Train Company Makes Guns: Union Switch & Signal M1911A1

Of the five companies that made 1911 pistols during World War Two, Union Switch & Signal was the last to be awarded a contract and the smallest mass production producer. A subsidiary of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, US&S produced a variety of ordnance material during the war (and during World War One as well). They received a contract for 200,000 M1911A1 pistols on May 5, 1942, which was subsequently reduced to 30,000 in March 1943 and then upped to 55,000 in June 1943. Those 55,000 pistols were delivered between January and October 1943 and had an excellent reputation for quality.

Union Switch & Signal actually only produced eleven parts for the 1911 plus frames, with the balance of the components subcontracted (mostly to Yawman Metal Products of Rochester NY). Their serial number block was 1041405 – 1096404.