LRF, Colt was certainly on the list of preferred suppliers. In addition to the 1909 New Service contract and the experimental pre-1911 Brownings, all of the later Gatling guns were made by Colt. Colt had a no-bid contract to manufacture about 290 US M-1904 Maxim machine guns. Colt had another no-bid contract to manufacture about 335 US M-1909 Automatic Machine Rifles, the Benet-Mercie. Springfield Armory made a similar number. The favored designer list was alive & well. The Benet in Benet-Mercie was the son of the Chief of Ordnance, 1874-1891.
Wm. Crozier was Chief of Ordnance 1901-1918. He absolutely hated Lt. Col. Isaac Lewis, inventor of the Lewis Gun. If I understand things correctly, Savage was helping Lewis through the developmental stage. Savage later made them for the Brits. That kept Savage off the list.
Last edited by waterman; 11/21/11 09:30 PM.
