When Uncle Sam Ordered a Sewing Machine Company to Make a .45
Before America entered World War II, Uncle Sam looked at the Singer Sewing Machine Company and essentially asked, “Nice factory. Can you make a .45?” The result was just 500 Singer M1911A1 pistols—one of today’s great military-firearms collectibles. Singer wasn’t forced into gunmaking by the Defense Production Act; that law wouldn’t exist until 1950. Instead, the Army paid civilian companies to learn military production before the shooting started. It was industrial mobilization with refreshingly little mystery: you cannot surge a factory you don’t have.