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Title:PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  U.S. PISTOL PHILLIPS EXPERIMENTAL .45
Maker/Manufacturer:PHILLIPS, WILLIAM A.
Date of Manufacture:C 1909
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:SPAR 1381
Measurements:OL: 23.6CM 9 3/8" BL: 14.6CM 5 3/4"

Object Description:

U.S. PISTOL PHILLIPS EXPERIMENTAL .45
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. - Experimental, gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol with box magazine feed. Blued finish with two piece checkered walnut grips. Model never got past the prototype stage. Weapon manufactured in 1910 at a cost of $700. Tested in 1910; work on the weapon ceased with adoption of M1911. Designed by Major William A. Phillips of the Ordnance Department.

No visible markings.

Weapon received from Chief of Ordnance in 1910 and placed in Museum in May, 1911.

Exhibit label: "PHILLIPS .45 caliber, 1911-1912, experimental. Developed at Springfield Armory, the Phillips was a gas-operated automatic pistol. After testing at the armory it was determined that the design was too complex for regular service use."

Notes: "In the preliminary examination of this pistol and finally in an attempt to fire it, it was found that the ejector was too long to allow the cartridges in the magazine to rise sufficiently to be pushed into the chamber by the bolt. The ejector was then shortened by cutting off .27" from the forward end, when the pistol functioned properly, using dummy cartridges.
Firing with ball cartridges was then commenced, and on the first shot the pistol functioned properly; on the second, third and fourth shots the cartridges were ejected, but the pistol failed to load; on the fifth shot the pistol function properly; the sixth shot failed to eject; seventh round failed to load; eight, ninth and tenth rounds failed to eject, but the eleventh and twelfth rounds were fired satisfactorily. During the firing, the regulator was changed so as to allow more gas to enter the cylinder.
When the thirteenth round was fired, the 'bolt return pin screw' was shot to the rear and struck the operator over the eye. The 'locking pin unlock' was broken in two pieces and the piece was also broken off the locking block. Firing was discontinued.
With the model, the pistol cannot be cocked without withdrawing the block. It is also believed that the ejector is not sufficiently strong for its purpose. It is noted... that the ejector failed to functioned satisfactorily at Frankford Arsenal and that the drawings have been changed to overcome some of the defects in this model.
It is thought that the pistol has many desirable features, but that the parts in rear of the chamber should be made lighter and some so combined as to eliminate many of the screws in the present model." - Colonel Blunt

"In the early years of the 20th century, the United States Ordnance Department's search for a suitable service semi-automatic pistol set off a feeding frenzy among handgun manufacturers and inventors. There were 18 American entrants, including Colt, and 19 foreign competitors. Some, such as Savage, Mauser, and Luger were well-known. Others, like the American Pence and Ceston, are now obscure footnotes in history, with not even a prototype or drawing surviving to tell their efforts.
The Phillips pistol was the invention of Captain W.A. Philips of the United States Ordnance Department. In July of 1908, Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt, the commanding officer at Springfield Armory, requested that the Chief of Ordnance allocate $600 to develop a working model of Colonel Philips' design. The work proceeded, with the barrel being rifled at Springfield Armory, and the rest of the pistol made at the Frankford Arsenal.
By June 1910, Philips had been promoted to Major, and the prototype pistol had finally been completed. The commanding officer sent it to the chief of ordnance along with a note stating that it operated 'fairly successfully.' Apparently, this early assessment was optimistic. Springfield Armory's testing of the Phillips revealed that the ejector was too long, and in eight out of the 12 round fired, the pistol malfunctioned. In addition, on the thirteenth round, the bolt return pin screw was shot to the rear and hit the shooter over the eye. The 'locking pin unlock' broke in two, and a piece also broke off the locking block. No further rounds were fired." - Atlas E
Efforts continued to work out some of the design problems but after several months the project was discontinued.

This weapon was loaned to Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1974.

See, Ezell's HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD, pg. 323; Meadows, U.S. MILITARY AUTOMATIC PISTOLS 1894-1920, pg. 284.

References:
Ezell, Edward C. HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1981.
Meadows, Edward Scott. U.S. MILITARY AUTOMATIC PISTOLS 1894-1920. Richard Ellis Publication, Inc. Moline, Il. 1993.

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