Meanwhile, the unglamorous infantry battled it out among the mud, barbed wire, and trenches.
At normal combat ranges, rifles and machine guns ruled their world.
In close combat, pistols, knives, and clubs did the dirty work.
Glenn Eagleston (center), an 18.5 victory ace of the 354th Fighter Group, carries an M1911 on his hip in Northern France during November 1944. Images: National Archives
Great War pilots often carried pistols too, but rarely for combat.
Fast for its time, the SPADs top speed was 130 mph at 6,500 feet.
It was armed with a pair of Vickers machine guns.
Lieutenant Sparks of the 5th Air Force carries a M1911 along with Bowie knife while based on New Guinea, March 1943.
The pilots mission was essentially the same, but his tools were dramatically improved.
Most American fighter pilots flying air superiority missions over the ETO and MTO didnt bother with carrying a pistol.
The conditions were quite different in the Southwest Pacific and the China-Burma-India theatres.
Lieutenant Robert McDaris of the 49th Fighter Group poses in front of his Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter on New Guinea during early 1943. Note the shoulder holster for his M1911.
The Japanese were not keen on taking prisoners, and when they did American pilots often wished they hadnt.
Horrible though that choice may be, a M1911 gave a downed pilot or airman an option.
He could always save the last bullet for himself.
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1911Mil-Spec
A nurse of a 5th Air Force Air Evacuation Unit wears a M1911 pistol while she checks in casualties being transported to Australia. New Guinea, 1943.
The crew of a B-17G Flying Fortress review mission assignments at their base in England during February 1944. Many of the men are packing the M1911.
This P-47 Thunderbolt pilot looks much like a modern-day gunfighter with an M1911 pistol on his hip.
These men are Brazilian pilots, attached to the 350th Fighter Group, flying P-47 Thunderbolts from bases in Italy from October 31, 1944.
US bomber crews show off their M1911 pistols from their rough base in the USSR, during the “shuttle raids” of Operation Frantic, summer 1944.
Lt. Colonel Joel Pitts of the 475th Troop Carrier Squadron, New Guinea, January 1944.
Springfield Armory offers a new 1911 inspired by the classic M1911A1
