Doc1500, while your question was likely rhetorical in nature (re: why did S&W kill off the 3rd Gens...?) I will still offer my opinion for an answer...
When they finally dropped the axe, it was simply a matter of production focus and floor space. Obviously, polymer framed striker-fire pistols rule the service/Law Enforcement contract world and S&W is a for-profit venture, so the M&P line was then and is now the uncontested cash cow for high volume production. Keep 3rd Gens too? Well... maybe, but not with 1911 production also.
I believe it was S&W’s desire to sell 1911 pistols (along with 273 other gun makers, SIGH) that made them close the door on 3rd Gen “old technology.”
It simply has to be M&P production for volume and capital, but S&W chose 1911’s over 3rd Gens. I think if they had skipped 1911 pistols entirely, we might still see some metal frame DA/SA work horses.
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