The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Despite the title 'Hammerless', the Model 1903 does have a hammer; it is covered and hidden from view under the rear of the slide. This allowed the pistol to be carried in, and withdrawn from, a pocket quickly and smoothly without snagging. Approximately 570,000 pistols were produced from 1903 to 1945, in five different types. Some were issued to US Army and US Air Force general officers from World War II through the 1970s. They were replaced in 1972 with the RIA Colt M15 General Officer's Model, a compact version of the M1911A1.