large fortified closet in the Guard Shack. I worked as an assistant to the Sgt of the Guard for a while, manning the radio to the roving sentries and had access to this closet. One evening I ventured inside and found a container which looked like a small wooden footlocker which held a number of unused M1911A1s. I don't remember asking the SOG what they were for but I imagine they were there as back ups in the event one was broken out on post; or perhaps to issue to a reaction force if one was needed somewhere in the vast guard area. I was 17 when I was first staioned at NAD Hawthorne but I loved hand guns and by the the time I joined my dad had given me a Ruger Super Bearcat .22 and a Colt Pocket Automatic in .32 cal. When I got out of Boot Camp he surprised me with a new 1970s era 1911A1 because I raved about them having shot them for the first time on Parris Island. All this to say, I had more than a mild interest in hand guns because I want you all to take the claim I'm about to make seriously. In that box of unused M1911A1s was at least one produced by Singer as well as a number made by Remington and Ithica. There must have been Colts in that box too, but I don't recall them. We used Colts on post and so they wouldn't stand out in my mind. But I distinctly remember those off brand hand guns because I couldn't wait to tell my dad about them the next time I called home. My SOG could care less when I excitedly told him nor did any of my buddies care, but I was kinda blown away! I got out of the Corps in late 1977 and went to college putting my hand gun loving days behind me and didn't give this amazing find a thought for decades until the dawn of the internet. I've since learned about various manufacturers making M1911A1s for the war effort. But I've remained puzzled about the Singers for two reasons: first, if only 500 of these were made, how did one of them end up at NAD Hawthorne, Nevada? It seems to me like that contract was only a test and that the guns would have never entered into the field, so to speak. The other thing is, unless the pistol in question said "Singer" on it, how would I know it was manufactured by Singer Sewing Machine? Yet I distinctly remember telling my dad I had a .45 made by Singer in my hand. Were there others marked "Singer" instead of "S. Manufacturing"? Thanks for the Vid!
No, they were all marked "S. MFG", it seems like there's almost 500 comments on this video alone of people who swear that they had a Singer .45 when they were in the military, there's no way that's possible, seeing as how most of them went through WW2, Korea, and Vietnam and because of things like combat losses, theft, and officer buy outs there couldn't possibly have been anywhere near the original 500 of them left by the time we were in (I was in the military shortly after you were).
Most likely it's a result of people wanting to think they had one when they were in because they're such a big deal in this day and age, a lot of it can probably be attributed to people remembering seeing "US&S" (Union Switch and Signal) on one and thinking nowadays it was a Singer, memories can play tricks on a person years later.
@@dukecraig2402 , Yeah, what i wouldn't give to be able to go back to 1975 with an i-phone so I could snap some shots of those pistols! Thanks for sharing!
You need to do a video on the few colt commercial/military 1911a1s. Colt took roughly 6600 already built commercial models and transferred them to the military they took out the SWARTZ safety and took the commercial serial numbers off and put military ones on
Union switch and Signal, Rockola. That's all the oddball companys I can think of at the moment. In Vietnam I had a Remington Rand 1911A1. I sold it before leaving country. I fell stupid got doing it. Cause the only 1911 I've had during my life was a handgun made by a New York company I want to say Numrich Arms or Thompson, It's been a while. I can remember what went on in Vietnam in 67/68 more clear than what happened a year ago.
I got divorced about 20 years ago and have had to sell most of the firearms I had in my collection. I don't mind being divorced but it really bothers me about having to sell those guns
I became disabled and my wife gave me a ration of shit about using pain meds. Well I still use meds to control pain even 20 yrs later. My spine and most of the bones and joints started to disintegrate. Now at 75 my doc says either I'll be paralyzed or die, he says I should chose one, hahahaha, asshole. Which I want to come first. Some doc HUH? I
I had a M14/M1 A or as it said on the heel M14-SA, in an E-2 stock and bipod(sold) An M17 Bullpup, and I liked that rifle, accurate as hell.
It was an Auto-Ordnance .45 that I had and sold, damn. This was a add-on, remembered it after closing the video.
You had a government issue 1911 and you sold it? You know that is illegal, right?
@@brownro214 Wasn't issued to me, picked it up in the field. Didn't know who it was issued to. Nobody in my unit had lost one. One guy said it probably was issued to someone who got wasted or maybe medivaced. Either way medivaced. Either to hospital ship or graves registration. Oh well that was 67.
