This World War II production Colt .380 Hammerless Pocket Automatic Pistol with Colt factory letter indicates this pistol was shipped to the Naval Supply Depot at Oakland, California on November 4, 1944. A total of 3,113 .380 Hammerless Pocket Automatic Pistols were purchased by the Ordnance Department between March 1944 and June 1945. The U.S. Navy received 1,055 of these pistols. The U.S. Navy .380 Pocket Automatic pistols were primarily issued to the Office of Naval Intelligence. The Navy experienced malfunctions with some of the Pocket Automatic pistols, and the pistols were returned to Colt between April and June 1945 for testing. The tests determined that the malfunctions were caused by ejectors, extractors and bent magazine lips. The returned pistols were modified by Colt and stamped with "M" in front of the serial number and on the magazine floor plate. The pistol has the desirable pre-war commercial blue finish on the slide, frame and barrel. The barrel chamber is factory polished. The two-piece full checkered walnut grips have nickel silver Colt medallions. The 7-shot magazine has a full blue finish. The slide has the late style square top rear sight and serrated ramp front sight. The right side of the slide is roll-stamped "COLT AUTOMATIC/CALIBRE .380- HAMMERLESS" below the ejection port. The left side of the slide is marked with the two-line Colt Hartford address and 1907 and 1903 patent dates ahead of the grip serrations with the Rampant Colt Motif behind the serrations. "U.S. PROPERTY" is roll-stamped on the right side of the frame. The left side of the frame is stamped with the serial number above the trigger and has a small Ordnance Corps Escutcheon stamped behind the safety lever. The Colt "Triangle/VP" proofmark is stamped on the left front of the trigger guard bow and a "4" assembly mark is stamped on the left side of the trigger guard next to the frame. The magazine floor plate is roll-stamped "CAL. 380/COLT" and the "M" inspection/modification mark. Provenance: The Milan J. Turk Collection

Excellent plus. The pistol remains in as issued condition and retains 99% plus of the original Colt blue finish. The excellent plus grips have not been oiled, and the checkering is perfect. The magazine has 98% plus of the original blue finish. This is an outstanding example of one of the 1,055 U.S. Navy Colt .380 Hammerless Pocket Automatic Pistols with the rarely seen "M" Colt modification mark on both the frame and magazine.