Manufactured in 1941 as one of only 500 Model 1911A1 semi-automatic service pistols (serial number range “S800000” to “S800500”) completed by the Singer Manufacturing Company and accepted by U.S. Ordnance. In 1939, Singer Mfg. Co., best known for its brand of sewing machines, was one of many firms to place bids with the U.S. Ordnance Department for educational orders on the manufacture of the U.S. M1911A1 pistol, which at that time was only produced by Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co. Singer was awarded Educational Order No. W-ORD-396 from the Ordnance Department on April 17, 1940, which called for the firm’s Elizabethport, New Jersey, factory to develop one complete set of tools, fixtures, and gauges to produce the M1911A1, along with a batch of 500 completed sample pistols. Once the firm had completed the development of the tooling and batch of sample pistols, the pistols were sent to the U.S. Springfield Armory in December 1941, and deemed satisfactory. U.S. Ordnance subsequently placed an order with Singer to produce an additional 15,000 pistols for mass production, however this was shortly thereafter canceled once it was discovered that the firm already had a contract to produce M5 artillery directors, which were a higher priority at the time. As a result, the tooling, jigs, and all other material related to M1911A1 pistol production developed by Singer was sent to Remington-Rand Inc. in May 1941, with most of it (along with the canceled order for 15,000 pistols) re-allocated to the Ithaca Gun Company. Reportedly, most all of the 500 sample pistols produced by Singer were issued out to the U.S. Army Air Corps, which may also explain this variation’s rarity today given the high casualty rates suffered by that branch early on during World War II. For more background information on the Singer Mfg. Co. M1911A1 pistol and its development, refer to pages 70 to 76 of "U.S. Military Automatic Pistols: 1920-1945" by Meadows. Given their rarity being the least common variation of issued U.S. M1911A1 pistols, examples manufactured by Singer are increasingly valued and sought after by serious U.S. military and 1911 themed collectors in any condition. Features fixed blade front and notch rear sights, a parkerized replacement barrel marked with “P” on the left of the recoil lug, along with checkered short milled trigger, magazine release, thumb safety, narrow spur hammer, slide catch, and arched mainspring housing with lanyard loop. The left side of the slide bears the two-line “Elizabeth, N.J.” address, with a “P” stamped on top. The left side of the frame is marked with faint “J.K.C.” (Col. John K. Clement) inspection and “P” stamps, with the U.S. property mark, model designation, serial number, and a “SA” (U.S. Springfield Armory) rebuild stamp on the right side. Fitted with a pair of replacement Keyes Fibre Co. brown checkered plastic grips marked "star/K" on the interiors and an unmarked full-blued magazine. Includes a craft style box, an extra unmarked full-blued magazine, and a matching numbered invoice from Simpson Ltd. dated December 22, 1998.

Very fine as arsenal refurbished by the U.S. Springfield Armory, retaining 90% arsenal parkerized finish with some minor edge wear, some minor handling marks under the finish, some light cycling wear on the barrel, brown patina/plum coloration visible on the main spring housing, and some light handling marks. The grips are exceptionally fine with a few minor handling marks in the otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. Overall a very attractive example of a rare Singer Mfg. Co. M1911A1 pistol, overhauled by the U.S. Springfield Armory, that retains the correct pattern barrel and slide!