What You Didn't Know About Colt
Colt’s Manufacturing Company (CMC) represents one of the most famous American guns manufacturers, respected and well known worldwide. The Colt’s Company was founded by gun maker Samuel Colt in 1855. The famous inventor is also responsible for an invention of the firearm capable of firing without reloading, which represents one of the greatest achievement and success that altered the course of the weapons history forever.
Colt was dominated in the industry with a seminal influence on a manufacturing technology. Colt’s earliest revolver designs helped in a popularization of the revolvers among the users. Although S. Colt did not invent revolver’s concept, his designs resulted in the first very successful revolver model. This new design of a revolver would allow users to safely fire only one cartridge at the time, without accidentally igniting all the cylinders.
In 1845, Texas Rangers and the US dragon forces used Colt’s revolvers during the winning fight against the Indians in Texas. As a result of cooperation between Colt and US Army Captain Walker, a new and more powerful revolver was developed.
In 1847, the US Ordnance Dept. ordered later on thousand of this new revolver. At that time, Colt Company did not own any factory at that time and weapons were manufactured at Eli Whitney Jr. factory in a Connecticut.
Sam Colt established the fist Colt’s factory in England in 1851, not in the U.S to supply weapons for European market. Few years later, he managed to expand also to American continent and factory was founded in Hartford, in Connecticut. In the late 1850’s, factory in Connecticut was manufacturing 150 guns a day, with a great success and the reputation of accuracy and of the finest design and workmanship of the models such as the 1849 Pocket and 1851 Navy. Samuel Colt died suddenly during the Civil war and his wife took over the whole business. Sam Colt produced over 400,000 weapons and building a property worth an incredible 15 million dollars, an unbelievable sum for that time.
Since 1870, Colt started to produce revolvers that used self-contained metallic charges and couple of years later; the Colt Single Action Army Revolver was introduced. This revolver represented an immediate success and revolver became to be known as “the gun, which won the West” and used by famous Buffalo Bill Cody, General George Patton, Bat Masterson or Teddy Roosevelt.
Production expanded continuously and by the end of the 19th century, the Model 1877 and the Model 1878 were introduced, together with double action revolvers the New navy and New Army. These models were firstly using a swing out cylinders.
In 1891, Colt came into a contact with John Browning, when long and profitable relationship started. They collaboration resulted in bringing new designs of famous BAR automatic rifle, the automatics Model 1908 and the Model 1908 and most famously the Colt M1911. The Colt M1911 because of its reliability and effective stopping power, became the standard sidearm in the WWI, and its gun variant the Model 1911A1 that was used by the US Government in World War II. Colt sold more than 2.5 millions of 1911 & 1911A1 pistols only to the US Government within the military contracts.
Production of the weapons was a big success and expanded especially between World War I, World War II, Korean War, and other major conflicts when Colt supplied guns for the wars. Colt was the main producer of the firearms, machine guns, rifles, and anti-aircraft guns for the US Department of Defense.
After the Second World War, Colt started to have difficulties to keep in a business and they tried to survive by means of product differentiation and switched partially to the production of an industrial washing machine, and machinery synthetic materials. In the Post-war time, Colt introduced a lightweight semiautomatic the Colt Commander, the Cobra revolver, the Colt Commemoratives and the finest revolver model ever, the Colt Python.
In 1960, Colt introduced AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, followed by the automatic M16 rifle. A government contract for M4 Army rifles saved the Colt Company financially and success continued with other contracts. Up to date, the AR-15 platform belongs to be the most popular rifle in the United States.
In the late 1990s, Colt established a subsidiary of the Ultra-light arms that specializes in sports guns and introduced Cowboy revolver, Pocket Nine pistol, followed by the Pocket Nine, the Colt Tac Nine pistol, the Colt National Match pistol and later on by Colt Survivor. After a reorganization of the CMC at the end of 2000 and whole production of the line of weapons were dramatically reduced, with several firearms disappeared from the offer completely.
In 2002, the Colt’s Manufacturing Company was divided and the Colt Defense business part was separated from the CMC. The Colt Defense specialize into the military, law enforcement and private security markets worldwide.
Sam Colt had a very progressive way of doing business and he realized that marketing and sale of the weapons is as important as the production and he established a network of agencies within the U.S, selling firearms locally. An invention and marketing success meant that Colt became also an important and prominent “player” in the developments of the United States. A bit aggressive marketing campaigns were just as important, as the quality of the products. One of the famous old advertising slogans was for example “God created man, but Sam Colt made them equal”. Colt was was for example selling guns during the Civil war , to the both sides of the conflict, breaking up ethics.
The most famous Colt’s weapons ever include the Colt Walker, the Colt Python, the Single Action Army and the Colt M1911 semi-automatic that is the longest-standing service sidearm used by military and law enforcement professionals in the world up to this days.
The Colt’s history has had its ups and downs. Within the years on the market, Colt Company managed to restore the independence and regained its strength and reputation that made the Colt's name up to date.
