Manufactured in 1915. Blade and flat top notch sights, the proper military markings on the slide and frame, the two-block patent/address markings on the slide, a long smooth trigger, short grip safety, smooth back strap, correct Springfield production unmarked folded-base magazine, and a Colt "P/H" marked barrel. "CAPT. KENNEDY" is stamped into the right side of the frame, with a similar marking in a smoothed-out panel on the left grip, and the included Rock Island 1916 holster is similarly stamped on the flap. Documentation supplied by the consignor identifies Kennedy as (later Colonel) Frank M. Kennedy, U.S. Army Signal Corps officer, and includes an affidavit/sales receipt where Colonel Kennedy attributes the pistol as a private purchase from government stores in 1915. One of America's earliest military aviators, Kennedy held International Pilot License #97 and was the 12th man to be assigned to the U.S. Army Signal Corps' infant flight training program, making his first solo flight in August of 1911. Operating a mix of Wright and Curtiss aircraft, these early pilots performed very dangerous, essentially experimental work, and several of them wound up dead because of equipment failures and operator errors. Kennedy nearly wound up a statistic himself in February of 1912, when a forced landing in a plowed field sent his aircraft upside-down across the land, physically dragging his head through the dirt. His survival, which the Colonel himself attributed to an old football helmet he took to wearing as protective gear, was unprecedented at the time; traditionally, when a plane got wrecked the pilot went with it. Suffering multiple spinal fractures, Kennedy spent a few years in and out of hospitals before returning to flight duty, commanding a balloon observer school, becoming the first U.S. officer to qualify as a non-rigid airship pilot, and serving as the official American observer on a German Zeppelin rigid airship delivered to the U.S. as war reparations. Later in his career, he commanded Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

Very fine, with 75% plus original blue finish, showing bright edge wear, a gray patina on the grip straps and the underside of the slide, and mild spotting and handling marks overall. The modified, stamped grips are fine, with some dings and flat spots. The holster is good, with some scuffs, cracks and verdigris. Mechanically excellent.