Colt M1902 - Development

Development

In the late 19th century the militaries of many countries, including the United States, were evaluating or in the process of adopting a state of the art semi-automatic service pistol to replace the revolvers in use at the time which were perceived to be outdated. American gun designer John M. Browning wished to join contemporaries such as Hugo Borchardt and Georg Luger in designing a marketable semi-automatic pistol. Browning partnered with the Colt’s Manufacturing Company which was hoping to capitalize on the interest in service pistol modernization by procuring large and profitable government military contracts. Their first collaboration produced the Model 1900; it interested the U.S. military enough to lead to the purchase of a few hundred Model 1900 pistols for testing, evaluation and limited field trial issue, however, the limitations of the design prevented its service-wide adoption. The Model of 1902 was basically the same pistol with some improvements meant to address these deficiencies.

The Mauser C96, 1900 Luger, and Colt 1902's had some occasion to be compared to each other in the field. The Mauser tended to be considered the most developed (or mature) in terms of mechanism, featuring a reliable action protected from the elements, manual safety, and a hold open indicating the last shot had been fired and easily convertible to carbine form, however the pistol had reached its developmental peak. The Luger, like the Colt, in 1902-1907, was not yet refined, although it was not only beautifully made, but it was ergonomically classic. The Colt was ergonomically the opposite, having poor balance and a crude grip, it also lacked safety mechanisms (the abandoned and unpopular sight safety was exchanged for no safety at all), and was considered more open to the elements. The Colt 1902 sporting model, used in 1904 Swedish tests (lost out to the FN Browning 1903 9MM), was also found to be not quite sufficiently reliable but the Swedes also mentioned the ergonomic drawbacks. The value of the Colt, however, was that its .38 ACP cartridge was considered superior to both German pistol's cartridges and a step in the right direction (the Swedes mentioned this virtue). The Colt 1902 had room to develop, while the Mauser was already mature and not subject to improvement. The Luger on the other hand would be developed at about the same pace as the Colt 1902, the competition peaking in 1907 when .45 ACP Colt 1905's and 45 ACP Lugers faced off, although in the end both pistols showed insufficient promise in the heavier caliber, and as the United States was committed to the .45 ACP, the basic 1902 design stayed terminally rooted to the .38 ACP and the Luger had a tad more stretch and would find the greatness with the 9mm parabellum cartridge that would never come to the Colt 1900/1902/1905 series. However the Colt pistols helped sell the semi-automatic pistol concept in the United States and would contribute to the development of the Colt 1911.