The Colt Single action Army in combat

[David LaPell]

When was the latest that anyone may have recalled reading our hearing about the Colt Single Action Army in combat? The latest I have heard was of course George Patton in 1916 when chasing Julio Cardenas, Pancho Villa's second in command. Patton carried his .45 Colt in WWII but he never did use in then in any combat. I was just wondering if anyone used it anyone later on.

[Bullshop]

I remember reading a news paper headline from when I was about ten years old 1965 about a NY state trooper using his Colt SAA 45 to stop a bad guy. The trooper shot out a tire on the get away car. I well remember the front page pic of this way big burly trooper holding up this skinny little fella by the scruff of the neck with his toes barely touching the ground. The incident took place in Walden NY about 50 miles from where I grew up in Otisville.

[Piedmont]

I read a WWII book on the Pacific theater (can't remember which book, but nonfiction) and an officer was carrying a SAA .45 Colt. I don't know if he shot anyone with it. He was shooting coconuts out of trees with it at one point, which was how it got mentioned.

[Bret4207]

I remember reading a news paper headline from when I was about ten years old 1965 about a NY state trooper using his Colt SAA 45 to stop a bad guy. The trooper shot out a tire on the get away car. I well remember the front page pic of this way big burly trooper holding up this skinny little fella by the scruff of the neck with his toes barely touching the ground. The incident took place in Walden NY about 50 miles from where I grew up in Otisville.

Dan, the NYSP stopped using the 45 Colt New Service, not the SAA, in 1953 IIRC. In 65 he would have had a 38 or 357 with my recollection leaning towards a M-28 357. The picture you recall is a famous one, I'll try and find an online version.

I recall stories of people using SAA in Vietnam. Probably from magazines of the day. I know somewhere in my collection of Marine Corps history there are pictures of captured weapons from the VN era and SAAs are included.

[GabbyM]

The Mexican Revolution (Revolución mexicana)
Saw wide use of the Colt SAA . This mess ran up into the 1920’s.
From what I’ve read and talking to a few Mexicans about what they’ve been taught about
Revolución mexicana there would be no comparison as far as volume of use and most certainly vast numbers of people executed with the SAA. There was a movie made that showed an execution with half dozen or so men tied together. One shot was used to penetrate the entire stack of men. In the movie it looked like a bad joke. In fact that was very common. No good records exist of casualties in those hostilities. Estimates run between one and two million. Colts SAA was right in the mix from start to finish. The number of revolvers may not have been as great but the amount of use they received down in Mexico was surely far exceeding anything our own US Army ever logged.

Woodrow Wilson ordered the blockade of the port of Veracruz in 1914 resulting in the battle of Veracruz and six month occupation of the city. This action was to prevent German arms shipments from entering Mexico. However this was after the Colt 1911 acp was issued to US troops so I’m thinking our men would have been armed with the 1911. Making the last use of the Colt SAA by the US military that of being on the receiving end.
Can only assume Wilson’s attempt at cutting off German arms to Mexico failed as the revolution continued on for many years after.

After that my guess would be the Pilipino Army in 1941 may have had a few SAA’s.
If not the Army some of the armed groups during occupation would have used them.
Which would have been how a few SAA ended up in Indochina. Courtesy of Japanese occupational forces. If there was an official issue of Colt SAA during WWII it would have been to the US Territorial Army of the Philippines . As my best guess. If SAA was not issued then I think you’d have to go back to the Spanish American war when they were pulled out of retirement. The revolvers issue to troops in the 1890’s in the Philippines would probably be the last time the regular US Army used the SAA revolver in action. Not counting an officers personal side arm.

[Thumbcocker]

I have read that General Wainright had a personal SAA that was hidden in a tree when Corrigador (sp) surrendered and was later retrieved by friends of his. I have also read that Colt chambered a few SAA's for .45 acp and maybe (not sure on this one) .30 carbine for officers in WWII. I'm not knowledgable enough on Colt lore to know if this is true, just stuff I have read.

[cajun shooter]

It was shown in the movie Patton that he was being bothered by a German fighter that was buzzing the area. He stood out in the road and let the rounds fly at the ME 109. As was posted there are many stories by Jordan, Skeeter and others of the SAA being used along the border in the 50's and later.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Patton carried a Colt SAA with ivory grips and his initials engraved on them. Whether or not he may have actually fired the pistol at an enemy is speculation. My brother was a fill in driver for Patton during the break out in the hedge row country in France. He did witness the "traffic cop" scene of Patton directing tank traffic at a cross road. Robert

[rintinglen]

Jeff Cooper once wrote that he briefly carried an SAAduring WWII before he came to believe that that gun had seen better days. When Jan Libourel ran Petersen's HANDGUNS I seem to recall him publishing an account of an army Officer using one in the Phillipines at a fairly late date, 1913 or there abouts, to ventilate a Moro running Amok. I know that I read that Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Owens used his to stop a bank robbery in the 1920's.

