Remington Model 51

The John D. Pedersen designed Remington Model 51 was the commercial adaptation of the earlier .45 ACP Model 53 (or Model 1917) developed for military service. Offered first to the US Army who were willing to test the new pistol but continued to place orders for M1911s. Remington decided not to provide a pistol for tests. However, in April 1918 the US Navy requested a pistol to test as they had struggled to get enough M1911′s to adequately equip both the Navy and Marine Corps as the Army had priority. 

Remington provided a Model 53 for a battery of tests carried out in June 1918. Following a 5,000 round endurance test, sand test and a evaluation against the M1911 and a Grant-Hammond Pistol the Navy testing board found that the Model 53 was “…a simple, rugged and entirely dependable weapon, which should be suitable in every respect for a service pistol.” However, the high unit cost quoted for the pistol by Remington undermined its adoption by the Navy.  With the war in Europe about to end the Navy decided to abandon the project.

With peace approaching and large-scale military contracts about to dry up Remington saw Pedersen’s pistol as a possible commercial success. They developed smaller versions in the popular .32 ACP and .380 ACP calibres and in August 1920 Pedersen was granted a very detailed patent (originally filed in 1915) protecting all elements of his design. Pedersen and another Remington designer Crawford C. Loomis filled further patents in 1919 and 1920.

Remington introduced the Model 51 onto the civilian market in .380 ACP in late 1918 with full production beginning in 1919. Unlike the Model 53, tested by the Navy, the Model 51 had a concealed hammer and thumb and grip safeties but did not have the Model 53′s slide lock. Production of the .32 ACP model began in 1921 and production continued until 1927, with some pistols assembled from parts into the early 1930s. Remington made approximately 65,000 Model 51s before production ended.        

Pedersen’s pistols had a unique action, developed to sidestep John Browning’s patents to avoid infringement. He achieved this by devising a system which had a separate slide and breechblock. Once the pistol was fired the slide and breechblock recoiled together for a short distance of approximately 5mm before the breechblock locked against a lug in the pistol’s frame. The slide continued to the rear with the breechblock travelling on a cam track up, out of the locked position. The slide and breechblock then continued together the full length of travel. The result is what is sometimes described as a hesitation lock. Remington sales brochures claimed that the pistol’s “breech remains positively locked until bullet has left the muzzle - not a blowback action.”

The Pedersen is an ergonomic pistol with a comfortably angled grip and low bore-axis. It points naturally and despite its heavy trigger it is an accurate pistol. The Model 51 has three safeties, a grip safety, manual safety and a magazine disconnect. The manual safety is located just behind the left-side grip panel and appears to have been an afterthought as Pedersen’s patent does not include it. Unlike many contemporary pocket automatics it has a thumb-operated magazine release rather than the heel release used by the Colt Pocket Hammerless and FN Model 1910. The .32 ACP Model 51 could hold 8-rounds in its single stack magazine while the .380 ACP version could hold 7-rounds.         

In an effort to increase their sales Remington priced the Model 51 at $15.75, cheaper than Colt’s $20.50 Pocket Model. Despite this Colt retained market dominance in the US and the price cut combined with the Model 51′s expensive manufacturing costs meant that the pistol was an unprofitable product for Remington despite its advanced design. In 2014 Remington launched the R51, chambered in 9x19mm using Pedersen’s hesitation lock, however the pistol suffered a number of problems and Remington recalled the first generation of R51s. A second, apparently improved, generation became available in 2016.

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High Standard T3

The programme to develop a new US Military sidearm began in 1947 at the request of the US Army Air Force. In 1948 Colt and High Standard were contracted to develop a new lightweight 9x19mm sidearm to replace the Colt M1911A1. 

Initially the pistols were not to exceed 7-inches (17.7cm) in overall length and be no heavier than 25 ounces (0.7kg) unloaded. The military requested that the pistols use a blowback action and have a folding trigger guard to allow use with thick gloves. An initial request for the pistols to incorporate a ‘squeeze charger’ system were quickly dropped.

The US Army approached several companies to submit bids to develop the new pistol. High Standard, Colt and Harrington & Richardson all submitted bids, while Ithaca declined to bid and Harrington & Richardson’s bid was turned down. The military accepted Colt and High Standard’s bids and contracted them to begin development of the new pistols. The Ordnance Corps designated High Standard’s submission the T3 and Colt’s the T4. 

Several batches of the T3 were made each with incremental improvements. The position of the safety and magazine releases were altered with each iteration of the T3. The prototype and first batch of pistols had heel magazine releases while the second batch placed the magazine release on the frame. The first prototype High Standard pistol (see image #1) did not yet have the pivoting trigger guard which would become standard in the later experimental models. The second batch of pistols had a thicker trigger guard than the first set and a repositioned enlarged safety (see images #5 & #6).

