Hi, Dr. Rob,
The commercial New Service as well as the earlier 1909 militaries go for more than the 1917 based primarily on numbers made and quality of finish, workmanship, etc. The military 1917s were originally blued with plain wood grips. There was a civilian version also (only about 1000), and the Shooting Master was made in .45 ACP for the .45 matches.
While many S&W and Colt 1917s were sold off through DCM, there were still quite a few around during WWII and later and a number of pictures of GIs with them. They were issued in lieu of (ILO) the Model 1911A1 pistol and the army issued the manual at least as late as 1957.
As for OSS use, all I can say is that if the OSS used every gun attributed to them, they must have been the most heavily armed bunch of spies in history. I don't necessarily disbelieve the story about the Fitz special, but it sounds more like an individual purchase than an issue item. The Colt Model 1903 at least makes sense, as it is very concealable.
Jim
P.S. for Harley. When the DCM said "supply exhausted" they merely meant that they had sold the guns allotted to them for that year by the Army. They did not necessarily mean that the Army had no more guns of that type.
JEK
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