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Actually, the Norwegians didn't use many Colts. In 1915-1917, Norway got the OK from FN to purchase 1000 pistols from Colt. (FN had the European rights to Brownings patents, which is why they had to be involved.)
Norway also purchased manufacturing rights to the Colt Government Model (1911 style) and put it into production in mid-1918 as the Model 1912, Cal. 11.43mm. Later in 1918 the slide stop was altered and the designation was changed to Model 1914, Cal. 11.25mm. Some 22,300 were made prior to the German occupation and about 8224 made during that period. The rest of a total of 32,874 pistols were made after the war.
It is my understanding that the Germans used very few Norwegian rifles or pistols, and that most of those seized by the Germans and re-issued went to the Norwegian Quisling (pro-Nazi) forces.
A man who fought in the Polish underground told me that they once found* a German motorcycle messenger with a Thompson SMG, probably taken from the British. They shot up the ammo the German had, then threw the gun in a lake because it was useless. His favorite SMG was the Russian PPSh, which he considered better than the German MP.38/40.
Jim
*The German was missing more than the Thompson; he also lacked a head, having unfortunately encountered some piano wire that happened to be stretched across the road. I was given to understand that when engaged in such wire type activity, one stretches the piano wire at an angle to the road; if stretched straight across, it will reflect the headlight of the motorcycle.
JK
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