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World War II Model 1911A1 pistols, like this Ithaca-made specimen, were standardized with parkerized finish, plastic grips and flat hammers. (This pistol, bought through the DCM, was the author’s first 45 automatic.) Ithaca, now located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, is once again making 1911s.

WORLD WAR II

World War II began officially on September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. The success of the German blitzkrieg surprised even the Nazis. The Germans needed additional arms to supply their occupation troops, and began a program of producing and utilizing the suitable firearms of captured countries

Norway had been neutral during WWI, and reaffirmed neutrality during WWII. However, Nazi Germany viewed Norway as a base of operations against the Allied blockade, and as a possible staging area for an attack on Great Britain. German forces attacked Norway on April 9, 1940, and the country fell within two months. When production of the 1914 Norwegian Colt resumed, it was under German, not Norwegian, control. Apparently issued only in Norway to occupation troops or subservient Norwegian troops, about 10,000 additional Norwegian 45s were produced before the German surrender in May of 1945.