In June 1948, High Standard submitted the first batch of three T3 test pistols. The T3 had a frame made from 75ST aluminium and a steel frame. It used a straight blowback action but had annular grooves cut into its chamber which caused the cartridge case to expand, in theory slowing the rearward travel of the slide and the opening of the breach. This was believed to mitigate some of the gun’s sharp recoil impulse. Otto-Helmuth von Lossnitzer, technical director of Mauser Werke, designed this system. Interestingly, at least one, presumably blowback, prototype had a slide-mounted muzzle break, possibly in an attempt to prevent the breech opening too early in the cycle. This feature seems to have been subsequently abandoned.  

To fulfil the military’s specification for firing while wearing gloves George Wilson designed a pivoting trigger guard which neatly folded into a recess in the frame. In addition to allowing the user to operate the pistol while wearing thick gloves High Standard’s design also incorporated a spring-loaded plunger. This plunger was pushed into place against the trigger when the user pivoted the trigger guard into the open position and latched to the pistol’s frame. The plunger impinged against the trigger making the trigger pull heavier. in theory this would compensate for the operators lack of sensitivity caused by their gloves.

The first batch of T3s used a double action trigger and had a single stack magazine holding 7-rounds - on par with the M1911A1. Testing of this first batch of pistols took place at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1949. Several failures occurred and testing identified a number of problems. One pistol's hammer broke due to inadequate heat treatment which left it brittle. A number of failures to feed also occurred with cartridges upending in the breech. High Standard rectified with the addition of a guide shelf at the top of the chamber to guide the cartridge into the chamber.  

In April 1950, High Standard were paid $20,000 (approximately $200,000 today) for a second batch of three improved pistols. These were to meet the Ordnance Corps' revised specification which allowed the weapons to weight up to 29 ounces and requested a 13-round minimum magazine capacity. The second batch of T3s abandoned the annular chamber grooves and had a redesigned frame to take the larger magazines. The Springfield Armory tested the new batch of pistols in March 1951, the 75ST aluminium frames suffered a series of failures at stress points - probably due to the enlarging of the frame. The Ordnance Corps recommended that High Standard make the frames from heat treated 14ST aluminium, reinforce and weak points in the frame. High Standard designed the second batch's controls to be more similar to the M1911 and the trigger was redesigned for a better double action pull. Interestingly, High Standard independently developed the annularly grooved chamber and submitted a spare barrel and recommended the Ordnance Corps test it.

In April 1951, a preliminary report noted the second batch of refurbished T3s were unsatisfactory, suffering 19 failures in 150 rounds. The hammer of one pistol broke and the Ordnance Corps recorded further failures to feed. The army returned the pistols to High Standard. High Standard refurbished the pistols and a second test at Springfield was held in September. Testing officers recorded seven failures with further misfeeds and discovered stress fractures in all three of the pistols.

The army ordered a third batch of pistols with the design reverting back to a single stack magazine holding 8 or 9 rounds.This was a reversion to the first batch of T3s which had fared better in testing. Despite this, during testing in November 1952, the pistols suffered numerous failures and an excessive number of malfunctions. During an endurance test the magazine release broke 35-rounds into the test and the slide stop malfunctioned. The second pistol’s hammer cracked and suffered extraction problems. The pistols were again returned to High Standard to fix these issues. A final trial took place in March 1953, however, the pistols were again found to be unsatisfactory and the Ordnance Board officially cancelled the T3 programme.

In his book, Random Shots, Ray Rayle recalls that in the summer of 1955, the US Army prepared a solicitation pamphlet to release to manufacturers on the 4th July. The pamphlet was to announce the Army’s plan to adopt a new 9x19mm handgun with the successful design winning an award of $150,000. While initial testing had taken place and the designs from Colt and High Standard had shown initial promise, the Army wanted to examine pistols from manufacturers around the world. Rayle explains that the launch of the pamphlet and the official pistol trials program were cancelled when the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics refused the $150,000 of funding on the grounds that sidearms were seldom used and that existing stores of M1911A1s were more than adequate.   

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Experimental Lightweight Inglis Hi-Power

In 1947 engineers at John Inglis and Company began work on developing a lightweight Browning Hi-Power. The first pistol had a lightened slide and a steel frame. However, by 1948 Inglis were experimenting with aluminium alloy frames.

Inglis assembled six prototype pistols, chambered in 9x19mm, with steel slides scalloped with lightening cuts on the top and sides and alloy frames. Mechanically the experimental pistols were identical to the standard Hi-Power using a short-recoil action and feeding from a 13-round double stack magazine. Unloaded the experimental pistols weighed 25.5 ounces, a reduction of 8.5 ounces or 25% of the standard Hi-Power’s weight. Externally the alloy frame had a black enamel finish while the slide was parkerised.  

Two of the pistols remained in Canada for testing, Britain received two and two were sent to the US for testing and evaluation. Canadian testing of what was officially designated the ‘Pistol, Browning FN 9mm, HP No. 2 MK.1/1 Canadian Lightweight Pattern’ took place in June - July 1948. Their report concluded that “the performance of the Lightweight Pistols during the trial was of the same order as that of the Standard and is acceptable for service use." In December 1948, Testing Section staff at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield evaluated the performance of the Inglis prototypes sent to Britain in what became known as ‘The Lightened Browning Trials.’ 