Thanks for this video. There use to be a singer 1911 hanging on our bankers office wall when I was a kid. His father was a big gun collector. particularly of military firearms. He had many old cavalry guns and odd special stuff. The family still owns the singer, but sold many of the collection.
The sound was enough to get me off. Siiiiilkkkkyyyy smooth!!
Man I want American manufacturing back and that tolerance job just inspired me to do better
born and raised in elizabeth nj my grand parents met in the singer plant friggin huge plant
When serving in Vietnam 1966-67, I slept with a loaded model 1911 under my pillow every night.
One night, outside of my GP Medium tent which I shared with 4 physicians, I heard some shouting.
I immediately turned off my overhead bed lamp while reading the book, “ Bogey “ and reached for my 45 which was always ready with a round in the chamber and clicked off the safety. Tearing into my tent opening was an inebriated EM with a loaded M16 threatening to shoot everyone inside while looking for the soldier who cleaned his clock earlier that evening at the EM club. One shot from my 45 saved our lives. The Alert siren sounded and the MP ‘s descended upon the EM and praised me for my swift action.
Dr. Robert A. Vitori
Author of “The Pleasure Unit”
COL / US Army / RET
@@robertvitori3441 where do you buy your book?
Love all that info. I knew that they made 1911's but have never seen one.
Thanks David. Appreciate your comment. When I watch myself I think I talk too much, But the no one likes to watch themselves on video :)
@@thomaswhiteman4261 I think that you do a wonderful job.
i've seen a couple all were fakes
I grew up in Minnesota in the 60s and a good friend mine’s dad was a WWII veteran. His MOS in the Navy was in ordinance. His dad had one of these pistols stamped with the Singer Co. along with an M1 garande, an M1 carbine, and a Thompson submachine gun. They all came from the ordinance from the ship he was assigned to. They all worked by the way!
Ordnance (Ordinance is a local law)
Your video was awesome. I love the information giving.
I owned one in 1963. I bought it from a coworker for $25. It was pitted but otherwise serviceable. I sold it when I moved to California. Old story..never sell a gun of any description..you will regret someday.
It's true. I've held on most of my guns but there are many good deals I passed on. Have sold some old motorcycles i should have kept.
Glad I sold a compact 45! Don't want it back either
Sure
Yea, no schit, due to divorce I've had to sell many a thing. marriage do get ya in the end.
I bought one off a Mexican for $20.00 back in 1969,still have it.Never realized it would be worth so much...
Oh... and as a follow-up... In 1994 I was working in Northern Iraq as a part of Operation Provide Comfort. At the time, there were only about 15 of us US soldiers in all of Northern Iraq coordinating for the coalition. Our Turkish "allies" would not allow us to bring weapons into country through Turkey for fear we would arm the Kurdish insurgents. So, we procured all of our weapons on the local Kurdish weapons market in the nearby town of Zakho, Iraq. Mostly we had AK's, but a few odd weapons would occasionally be bought up. The weapon that I got, and loved was the Colt Commando XM177! Loved that gun because I knew it had most likely somehow made it way from a SOG Recon team, or Special Forces team that had lost it in Southeast Asia. Kick myself in the behind for not copying down the serial number...
Kurdish Territory sound like a great place to start a gun collection.
@@thomaswhiteman4261, we actually had about a 100 man Kurdish guard force for our mission which was known as the "Zakho House." They were completely outfitted with AK's, PKM's, Doshka's, and a couple of mortar tubes. You could buy anything on the Kurdish weapon market. One day, one of our Kurds had came in complaining of a headache after a day off. I asked what he did to get a headache. His response was he got a headache by trying to use grenades for fishing!
Great history lesson, thank you for sharing your time
Such a nice piece of history !!! 🙏🙌
Heckler and Koch made sewing machine parts. I've used (and abused) HKs for years and they work every time.
I grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey and had a relative that was in management with Singer before and after the Second World War. He told me about the 1911 and how many of the parts as you said went out in lunch pails and had no serial number and put together by the worker in their home. Also, a few non-serial numbered guns were produced in the factory and upper management people told them home already assembled. I’m thinking there were probably more then a few that went out the door that way. Good gun history lesson. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Back in the 1930's, Singer made high quality products. I found a 1938 Singer industrial sewing machine, model # 111W113. It's 16 years older than me, and still runs perfectly. I also have the motor that runs it with a clutch that works opposite of how the clutch works in a manual transmission car. It makes the machine run faster than I can handle, so I rigged it to run off bicycle pedals. It has lost much of the paint, but I can't even imagine how many things were made with it for WWII.
