This is an extremely scarce example of the original Colt "Offensive Handgun" semi automatic pistol in 45 ACP. This pistol was one of tool room or prototype test sample designs that was submitted by Colt Firearms in response to the Navy solicitation for the Offensive Handgun program. The requirement for this handgun was developed by the Navy in approximately 1986-1987 after the Army awarded the M9 handgun requirement to the Beretta U.S.A. Corp. The Navy's rationale for developing this new offensive handgun requirement, was because their service use was vastly different than the Army's and was based partly on their concerns about the stopping power of the 9mm round, the Army's service life requirement of the M9 handgun, versus the Navy's that would require SEALs to fire the M9 pistols to extremely high numbers of rounds, well beyond their service life, (the Navy SEALs marksmanship training regimen required them to fire several hundred thousand rounds per year) and the aluminum frame in continued salt water use, which is one of the majority environments in which SEALs team members operate. The Navy solicitation contained numerous unique handgun requirements, some them being that the pistol had to have a service life of 50,000 rounds, minimum 10 round magazine capacity, slide locking feature that would allow the pistol to be fired with a single round when equipped with a silencer, dovetailed rails under the frame to allow the pistol to be equipped with laser sights and high intensity flashlights as well as the standard decocking mechanism, ambidextrous safety, reversible magazine release button etc.. In all there were only a handful of companies that submitted a candidate in response to this stringent testing requirement, the successful offeror was the H&K Mark 23 pistol. It is estimated that only a handful (maybe 50 each) of these models were ever produced with the majority of them being submitted to the Navy for testing. There are no markings on the pistol, which would be correct as it is unmarked except for the serial number, (X29148). It has a stainless steel slide and frame with most of the parts also being made of stainless steel except for the grips, which are made of a black high impact plastic material. It is equipped with a quick detachable muzzle brake and one 10 round magazine.

Excellent metal with the bright/machined stainless steel finish. The grip panels are in very good condition showing numerous minor nicks and scratches on the sides from use. Overall this is a rare example of the Colt Offensive Handgun, and the continued development of US service automatic pistols in the 1980 and 1990s. Certainly if you had one of the COLT SSP candidates as submitted under the Army's M9 requirements, and stepped up to purchase this unique handgun, they would make a collection in and of themselves.