Ithaca Gun Co M1911A1 Shipping Records and Serial Numbers
The Search for Serial Numbers
Ithaca Gun Company manufactured approximately 335,000 M1911A1 pistols during World War II. More than 250,000 of those serial numbers can be located in surviving shipping manifests, documenting when and where individual pistols were shipped.
Black Army Research maintains an extensive offline database compiled from these surviving Ithaca M1911A1 shipping records.
Our records also include serial numbers from the January 11, 1944 shipment to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Many later sequential shipping manifests can be viewed directly on this page. Earlier pistols that were shipped out of serial-number sequence require a manual search of the surviving records.
Some original records are missing, incomplete, illegible, or survive only as degraded microfilm copies. Because of these archival limitations, shipment information cannot be confirmed for every Ithaca M1911A1 serial number.
We will attempt to locate your serial number at no charge. Please use the submission form below.
Early 1943 Du-Lite Finishes & Variants
The initial blocks of Ithaca wartime production feature distinct manufacturing variations highly sought after by historical researchers and collectors . Approximately the first 30,000 to 35,000 Ithaca-contracted Model 1911A1 pistols were completed using the Du-Lite finish process.
This specific method involved applying an iron-oxide bluing solution over a sandblasted steel surface, creating a signature non-reflective matte finish designed strictly for field durability.
Wartime Component Sharing: Colt, Remington Rand, Ithaca
Early manufacturing ledgers document extensive logistics sharing between ordnance contractors to meet aggressive wartime production deadlines. Because Ithaca faced severe delays while tooling up their plant in late 1942, the federal government arranged for the transfer of component parts. This initial production phase includes the integration of 6,200 World War I receiver frames sourced directly from Springfield Armory storage, alongside 7,000 additional frames, 2,200 slides, and various other small components supplied by Colt.
Ithaca M1911A1 Shipping Manifest
Archival analysis of surviving factory shipping records confirms that Ithaca did not pack and ship M1911A1 pistols in strict serial-number sequence until mid-1944. Prior to this period, production fall-out and quality-control practices resulted in pistols with widely separated serial numbers appearing together in the same shipping case. In some surviving records, serial numbers within a shipment vary by as many as 70,000 numbers.
In the example shown above, serial 1223920 was packed in case 1481 on November 30, 1943, alongside serial 1210022, and shipped to the Augusta Ordnance Depot on December 2, 1943. This is a swing of 13,898 serials in a case of just 50 units.