Ross pistols

The pistol pictured in this gallery is a M1911 .45 acp that was made in 1918 at the Ross factory by former Ross Rifle Company employees. The Ross factory was closed in 1917 and on March 28, 1917 was expropriated by the Canadian Government. This period of our history was of course a time of war and the U.S. Government was in need of pistols. Colt was not able to meet the demand and many companies received contracts to build pattern M1911 pistols. Remington-Rand, Union Switch and Signal, Singer Sewing and others were recipients of government contracts to manufacture pistols. Some of these companies produced large quantities of contract pistols and others very few. Among the very rarest of the contract M1911's are those that were manufactured in Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham in the Ross Rifle factory. On June 2, 1918 the North American Arms Co. was incorporated and their contract P-11092-1953-SA of July 1, 1918 was for 500,000 pistols. The former Ross plant was leased as a production facility and a small number of former Ross employees were hired. Frederick Porter, former chief draftsman for Ross was brought in and apparently in charge. Production of M1911 .45's at the former Ross factory was limited to a matter of months at the most. The contract with North American Arms was canceled by the U.S. Army on December 4, 1918. Production consisted of prototypes only and reportedly no M1911's were actually delivered to the U.S. Government. This is the only known specimen that is marked with the Ross Rifle Co. designation. It is considered the prototype of the North American Arms contract M1911. The Springfield eagle acceptance stamp suggests it was delivered and accepted. The other possibility was that this was the initial frame provided to serve as the basis for the initial prototype. This pistol is featured in, "Canadian Military Handguns 1855-1985" by Clive Law.