1gewehr

Ooops, I didn''t see the 'C'. You're right.

Very nice early 1911!! The serial number places it towards the end of 1913. US military firearms do not number every part like Germans. Typically, a US military firearms has the serial number on the frame or receiver, and manufacturers codes on some other parts. This is a military contract pistol. A Colt letter could tell you who it was shipped to, but not where it was issued. Most Colt 1911s were shipped to Springfield Arsenal, and distributed from there. The Navy contracts were shipped differently. Proofhouse is a useful site for this type of lookup. They have a lot of other interesting information as well. https://proofhouse.com/colt/index.html

The expression long predates WW2. At least dates back another century (1800s). May refer to material needed for a Scottish Great Kilt (PhilaMor), or the normal full complement of sails on a three-masted ship. FYI, various types of US fighter planes had different lengths of ammunition for the .50 caliber machine guns. P-51 depending on model had either 270or 400 rounds per gun, P47 267, 350, or 425 rounds per gun, just as examples.