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Other than NATO, what may have retired the .45 was the silly urban legends about it's "massive recoil" and the old "hit him in the arm and take his arm off" stories.

You rae most likely correct. The .45 acp was used in two World Wars Korea and Vietnam. It got its reputation as a reliable stopper on the battlefield. It got its reputation for overkill among those who only fired it in a range. The 1911a1 is an accuate reliable sidearm and the .45acp is probaly the best defensive pistol round ever designed.

Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

One of the stories I read was about a soldier in WW1 who experienced true "knockdown power" with a luger.
He had found a dead German officer and removed his gunbelt. When he did so, another German jumped and startled him. He swung the gun belt and hit the soldier upside the head, knocking him out.