MEU(SOC) pistol

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Pistol, Caliber .45, MEU(SOC)(1005-01-370-7353)

MEU(SOC) pistol with SureFire weapon light, Gemtech lanyard, and Strider Gunner Grips
Type Pistol
Place of origin Flag of the United States United States
Service history
Used by United States
Wars Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan
Production history
Designed 1985
Specifications
Weight 2.437 lb (1,105 g) empty, w/ magazine (FM 23–35, 1940)
Length 8.25 in (210 mm)[1]
Barrel length 5.03 in (127 mm)
Cartridge .45 ACP
Action Recoil-operated, closed bolt
Rate of fire Semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity 830 ft/s[1] (244 m/s)
Effective range 50 meters [1]
Feed system 7 rounds (standard-capacity magazine), +1 in chamber

The MEU(SOC) pistol, officially designated Pistol, Caliber .45, MEU(SOC), is an air-cooled, magazine-fed, recoil-operated, single-action, semiautomatic handgun chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It is based on the original M1911 design by John Browning, and has been the standard-issue side arm for the Force Recon Element of the United States Marine Corps' Marine Expeditionary Units from 1985 to today. Its National Stock Number is 1005-01-370-7353.[1]

Contents

[edit] Specifications

The original pistols were hand-selected standard government issued Colt M1911A1's that were gutted, deburred, and prepared for additional use by the USMC Precision Weapon Section (PWS) in Quantico, VA.[2] They were then assembled with after-market grip safeties, a rounded hammer, ambidextrous thumb safeties, lighter triggers made by Videcki, improved high-visibility sights, accurized match-grade barrels made by Bar-Sto, Pachmayr rubber grips, front cocking-serrations, and improved stainless steel magazines made by Wilson Combat.[1][3][2][4]

The trigger-pull weight is specified at between 4.5 and 5.0 pounds of pressure.[1]

The pistol's components are hand fitted and are not interchangeable.[1] The last four digits of the weapon's serial number are stamped on the top of the barrel, on the right-side of slide assembly, inside of the beavertail grip safety, on each side of the ambidextrous thumb safety, and on the inside face of the mainspring housing group.[1]

[edit] History

In the late 1980s, USMC Colonel Robert Young laid out a series of specifications and improvements to make Browning's design ready for 21st century combat, many of which have been included in MEU(SOC) pistol designs. [5][2]

A security element team leader of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, fires the MEU(SOC) pistol
A security element team leader of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, fires the MEU(SOC) pistol

In 2002, an article in American Handgunner Magazine stated that "Marine armorers from the Precision Weapons Section, MCBQ" are making 789 MEU (SOC) 1911's. The revised parts list included barrels, bushings, link pins, sear springs, ejectors, firing pin stops, mainspring housings and mainsprings, all from Nowlin Manufacturing.[6] Slides were ordered from Springfield Armory, with front sight pins, beavertail safeties and recoil spring guides came from Ed Brown. Novak was contracted for rear sights, Wilson Combat provided extractors and mag release buttons, while King's Gun Works supplied ambidextrous thumb safeties.[6]
A Marine operator may shoot as many as 80,000 rounds from this pistol during a training-cycle and subsequent deployment.[7] However, it is more common for a Marine to return the pistol to the PWS at Quantico for a rebuild after 10,000 rounds have been fired.[8] A rebuild entails discarding almost all of the gun's parts except for the frame, which prior to 2003 was a U.S. Government frame last manufactured in 1945.[7] The frame is inspected and reused again if it is still within military specifications.[7][8] There are frames in the USMC inventory that have had as many as 500,000 rounds fired through them.[7]

The Officer In Command of the Precision Weapons Shop in 2001, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ken Davis, stated that the M1911 is "the only pistol that can stand up to this use".[7]

However, as the U.S. Marine Corps began its process of hand selecting members from its Force Recon to be submitted to USSOCOM as Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Detachment One (MCSOCOM Det-1), the selection of a .45 ACP M1911A1-based pistol meant roughly 150 units would be needed, quicker than the PWS could produce as they were already backlogged with producing DMRs, USMC SAM-Rs, and updating M40A1s to M40A3s, so DET-1 began the search for COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) surrogates to use.[3]

[edit] ICQB Pistol

Marine using a MEU(SOC) .45 in Iraq
Marine using a MEU(SOC) .45 in Iraq

Discovering that the Los Angeles Police Department was well pleased with their special Kimber-made M1911 pistols, a single source request was issued to Kimber Manufacturing for a similarly built pistol, despite the imminent release of their TLE/RLII models.[3] Kimber shortly began producing a limited number of what would be later termed the Interim Close Quarters Battle pistol (ICQB). Maintaining the simple recoil assembly, 5-inch barrel (though using a stainless steel match grade barrel), and internal extractor, the ICQB is not much different from Browning's original design.[8]

The final units as issued to MCSOCOM Det-1 are the Kimber ICQBs with SureFire Integrated Military Pistol Light (IMPL), Dawson Precision rail, Gemtech TRL Tactical Retention Lanyards based upon the jury-rigged telephone cord versions, modified Safariland 6004 holsters, Simonich G-10 Gunner Grips manufactured by Simonich Knives and Strider Knives replaced the original Pachmayr rubber grips, and Wilson Combat's '47D' 8-round magazines.[3][7] Tritium Novak LoMount sights replaced the originals which were made in-house by the Marines.[3][7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h (August 31, 1994) TM 00526A-24&P/2 U.S. MARINE CORPS TECHNICAL MANUAL ORGANIZATIONAL AND INTERMEDIATE MAINTENANCE MANUAL INCLUDING REPAIR PARTS LIST PISTOL, CALIBER .45, MEU(SOC). Washington, DC: Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 122. 
  2. ^ a b c Clancy, Tom (1996). Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (in English). Berkeley, California: Berkeley Trade, 64,79-80. ISBN 978-0425154540. 
  3. ^ a b c d e Rogers, Patrick A.(2003)"Marines New SOCOM Pistol", SWAT Magazine, December 2003, 52-57
  4. ^ Oliva, Mark. "Some MEU's Still Carry Proven M1911 .45's", Stars and Stripes European and Pacific Edition, Stars and Stripes, 08/05/2002. Retrieved on 03/04/2007. (English) 
  5. ^ Johnston, Gary Paul.(2004)"One Good Pistol", Soldier of Fortune Magazine, December 2004, 62-67
  6. ^ a b Hopkins, Cameron (03/01/2002), “Semper FI 1911 - Industry Insider”, American Handgunner (no. March-April, 2002), <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_200411/ai_82533214> 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rogers, Patrick A (05/01/2001), “Strong Men Armed: The Marine Corps 1st Force Reconnaissance Company Part III Section 2”, The Accurate Rifle 4 (4): 47, doi:03/04/2007, <http://www.forcerecon.com/strongmenarmed3.htm> 
  8. ^ a b c Brown, R.E. (07/01/2004), “MEU 1911 .45: the Legend Lives in the Hands of Today's Marines”, American Handgunner (no. July/August 2004), doi:03/04/2007, <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_170_28/ai_n6040330/pg_2> 

[edit] See also

United States Marine Corps Portal

[edit] External links