Kongsberg Colt
semi-automatic pistol
The Kongsberg Colt (Norwegian: 11.25 m/m AUT. PISTOL M/1914, Kongsberg Colten) is a nickname used for Colt M1911 pistols produced under license by the Norwegian factory Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk.
History
Norway adopted the 7.5 mm Nagant revolver (named M/1893) as the standard Norwegian military sidearm in 1893. Commissions to test possible new service pistols were active from 1904 till 1911. In 1911, a commission recommended adoption of the semi-automatic .38 ACP caliber Colt Military Model 1902 pistol, after field trials with 25 such pistols, all purchased from Colt's London Agency. Since the US had just adopted the Colt .45ACP M1911 pistol, it was decided to conduct further tests. A pistol of the new M1911 design was received in Norway in January 1913.
Following extensive tests through early 1914, it was finally decided, in August 1914, to adopt the Colt M1911 pistol in Norway. These pistols were to replace the Nagant revolvers (7,5mm M/1893) as the standard military sidearm in Norway. While the original pistol was known as the 1911 Colt, the designer and copyright owner was John Browning who had licensed manufacturing in the US to Colt.
Norway attempted to get licensing through Colt, but discovered European production was through Fabrique Nationale.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kongsberg Colt” is semi-automatic pistol. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kongsberg, Colt and semi-automatic, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “semi-automatic pistol” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1930315. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1914, 1893, 1904 and 1911.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kongsberg Colt”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kongsberg Colt primary sources, Kongsberg Colt archive and Kongsberg research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kongsberg Colt”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kongsberg Colt” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.