[pmeisel]

cajun shooter, scenes in the movie shows Patton carrying his SAA in a holster, but in the shooting at the planes scene he was using a 1911 -- which was odd because in all my reading, I haven't seen any reference to his carrying one.

[Dan Cash]

cajun shooter, scenes in the movie shows Patton carrying his SAA in a holster, but in the shooting at the planes scene he was using a 1911 -- which was odd because in all my reading, I haven't seen any reference to his carrying one.

If memory serves, in this scene, he was using a .380 (M1908?) which was a General Officer issue pistol in the day.

Dan

[felix]

At one time he had a pair of custom Smith's in 45 colt with pearl handles. I remember reading that. ... felix

[Hardcast416taylor]

At one time he had a pair of custom Smith's in 45 colt with pearl handles. I remember reading that. ... felix

Felix. Don`t you remember what Patton refered to pearl handled revolvers as belonging to a certain type of person?Robert

[felix]

No, but I would not doubt it in the least via the movie presentation of the slapping operation and the cussing out the dog he renamed to Willie from William because the dog was afraid of another dog. ... felix

[beagle]

Cajun...that was one of those dinky Browning .32 Autos that they issued to general officers back in the old days. For a while, they issued cut down and dolled up M1911A1s to them and now, they're given a special allowance and can buy their own./beagle


It was shown in the movie Patton that he was being bothered by a German fighter that was buzzing the area. He stood out in the road and let the rounds fly at the ME 109. As was posted there are many stories by Jordan, Skeeter and others of the SAA being used along the border in the 50's and later.

[beagle]

While not the Colt SAA, I did see several Ruger .44 Mag SBHs being carried in Viet Nam in the late 60s./beagle

[mroliver77]

In Paco Kelleys book he states that while off duty he was carrying a SAA with 5 rounds and stumbled onto a bank robbery. He quietly slipped in one more round and went to work. IIRC he ventilated one bad guy, blew the carburetor off their getaway car and apprehended another BG. Asked about feeling undergunned with the Colt he stated that the whole affair took three rounds and he never felt undergunned with the SAA. His book has some very funny cop stories.
Jay

[35remington]

In actuality Patton carried both a Colt SAA and a N frame Smith 357 magnum.....often at the same time. He had to pull a few strings to get the Smith 357 as few were made prior to the war, comparatively. Pictures exist with him exhibiting these two pistols plainly.

He had absolutely no use for pearl handled pistols, claiming only a New Orleans pimp would carry such a gaudy contraption. His were ivory.

[DanWalker]

Saw Pattons sixguns in the Museum at knox many times. They have ivory stocks.

[NickSS]

In the movie Patton in the airplane shooting scene Scott is shooting either a 32 or 380 colt pocket pistol. I believe that general officiers generally carried a 32 cal version of that pistol. I had one at one time and they are a nice reliable shooting instrument and were very popular in their day. As for SSA in combat I am sure that some were in use through the 50s by some rural police forces and county sheriffs whether they were used in combat or not I do not know. I do know that during the Philippine Inserection when the 38 long colt proved to be a poor stopper many SSAs were taken out of storage and sent to the Philippines and they stayed in use there thoughout the fighting and probably latter as well.

[Potsy]

I saw a deal on the History Channel a while back where Patton's SAA and his .357 Smith were at the museum at Ft. Knox.
The museum curator was telling about his pistols and while displaying the SAA, he pointed out 2 notches on the stock. Supposedly for 2 mexicans Patton was supposed to have capped with that pistol.
Can't remember the specific show.

[Char-Gar]

Colt SA were long out of use by my time in Texas with a couple of exceptions.

1. In 1963 I saw a Texas Game Warden eating lunch in White's Cafe in Alpine, Texas with a Colt SA in 45 Colt in his holster.

2. In 1969 I was at the Cameron County Court House in Brownsville Texas talking to a local cop and noticed he was carrying a Colt SA. He whipped it out and handed it to me. I opened the gate and found all six cylinders loaded. I told him it could discharge if he dropped it and that was news to him. The Chief of Police jumped him out about it and the next time I saw him he was wearing a different pistol and a sheepish look.