M1911 (pistol)

For decades the .45 caliber M1911 pistol, originally made by Colt Industries, was the standard sidearm of the U.S. military. While it was replaced, for reasons of NATO standardization, by the 9mm Beretta M9, variants of the M1911 remain in use by special operations units.

The pistol has a seven-round magazine with an ejectable clip; one round can be chambered to give an eight-round capacity. In addition to the safety lever common to automatic pistols, it also has a "grip safety" that prevents firing unless pressure is applied to the grip handle as would be normal when held in a shooting position. The grip safety prevents a discharge if the weapon were dropped and something hit the trigger while the lever safety was not set.

Prior to the adoption of a .45 caliber weapon, the U.S. Army standard had been .38 caliber, but this proved to have inadequate stopping power.