Detonics

by

founded in 1976

  • 1976-1987 Detonics Manufacturing Company – Seattle, Washington
  • 1987-1992 New Detonics  – Arizona
  • 2004-2007 Detonics USA – Georgia

About Detonics

Detonics is the American company that pioneered the compact .45 ACP carry pistol. Its roots trace to engineers at the Explosives Corporation of America, where Pat Yates and Sid Woodcock began shortening and reworking Colt M1911A1 pistols in the early 1970s; former managers Mike Maes and Chuck Lyford, who had started a Seattle explosives firm also named Detonics, joined the effort. The result was the Detonics Combat Master, widely described as the first commercially manufactured subcompact single-action semi-automatic pistol, measuring about 6.75 inches long.

The Combat Master introduced features later copied across the 1911 world: a self-centering, cone-shaped barrel that eliminated the bushing, captive counter-wound recoil springs, and a magazine that showed when it was full. Roughly 17,000 were built between 1976 and 1987. The company filed for bankruptcy in April 1986 and moved to Phoenix as New Detonics, which closed in 1992. Gunwriter and novelist Jerry Ahern revived the brand as Detonics USA in Pendergrass, Georgia, in 2004, and in 2007 Bruce Siddle and Dr. Steve Stahle bought it and moved it to Millstadt, Illinois, as Detonics Defense. By 2017 the company was reported to be out of business, though the Combat Master remains a sought-after collector’s piece.

Key Facts

  • Early 1970s: Pat Yates and Sid Woodcock develop compact 1911 prototypes
  • 1976-1987: About 17,000 Combat Master pistols produced in the Seattle area
  • April 29, 1986: Detonics files for bankruptcy; assets move to Phoenix as New Detonics
  • 1992: New Detonics closes
  • 2004: Jerry Ahern revives the company as Detonics USA in Pendergrass, Georgia
  • 2007: Purchased by Bruce Siddle and Dr. Steve Stahle and moved to Millstadt, Illinois

Timeline of key dates for Detonics

Sources

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