If it was a Colt 1911 I don't think it was government issue if it was in good shape. I understand that the last 1911 shipment from Colt to US military was in 1946, so if this is so, the guns owned by the military would be quite old and worn out.
This is what I read a long time ago.
Late 60's, early 70's ships crews were not issued firearms; on my ship only the Marine detachment (50 of 'em) had firearms to protect the Admiral.If it was Navy issue, it may very well have spent most of its life in a weapons locker. It's not like they had a whole lot of use for hand-held firearms at most of their duty posts, especially in the Blue Water Navy.
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