RM Vivas
PO Box 900 •
Philmont
• New York • 12565
www.vivasandson.com
Email: robert@vivasandson.com
The Small Arms Of The New York City Police Department
Colt Commando Revolver
(This page updated 25UN22)
Return to Index Page
Return to NYPD
Small Arms
Index Page
This
rather utilitarian looking Colt Commando revolver #32793 was a direct
shipment
from Commando to the New York City Police Department.
The history and development of the Colt Commando is fairly well known and may be briefly described thuslyly: The US government, at the outset of WW2, needed revolvers from Colt. Colt provided its excellent Official Police model, but the government felt the price was too high. After receiving their initial order, the government asked Colt to come up with a less expensive alternative. The solution was to produce an Official Police revolver that economized on finish work, thus bringing the price in line with government expectations. The government only received, perhaps, 5,000 of the military destined Official Police revolvers (martially marked Official police revolvers are a scarce item) before taking delivery of approximately 52,000 Commando revolvers.
While the guns were made for the US government with an eye towards military use, most but by no means all, saw use in non-military hands. Through a government agency known as the Defense Supplies Corp., the Commando (and other resources that were hard to get in wartime) was provided to essential users; police, factory guards, prisons, etc.
When WW2 started, the NYCPD was affected by the governments blanket freeze on all non-military small arms sales. Many new officers were unable to secure a revolver for their work. The DSC was designed to alleviate this situation.
In this particular model we note that while it is mechanically identical to the Official Police (parts interchange), the finish is a phosphate type rather than the more expensive blue. Also, we can see that polishing was kept to a minimum and machine and tool marks are visible under the finish. Barrel markings were identical to the Official Police, except for the model name. The classic checkered wood grips were replace with plastic one's that were called Coltwood.
On
the top left corner of the frame is a faint Ordnance logo as well as
the
military inspectors stamp. There are no US PROPERTY stampings.
On
the butt of the gun we find the number 8862 hand stamped. This is the
shield
number of the purchasing officer, Probationary Patrolman Ceceil
Preumbas(?).
Regulations of that era required an officer's shield number be stamped
on all
his gear. This also illustrates the often overlooked fact that NYCPD
handguns
are not issued or department property; they are the private property of
the
officer who bought them. That is why they do not bear any NYCPD
property
markings and instead sport the shield number of the individual owning
officer.
A
perusal of NYCPD Commando records is quite educational. First thing
that is
noticed is that the purchased guns, with only one or two exceptions,
span the
entire serial number range EXCEPT for the 17,000-29,999 block. Within
this
block we find only two NYCPD guns.
The records also show several instances of consecutively numbered guns, including a rather rare string of 6 consecutively numbered guns.
The utilitarian appearance of the Commando is largely responsible for its unusual survival rate among NYCPD models. Most documented NYCPD Commando revolvers are in pretty good to excellent shape. I suspect, and the records seem to support this, that as soon as the more attractive commercial finish guns were available after the war, the Commando revolver was put away and replaced with a prettier post-war gun. Some support for this theory may be found in the gun ledgers; early in the war the Commando was sold to new officers. The remaining inventory of pre-war Official Police revolvers was held back and not sold to the rookies. These pre-war guns were only sold to veteran officers who needed to replace their revolver! As soon as the war ended and commercial finish guns were once more available, Commando sales ceased. No Commando was sold by the NYCPD after November 1945.
Because of their relatively small number when compared to the Official Police or S&W Military & Police model, as well as it's very short production life, Commando serial number records are surprisingly intact and allow for a glimpse at how the department handled it's unique needs during a difficult time.
Surviving Commando records show sales of approximately 1,031 guns, although I suspect that actual number is very, very close to 1,100. This is a rather high number in light of the low production of this model, with NYCPD sales accounting for slightly over %2 of the total production!
The history and development of the Colt Commando is fairly well known and may be briefly described thuslyly: The US government, at the outset of WW2, needed revolvers from Colt. Colt provided its excellent Official Police model, but the government felt the price was too high. After receiving their initial order, the government asked Colt to come up with a less expensive alternative. The solution was to produce an Official Police revolver that economized on finish work, thus bringing the price in line with government expectations. The government only received, perhaps, 5,000 of the military destined Official Police revolvers (martially marked Official police revolvers are a scarce item) before taking delivery of approximately 52,000 Commando revolvers.
While the guns were made for the US government with an eye towards military use, most but by no means all, saw use in non-military hands. Through a government agency known as the Defense Supplies Corp., the Commando (and other resources that were hard to get in wartime) was provided to essential users; police, factory guards, prisons, etc.
When WW2 started, the NYCPD was affected by the governments blanket freeze on all non-military small arms sales. Many new officers were unable to secure a revolver for their work. The DSC was designed to alleviate this situation.
In this particular model we note that while it is mechanically identical to the Official Police (parts interchange), the finish is a phosphate type rather than the more expensive blue. Also, we can see that polishing was kept to a minimum and machine and tool marks are visible under the finish. Barrel markings were identical to the Official Police, except for the model name. The classic checkered wood grips were replace with plastic one's that were called Coltwood.
On
the butt of the gun we find the number 8862 hand stamped. This is the
shield
number of the purchasing officer, Probationary Patrolman Ceceil
Preumbas(?).
Regulations of that era required an officer's shield number be stamped
on all
his gear. This also illustrates the often overlooked fact that NYCPD
handguns
are not issued or department property; they are the private property of
the
officer who bought them. That is why they do not bear any NYCPD
property
markings and instead sport the shield number of the individual owning
officer.The records also show several instances of consecutively numbered guns, including a rather rare string of 6 consecutively numbered guns.
The utilitarian appearance of the Commando is largely responsible for its unusual survival rate among NYCPD models. Most documented NYCPD Commando revolvers are in pretty good to excellent shape. I suspect, and the records seem to support this, that as soon as the more attractive commercial finish guns were available after the war, the Commando revolver was put away and replaced with a prettier post-war gun. Some support for this theory may be found in the gun ledgers; early in the war the Commando was sold to new officers. The remaining inventory of pre-war Official Police revolvers was held back and not sold to the rookies. These pre-war guns were only sold to veteran officers who needed to replace their revolver! As soon as the war ended and commercial finish guns were once more available, Commando sales ceased. No Commando was sold by the NYCPD after November 1945.
Because of their relatively small number when compared to the Official Police or S&W Military & Police model, as well as it's very short production life, Commando serial number records are surprisingly intact and allow for a glimpse at how the department handled it's unique needs during a difficult time.
Surviving Commando records show sales of approximately 1,031 guns, although I suspect that actual number is very, very close to 1,100. This is a rather high number in light of the low production of this model, with NYCPD sales accounting for slightly over %2 of the total production!
Return
to Index Page
Return to NYPD
Small Arms
Index Page
Email: robert@vivasandson.com