The British found that there was "little to choose between the light and standard pistols" but that the Enfield No. 2 revolver chambered in .38/200, used as a control, had superior accuracy and better performance in sand and mud tests. Both the lightened Hi-powers, and the standard Hi-Power also used as a control, failed during the mud and sand tests. Later testing with the Small Arms School Corps at Hythe, in 1949, found that the pistols showed no excessive wear despite their aluminium frames and that their lighter weight made them easier to hold at arm's length. An endurance test was recommended but this appears not to have taken place.

The Army Ordnance Corps tested the two pistols sent to the US and found that the light aluminium alloy frames proved too weak to withstand extended firing. Inglis made an unknown number of additional lightweight pistols, some estimates suggest twenty-one others up to fifty, some may have been assembled from spare parts. These were based on cast frames made of four different alloys, three aluminium and one magnesium. Canadian testing continued into 1951 with some success but frame failures also occurred during endurance testing and the project stalled. Today the two British pistols are in the Royal Armouries’ collection while one American pistol is held at the Springfield Armory. A number of others are held in private collections.

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1950s US Army Pistol Testing

Throughout the early 1950s the US Military was actively investigating the replacement of the .45 ACP M1911A1 pistol with a new sidearm chambered in 9x19mm. 

The initial push for a new weapon was led by the US Air Force in 1947. Pistols were to be smaller and lighter, not exceeding 7-inches (17.7cm) in overall length and no heavier than 25 ounces (0.7kg) unloaded. Interestingly they were to use a blowback action and have a magazine capacity of no less than 9-rounds and use a double action. The Army realised that the pistol was seldom used and that a lighter pistol with a larger magazine capacity would be easier to train with and carry in the field than the heavier single action M1911A1. With NATO moving towards 9x19mm as its standard pistol calibre the US began to seriously consider moving to the smaller calibre. Throughout the early 1950s the Ordnance Corps tested a number of pistols from various manufacturers.

Colt and High Standard were subsequently contracted to develop pistols conforming to these specifications. High Standard submitted a pistol for testing first, the Ordnance Corps designated it the T3 (see image #2). The double action T3 was just over 7 inches long and had an aluminium alloy frame. Early versions had grooved chambers which caused spent cases to expand and temporarily slow the rearward travel of the slide. Later prototypes would abandon this and use a standard blowback action. Early iterations of the T3 had a single stack magazine holding 7-rounds - on par with the M1911A1. Later prototypes would have 13-round double stack magazines.

Colt also submitted a pistol, designated the T4 (see image #1 - example missing its folding trigger guard). Like the T3, the T4, had a double action trigger met the 7-inch overall length requirement and had an aluminium alloy frame. By 1950 the Ordnance Corps had relaxed the specifications increasing the weight restriction to 29 ounces and length to 7.5 inches. The minimum magazine capacity was also increased to 13-rounds. The T4 had a 13-round magazine like the Hi-Power. Both the High Standard and Colt pistols appear to have followed a specification request for folding trigger guard to aid firing while wearing thick gloves. A system which George Wilson of High Standard filed a patent for in July 1949. Colt developed a similar hinged trigger guard system. 

In the late 1940s the Canadian manufacturer Inglis developed a lightweight, experimental Hi-Power with alloy frames and a scalloped slide (see image #4). In total Inglis made just six prototype Hi-Powers, two remained in Canada for testing, Britain received two and two were sent to the US for testing and evaluation. The light aluminium frames proved too weak to withstand extended firing and US Ordnance rejected them.  

Some of the other pistols examined included early prototypes of the Colt Commander (see image #5) which Colt originally had developed in the late 1940s as a lightweight officer’s sidearm. Single action examples in both .45 ACP and 9x19mm were tested. The 9x19mm Commander had a 9-round single stack magazine. In 1952 the Ordnance Corps relaxed their specifications further and examined a pistol from Smith & Wesson, the X100 (see image #3), which later became the Model 39. The double action X100 series had a 7-round single stack magazine and a more raked grip angle than later commercial examples. The Colt Commander and Smith & Wesson X series pistols also tested were not designed to the same specification as the ‘T’ pistols. 

In his book, Random Shots, Ray Rayle recalls that in the summer of 1955 the US Army prepared a solicitation pamphlet to release to manufacturers on the 4th July. The pamphlet was to announce the Army’s plan to adopt a new 9x19mm handgun with the successful design winning an award of $150,000. While initial testing had taken place and several designs had proven reliable the Army wanted to examine pistols from manufacturers around the world. Rayle explains that the launch of the pamphlet and the official pistol trials program were cancelled when the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics refused the $150,000 of funding on the grounds that sidearms were seldom used and that existing stores of M1911A1s was more than adequate.  

The US Army’s interest in a new 9x19mm sidearm continued into the early 1970s. Believing a contract was forthcoming Colt began developing the Model 1971. However, serious attempts to adopt a 9x19mm pistols would not begin again until the Joint Service Small Arms Program (XM9) trials began in 1977, resulting in the adoption of the Beretta 92F as the M9 in 1985.  

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Pistols in the Springfield Armory’s Collection:

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