Great showing, I own a Colt A1 1942 made !
national forge in irvine pa made complete 75mm howitzers and tested them on sight. 2 ammo bunkers still exist. also periscope tubes and 12 and 16 inch naval barrels they forged the maobs used in iraq and afganistan during operation iraqui storm they couldnt keep up with bomb casings
I carried a Singer M1911 to Grenada in October of 1983. I remember that it was an extremely accurate pistol and that everyone who shot it wanted to carry it.
Graham Kilpatrick no you didn't
great video thank you
My Dad was a military surplus dealer, he sold every part of a US military firearm at gun shows. He didn't sale any thing that had paper work. He had 2 of these, one was bran new in cosmoline and wax paper, I even want to say it was in a cardboard box too, not sure, and one that had 80% of it's blueing still. When he passed away we looked for them because he told us these were worth a ton. Never did fined them, but when he passed away he had over 6000 hand guns and rifles. all collector pieces. Do a clip on a German Luger .45 acp.
I will do the video if you can find me those Singers !! :) Thanks for your comment
I have owned two Singers, a Singer Vogue car in the past and I recently inherited an antique Singer sewing machine, I don't think I could retire on those lol, didn't realise these 1911's were worth so much.
The Harley Davidson factory in York Pennsylvania manufactured field artillery during WWII.
Wow I had never known of Singer guns ...Amazing insight as always👌
During WW2 my Dad was a
machinist for Bendix making machine gun parts.
I retired from the Longview
Fiber Co. where worked for
40 years retiring as a machinist. The older guys
there said the machine shop was going 24/7 making parts for the war
effort, plus the company
also made boxes for
C-rations.
One of the rare occasions our government was thinking ahead.
Good point !
moron
That same forward thinking is going on today. In the Information Age we live in today we can read about it. The sad thing is, if you put all the pieces together, we are preparing for a fight with a couple of Near Peer nations. And that won’t be pretty. You’re talking about high intensity, short duration fights with massive casualties. The nations we’ll face can lose 5 million people and not flinch, or care.
There’s a strong argument the US Army/Government was pretty far behind the 8-ball by the end of the 1930’s. So, maybe not so much.
To bad they didn’t ask Singer to make some ventilators.
I’ve got a Remington Rand ...no rattles and shoots great my favorite 1911
I've got a Remington Rand as well .... though I think my Remington is a lunch pail 1911 .... a mix of a little bit of everything ... but no rattles and shoots great as well.
I love the Rock-ola M-1 carbine. Great video as always.
Lunchpail gun. Reminds me of a song...Built it one piece at a time and it didn't cost me a dime...
Howie Felterbush , Gone but not forgotten , he's probably looking down trying to figure out how to get his hands on one of those Singers so he can put it in the glove box of his Caddy.
When he racked that old 1911 wow no sound amazing .
What about the ROCKOLA company, a juke box manufacturer that made M1 Carbines?
Very interesting. I can see why these would be such well-made guns.
Really enjoy your videos Tom
I have a Colt 1911 made in 1917. It is one of the 'English Order' pistols made for Russia. The frame has the Cyrillic writing stamped on the left side. Do you have any idea as to the possible value of this rare 1911?
Jeffrey Collier if you’re 1911 is complete with all original parts and finish, and in good condition, it is worth north of $8000.
www.rockislandauction.com/detail/55/1554/colt-1911-pistol-45-acp
When I was in the Army in 1980, one of the other platoon leaders in our company in 3/32 Armor had a Singer .45 issued to him as his side arm. We noticed it one day when we were cleaning our weapons, We knew it was worth a lot of money even back then! Mine was an Ithica and the other platoon leader had a Colt. He tried to buy it when he left, but they would not sell it to him. Pure torture for him, I;m sure!
Makes you wonder what happened to it. Maybe destroyed or some unknowing guy got it at a auction.
Only general/flag officers upon their retirement are allowed to purchase their issued sidearm. There may be some Singers in CMP warehouse. You can order a government model 1911 from them if you meet the qualifications, but you can't get a specific manufacturer.
Thank-you sir! I got to hold one and that was enough. I prefer Kimbers anyhow.
My best to you, sir!
@@williamrooth William, thanks for your service. We were in at the same time.
