This immensely historic, excellent condition, Model 1911A1 pistol was originally manufactured by Union Switch & Signal in 1943, and is accompanied by strong letters of provenance indicating it was carried on various combat missions by World War II B-17 Co-Pilot Arthur C. "Bud" Stipe (December 22, 1917-August 8, 2015) of the legendary "Bloody Hundredth" 100th Bombardment Group. An included typed letter by retired Lieutenant Colonel Arthur C. Stipe states, "The pistol was issued to me as a B-17 pilot for the 8th Air Force while stationed in England and flying daylight missions over German occupied territory in 1943. It was used for my protection and primarily to destroy all classified material on the plane if I was forced down in enemy territory- the most highly secret piece being, at that time, the Norden bomb sight. I was a 2nd Lt. in England at the time it was issued to me." Another accompanying October 30, 1997 dated signed and notarized original letter handwritten by Arthur C. Stipe mentions this gun, a Union Switch with serial number 1043298, was acquired by him in August 1943, and states, "I flew in the big raids over Regensburg and Schweinfurt [August 17, 1943 and October 14, 1943] when B-17 losses were approximately 50 planes on both raids, I flew on 1st shuttle run from England base to North Africa." and he further indicates his service period during World War II between October 1940-October 1945, final rank of Captain in the U.S.A.F. during World War II, awarded 5 air medals and 2 unit presidential citations, affiliation with the 349th Squadron 100th Bombardment Group (also known as the "Bloody Hundredth") of the 8th Air Force, 7th Ferrying Group of the Air Transport Command, and mentions that he also operated 25 different prop aircraft for ferrying command. The highly acclaimed Apple TV+ streaming miniseries Masters of the Air, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, tells the story of the 100th BG. The Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission, carried out by the U.S. Army Air Force on August 17, 1943, was a large scale strategic bombing involving a reported 376 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, 268 P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes, and 191 Spitfire fighter planes. 60 of those bombers were lost with others suffering heavy damages, 2 Spitfires lost, 7 aircrew KIA and 21 aircrew WIA on returning aircraft, and 557 aircrew MIA or POW. The German Luftwaffe suffered 25-27 downed fighter planes, and a reported 203 civilians were killed during the bombings. The high U.S. losses were disguised in after-mission reports, and unfortunately outweighed the success of the mission. The lot also includes a copy of the book "A Year in the Life of a Cowboy With the Bloody 100th" authored by B-17 pilot Owen D. "Cowboy" Roane and originally published in 1995. The book tells firsthand accounts of "Cowboy's" time with the 100th and mentions his co-pilot Arthur C. "Bud" Stipe multiple times along with the missions they completed together. Page 60 lists Lieutenant Arthur C. Stipe as co-pilot next to Flight Officer Owen D. Roane as pilot, part of the 349th Squadron crew, during the Bremen mission [October 8, 1943] . Page 87 shows a photograph of the crew standing next to "THE BIGASSBIRD II" including Roane and Stipe right after completion of the second Schweinfurt mission. Page 117 states, "Co-Pilot Arthur C. Stipe went home in October 1943, having been the second pilot to have completed twenty-five missions. Our trails crossed again in November of 1944 when I was assigned to the Seventh Ferry Group at Great Falls, Montana where he was the assistant operations officer." The second Schweinfurt raid, also called "Black Thursday," was carried out by the U.S. Army Air Force on October 14, 1943. Of the reported 291 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers sent on that mission, 60 were lost, 17 suffered heavy damages and were scrapped afterwards, 121 more had various damages, approximately 650 men lost of 2,900 sent, along with 3 P-47 fighter planes lost. The German Luftwaffe lost approximately 35-38 fighter planes and 20 damaged. The losses on the American side were so great that the U.S. Air Force did not return to the target for four months. Arthur C. "Bud" Stipe and his crew lived to tell about it, along with this historic Model 1911A1 pistol offered. The official mission log of Arthur C. "Bud" Stipe includes 25 missions starting with his first on July 4, 1943, La Pallice, France and ends with his twenty-fifth mission on October 20, 1943, Duren, Germany. The pistol is all correct with a gray parkerized finish, blue finished High Standard barrel, stamped trigger, checkered slide stop and safety lock, narrow checkered hammer and checkered main spring housing, and brown plastic checkered Keyes Fibre grips. The left side of the slide is stamped with the "USS" logo followed by "U.S. & S. CO./SWISSVALE, PA. U.S.A.", the left of the frame is stamped with the encircled "R.C.D." final inspection mark, the right of the frame is stamped with U.S. Property markings followed by the M1911A1 U.S. Army nomenclature and the serial number "1043298", "P" marked on the left of the barrel lug with "HS" on the right, and "L" marked on the lip of the magazine base. Includes a "US" embossed World War II brown leather M7 military pattern shoulder holster, an 8th Army Air Force patch and an Army Air Force patch, an Army Air Force 500 hours merit pin, rank badges, documents including the affidavit and letter from Arthur C. Stipe, picture of Stipe in front of "THE BIGASSBIRD II" B-17 heavy bomber, scanned copies of newspaper clippings about Stipe, and the mentioned print book. Provenance: Arthur C. "Bud" Stipe; The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection; Property of a Gentleman

Excellent, retains 97% original Du-Lite finish, with wear limited to some minor high edge wear and a few light handling marks, the barrel retains 90% plus original blue finish with some light cycling wear visible on the top of the chamber, and the magazine retains 98% original blue finish. Grips are excellent with a few minor handling marks. Mechanically excellent. This both an exceptional and historic Union Switch & Signal U.S. Model 1911A1 pistol issued to World War II B-17 co-pilot Arthur C. Stipe of the "Bloody Hundredth" would be a centerpiece in any advanced U.S. military collection or museum!