Although only two of the firms had previously manufactured firearms, it was envisioned that the combined total of pistols produced by all of the new manufacturers would be 2,550,000. However, before any of the firms could get into mass production, all contracts were cancelled after the Armistice was declared.

The only one of those companies known to have produced any complete M1911s was North American Arms Co. of Quebec, Canada, which turned out a small pre-production run of approximately 100 pistols. The North American Arms pistols were marked “Manufactured by/North American Arms Co. Limited/Quebec, Canada” on the left sides of the slides.

The North American Arms pistols were essentially identical to the Colt, Springfield Armory and Remington-UMC guns except for the markings. It is not known if any of the guns were actually issued, and surviving examples are very rare today.

Winchester’s M1911 production program apparently did not progress beyond the blueprint stage, and some of the other proposed manufacturers did not even get that far. If the war had lasted into the Spring of 1919 as anticipated, at least some of the additional manufacturers would have been able to begin delivery of complete M1911s. As events transpired, however, that did not happen, and the only M1911s to have been manufactured during (and before) World War I were the Colt, Springfield Armory and Remington-UMC guns along with the mere handful from North American Arms.

The names “Colt” and “M1911 .45 automatic pistol” are virtually synonymous today. While the Hartford, Conn., firm did indeed produce the overwhelming number of those handguns, the other “Non-Colt” M1911 pistols are historically ­significant arms.