And thank-you for yours, Sir! Best to you, Robert Brown!
Awesome video. Never knew all this.
When I was hired as a police officer in Hermosillo Beach Ca. in 1981 our carry weapons were 1911 .45 acp
My issued was a very weary Remington receiver with an Ithaca slide and made more rattle noise than marbles in a tin can. Story was department received surplus weapons from US military(Korea) I think every officer passed and we all went out and bought our own.
Watching these videos, I wish I could go through that whole armory now, never know where a treasure lies.
Believe at one point they had even owned some Thompson’s But rumored was they managed to disappear
Typo Hermosa
GM, Hydramatic Div. Saw M16 A1, marked, Hydramatic. Last seen in Navy, at the Acadany in Rode Island. 2012.
Great stuff ! Thanks Rusty
I was shocked when I first saw the caption saying “The Holy Grail” Singer M1911A1, because when I was in the 82nd Airborne my company had a 1911 that was made by the Singer Sewing Machine Company probably during WWII. Most of the bluing was gone and it rattled when you shook it.
Awesome history.
what a wonderful video, thank you
I have my father's WWII Remington Rand 1911A1.
Singer also had furniture factories up into late 80s or early 90s.
@plain guy yes the one in my town closed back then too. I was a central warehouse.
I was issued a Singer 1911 in Viet Nam. I called it "my sewing machine"! I carried it for a year - I wish I had known how valuable it was!
You learn something new everyday.
Thank you for the history lesson, in less than eleven minutes at that. A GI full size 1911 45 auto is the best looking handgun ever. It's a gun, not a Barbie doll, you don't need to accessorize it.
500 SINGERS ever made and 498 of them are in the comments .
And here this dipshit was thinking that they would be hard to find LoL people are so wierd never understood why people feel the need to to lie in these things
I really can't stand liars
@@QuantumPyrite_88.9 it's not that it's just strange there's only 500 in the world and how many people in the comments either owned had a chance to or their brother had one come on 500 In the world
No, the number of soldiers who may have carried a Singer 1911 is much higher than the number of pistols. These pistols were in circulation in the military from the mid 1940s to the late 1980s when we switched to the M9. I may have had one in my arms room at Ft Benning in 1980. That same pistol could have been issued to many soldiers during the years it was in use. Even a single different "owner" every year for 500 pistols is potentially 20,000 personnel who could have carried a Singer. If one was a duty pistol at the MP unit, different personnel may have carried the same weapon on any given day. It's not like you have to zero a 1911 like you do an M16.
@@GUNTHER-lx6vu The number people is in the tens of thousands.
In 1986 I was a unit armor in a Armor battalion, we had a singer amongst other manufacturers. When people tell me they have a 1911 and it’s a fill in the blank gun, we typically cleaned our weapons in a rather unconventional fashion, the 1911’s we broke them down, and either steam cleaned them in the motor pool, or we would soak them in Break Free and set them in a hot shower. Now here is the improvement part, we only cared about the rack number on the grips, and that you got your receiver that matched your weapons card. The rest of the parts we just reassembled our platoons weapons out of. This was typical of the 5 different armor battalions I served in. Being. Tankers these were our issues side arms. When you explain this to someone who is not a veteran or did not serve in a combat arms unit they look at you like “oh no that would not happen” anyhow great videos
forrest johnson no you didn't
Obscure, maybe. I bought a Remington 760 pump rifle second hand a while back. The rifle had a scope 1.5x fixed power made by Kollmorgen and had Stith mounts.
It had a single dot reticle and the bullet i fired went right to that dot!
Great rifle and scope. I sold it to Cabelas when I gave up deer hunting. Their gun guy never heard of the scope. I later found out that it was the same company that manufactured Norden Bomb sights!
Old Town Canoe in Old Town Maine made bombs I worked there some 20 yrs ago and they still had the carts they wheeled the bombs around on.
In Navy basic, I carried an A3-03 made by Smith Corona.
Mine was a Remington.
I had one... Had the same exact bakelite grips. I shot it a few times and was surprised how well it shot and i carried it for awhile in a tanker harness under my biker vest. It would shoot hardball all day longer but would not feed hollow points at all.
Great Video. Singer Sewing Machine Co was a very high precision machine company and had decades of experience in manufacturing . Great hardware came out of their work. Loved to see these 1911 pistols. They may not be practical for field conditions as their precision parts could jam in mud and grit. Still, who wouldn't love to own one?