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Serial Number
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View
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View
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Description
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No. 859526
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Left
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Right
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Manufactured by Ithaca in 1943 with a
reclaimed W.W.I Colt receiver with the heart shaped cutouts under the grips.
6200 reclaimed W.W.I receivers were acquired by Ithaca
from Springfield
Armory to help with early production delays. Found from serial number 856405
to about serial number 870000 and can identified by the "H" (Frank Hosmer provisional inspection mark) at the 12
o’clock position to the disconnector hole on
the top of the receiver. About 50% of these receivers will have the heart
shaped cutouts under the grips and the other 50% will not. Ithaca produced receivers can be found
intermixed in this serial number range and are identified by their crude
appearance with rough tool marks and misshape trigger guards for example.
This pistol was arsenal re-worked at Augusta Arsenal. Note the small
"AA" on the left side of the receiver forward of the slide stop.
"FJA" inspector’s mark on right receiver for Colonel Frank J.
Atwood. All Ithaca
pistols inspected by "FJA". The "P" on the slide and
receiver are proof marks stamped with the same die after the pistol was proof
fired. The P's should be the same on the slide and receiver, and if they are
not, then the slide and receiver are mismatched.
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No. 864149
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Left
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Right
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Another
pistol with a reclaimed W.W.I receiver without the heart shaped cut outs
beneath the grips. Note the bluish colored Du-lite
finish which is a Type III black oxide bluing process done over a sandblasted
surface. This finish is found from serial number 856405 to about serial
number 900000. Also notice the rough tool marks on the slide which were
characteristic of early Ithaca
production. After the pistol was blued or parkerized,
the bullet ramp of the receiver was machined, not polished, which left it
bright unfinished with fine machining marks. This procedure was performed on Ithaca's total
production.
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No. 870978
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Left
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Right
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1943
production with Colt W.W.II receiver and a Du-lite
blued finish over a sand blasted surface. Ithaca
bought 7,000 new W.W.II receivers from Colt in late 1942 early 1943 to aid in
Ithaca's
production delays. These W.W.II Colt receivers can be differentiated from the
Ithaca receivers by the Ithaca receiver's crude appearance with
rough tool marks and misshaped trigger guards.
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No. 889910
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Left
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Right
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One
of the first Ithaca
pistols with a parkerized finish which was a Type
II or phosphate process. Note the misshaped trigger guard which is another
characteristic of early Ithaca
production. Also note the serrated slide stop and thumb lock safety, serrated
small parts can be found after about serial number 880000. Ithaca pistols can
be found with serrated slide stops, hammers, thumb lock safeties, and
mainspring housings.
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No. 906753
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Left
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Right
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To
aid in Ithaca’s production delays,
replacement slides identified by the "M1911A1 U.S. ARMY" stamped on the
right side of the slide were used in regular production. These can be found
from about serial number 904000 to about the 1208674 range. Both Colt, Remington Rand, and Union Switch and Signal
produced replacement slides with the "M1911A1 U.S. ARMY" on the right
side. These were made from 1938 to mid 1943. But Ithaca Gun Co. was the only
company to use them in regular production. These slides
found on pistols of another manufacturer besides Ithaca
Gun Co. signifies that the slide has
been replaced.
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No. 1238916*
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Left
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Right
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Early
1944 production shipped to the Property Ordnance Officer, Supply Division,
Office of Strategic Services, Fowler
Building, Rossyln,
VA on 1/11/44 in a shipment of
5000 pistols. No special markings noted on pistol to designate it OSS property. Note the
large lettering style of the serial number found in the low 1200000 serial
number range.
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No. 1270724
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Left
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Right
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Produced
1944 and shipped to the Officer in Charge, Naval Supply Depot, Oakland, California on March 27, 1944 in a shipment
of 5000 pistols. The Navy received 29,900 pistols from Ithaca Gun Co. during
WWII. This pistol was issued to Lt. Micheal S. Bales
who was a dentist in the USN and stationed on the island of Guam
from 1944-45.
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No. 1466955
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Left
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Right
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Produced
1944 and shipped to the Ordnance Property Officer, Army Air Base, Kearney,
Nebraska, in a shipment of 1850 pistols on June 3, 1944.
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No. 1860462
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Left
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Right
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1944
production with the Flaming Bomb final inspection mark found on Ithaca’s in the
barrel channel of the receiver and behind the firing pin stop plate on the
slide. This mark signified complete inspection of components by Ordnance
Department inspectors and was an added inspection before final inspection due
to Ithaca’s
high rate of rejected pistols. This mark is found from serial number 856405
to about 1279673 and found intermittently to the end of production.
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No. 2075739
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Left
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Right
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1944
production shipped to War Shipping Administration c/o British Ministry of War
Transport Pier 97, North River New
York, N.Y. on
October 21, 1944 in a shipment of 1250 pistols. Note the pre-1955 Birmingham Proof House
marks.
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No. 2659666
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Left
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Right
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Produced
late 1945 at the end of production just before Ithaca's contract with the government was
canceled on August 15, 1945. Last pistol produced by Ithaca was serial number 2660318. This
pistol was in the last shipment from Ithaca Gun Company to the government and
was shipped to the Transportation Officer, Raritan Ordnance Depot, Nixon, NJ
on September 7, 1945 in a shipment of 4004 pistols. Ithaca produced a total
of 335,466 pistols during W.W.II
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Shipping Box
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Side
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Top
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Pistols
were packed in this type of box with two spare wrapped magazines and were
then packed 50 to a crate for shipping to their destination. Note the
nomenclature in violet ink on the lid and the different configuration of this
box when compared to the Remington Rand box.
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Barrels
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HS
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SP
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F
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Colt
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Normally
found with High Standard "HS" marked barrels on the right lug.
Some "Colt" marked barrels on the left lug and Springfield Armory
"S P" marked barrels on the right lug found during early
production. Also, some Flannery " F"
marked barrels on the right lug found during late production.
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Grips
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Early Keyes
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Later Keyes
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Ithaca
used plastic grips made by Keyes Fibre Co. Both
styles have on the inside the strengthening ribs and the "K" inside
the 5 pointed star. Early style without reinforcing rings around screw holes
and later grips with reinforcing rings around screw holes. Date or serial
number not known when the transition was from early to later style grips.
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Magazines
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WWII Contractors
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Full
blued tube with spot welded base, and the top of the lip of the base marked:
" L " M.S. Little Mfg. Co. , "
R " Risdon Mfg. Co. , " S " Scovill
Mfg. Co.. Ithaca
pistols were issued only with these three types of magazines.
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