jjbduke2004
Ultimate Member
While I should probably post this on a national forum, I've been a member here for a long time and know that this forum knows everything about everything.
Anyway a friend of mine is the great-great-grandson of Brigadier General Odus C. Horney, Ordnance Corps, USA. Obit here: https://www.westpointaog.org/memorial-article?id=239c9c2b-49d6-4436-990b-9e796936e442
In short a very interesting career including commander of several federal arsenals, a few sources suggest he was a co-inventor of the 1903 Springfield.
Anyway there are some guns out there that bear the "OCH" inspection cartouche. One is a revolver in the NRA museum and another is a Gatling gun that was auctioned off. Anyone know of any more? We realize that a cartouche does not mean it was personally inspected by him. It could simply mean he was the commander of the inspection district.
Oddly enough, "OCH" does not appear on this list of inspection marks http://proofhouse.com/cm/us_inspector.htm
However, my friend's great-grandfather Major General Elbert L. Ford, 18th Chief of Ordnance does appear on that list. General Ford was General Horney's son-in-law. I have not been able to find any guns with an ELF marking and the time period where he's mentioned as inspecting Colt is listed in his offical biography as assistant plant manager at Springfield Armory (on the M1 Garand line) http://www.goordnance.army.mil/history/chiefs/ford.html
If you know of any Colts with ELF markings, please let me know.
Anyway a friend of mine is the great-great-grandson of Brigadier General Odus C. Horney, Ordnance Corps, USA. Obit here: https://www.westpointaog.org/memorial-article?id=239c9c2b-49d6-4436-990b-9e796936e442
In short a very interesting career including commander of several federal arsenals, a few sources suggest he was a co-inventor of the 1903 Springfield.
Anyway there are some guns out there that bear the "OCH" inspection cartouche. One is a revolver in the NRA museum and another is a Gatling gun that was auctioned off. Anyone know of any more? We realize that a cartouche does not mean it was personally inspected by him. It could simply mean he was the commander of the inspection district.
Oddly enough, "OCH" does not appear on this list of inspection marks http://proofhouse.com/cm/us_inspector.htm
However, my friend's great-grandfather Major General Elbert L. Ford, 18th Chief of Ordnance does appear on that list. General Ford was General Horney's son-in-law. I have not been able to find any guns with an ELF marking and the time period where he's mentioned as inspecting Colt is listed in his offical biography as assistant plant manager at Springfield Armory (on the M1 Garand line) http://www.goordnance.army.mil/history/chiefs/ford.html
If you know of any Colts with ELF markings, please let me know.