OLD COLT: WE PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH AN ONLINE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE FOR OLD COLT GUNS.
This Colt .38 Super Automatic Pistol was shipped to the Office of the Chief of Ordnance - Technical Division in Washington, D.C. on February 5th, 1944 in a 2 gun shipment on the Colt Factory Order #4045.
Further research indicates that this particular pistol was purchased by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department for the Army Air Forces Board. Outside of the OSS 38 Super shipment. This is the only other known government purchased 38 Super known to us as of this writing.
The documents from Springfield Research reads "In regard to your request for information on Colt Super pistol serial no. 35475, please be advised that the records of the U.S. Army Air Forces show that a Colt Super .38 pistol with this serial number was purchased by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department for the Army Air Forces Board in February 1944.
On 6 January 1944 the Field Services Branch of the Army Air Forces Ordnance Department wrote to the Commanding General of the Army Service Forces requesting a number of small arms be supplied for evaluation by a board of officers convened to consider the best emergency weapon for Army Air Forces, AAF, flying personnel. This letter and its resulting documentation, a copy of which is enclosed, requested weapons ranging from .22 automatics to Ml carbines with folding stocks, but also included two each "Pistol, automatic, cal. .38," otherwise known as the Colt Super. While some of the weapons requested were stock items and were readily supplied, others were not, most notably the .22 Colt and .38 automatic pistols. At the request of the AAF, the Army Ordnance Department procured the non-standard issue arms and so notified the AAF in the enclosed 3rd endorsement dated 8 February 1944, which also stated the serial numbers of the arms provided.
The information on Colt .38 Super serial number 35475 was found in the central decimal files of the Army Air Corps now stored at the National Archives as Record Group (RG) 18. The specific citation for this documentation is RG 1 8, Entry 292A, File 474."
