The perceived popularity of submachine guns such as the Thompson with violent gangsters in the 1920s and 1930s was one of the main reasons given for passage of the National Firearms Act by the United States Congress in 1934. Sometimes seen with the forward pistol grip and large drum magazine, and also later versions with stick magazines only and a straight timber foregrip. Give a Gift It should come as no small comfort for any patriotic American to know that the countrys firearm industry is vibrant and productive, still faithfully serving the needs of armed citizens, law-enforcement officers and military personneljust as it has for more than two centuries. I was able to tighten it up, so now it fits better. "The FBI and the Thompson Submachine Gun". COMPANY NEWS. Gun - RationalWiki Springfield Armory Magazine M14, M1A 308 Winchester 20-Round Steel Matte. The Colt Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut was contracted by the Auto-Ordnance Corporation to manufacture the initial mass production of 15,000 Thompson Submachine Guns in 1920. This is the most recognizable firearm in U.S. History! Anyone have this problem or am I loading it wrong? The SCAR 15P is chambered for 5.56 NATO and, with its 7.5-inch barrel, is the most compact SCAR to date. The plain Thompson (without the attachment) was designated No. [66] The M1928A1 Thompson drum magazine was rather fragile, and cartridges tended to rattle inside it, producing unwanted noise. [44] The new cost was listed as $225 per weapon (equivalent to $3,551 in 2021), with $5 per 50-round drum and $3 per 20-round magazine.[44]. 21AC at the original price of $200.00, with the plain M1921 designated No. There were two main experimental models of the Thompson. Still, not only did some U.S. soldiers have use of them in Vietnam, they encountered them as well. During WW2 at least 1.5 million Thompson SMGs were made and used widely by Allied Forces. The . This is a very nice replica that is a great conversation and display piece. Thompson submachine gun, byname Tommy gun, submachine gun patented in 1920 by its American designer, John T. Thompson. The "Thompson Commando" is a semi-automatic replica of the M1928A1. Bannan, James F. and Hill, Tracie L. (1989). This is one of their Thompson clones; not, mind you, quite like a Thompson since the bolt handle is on the left side and the construction is substantially different. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. this was possibly the first engagement were submachineguns were used on both sides. The wood does not come off and appears to be glued on, so you can't take it off and refinish it. [70], The Model 1921 (M1921) was the first major production model. Will this be the Army's new submachine gun? The three-position safety is located on the left side of the receiver and it moves vertically to cycle from safe to fire to lock positions. I also added a Thompson sling to make it look like the Thompson Nicolas Cage carried in Windtalkers. Ver 10 prototypes were similar in appearance to the later models, but without the rear sight and butt stock mounts. The weapons had very high cyclic rates up to 1,500rpm. Because of their quality and craftsmanship, as well as their gangster-era and WWII connections, Thompsons are sought as collector's items. In our hands, this .22 Tommy ate everything it was fed from both the 10-round stick magazine or optional 50-round drum magazine. So I got this crazy idea to turn my 10/22 into a semi-automatic Thompson. The M1928A1 variant entered mass production before the attack on Pearl Harbor, as on-hand stocks ran out. In the early 2000s a bunch of Thompson parts kits came into the US, WW2 vintage lend-lease guns sent to Russia. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/technology/Thompson-submachine-gun, Auto-Ordnance - The Thompson Submachine Gun, GlobalSecurity.org - Thompson submachine gun, Warfare History Network - The Thompson Gun's Curious History, from World War I to World War II. They sold for $200 in 1921, the equivalent of roughly $3,000 today. It became so prized that soldiers routinely picked up Thompson guns dropped by killed or wounded comrades. Many Chinese Thompsons were captured and placed into service with American soldiers and marines for the remaining period of the war. Choosing a Thompson: What Collectors Should Know This one's serial number is very low - 8,000 range, and it does not have the 1972 patent date, so we estimate it was manufactured in 1971. Some experimental calibers aside from the standard .45 ACP (11.4x23mm) were the .22LR, .32 ACP, .38 ACP, and 9mm.[35]. This functional non-firing replica is a Collectors Armoury exclusive product. by R. Blake Stevens Collector Grade Publications (2004). All Rights Reserved. The Thompson Submachine Gun entered production as the M1921 version, but the American military showed little interest. Shop Products From Our Experts. The Thompson Submachine Gun Id Guide, Part Vii: the M1a1 Thompson $64.99. According to a recent Federal Emergency Management Agency report, fewer people are "prepping" today compared to previous years. [32] The concept had already been developed by German troops using their own Bergmann MP 18 (the world's first submachine gun) in concert with their Sturmtruppen tactics.[33]. They are made from original 1928A1 guns of various appearance (with or without Cutt's compensator, ribbed or smooth barrels, adjustable or fixed sights), that were imported Lend-Lease guns from Russia. From $59.95. The main difference between the M1 and M1A1 was the bolt. When the trigger is depressed, the bolt is released, traveling forward to chamber and simultaneously fire the first and subsequent rounds until either the trigger is released or the ammunition is exhausted. Federal sales were then followed by sales to police departments in the US, as well as to various international armies and constabulary forces; chiefly in Central and South America. The 1928 variant can be disassembled easily by first detaching the stock, then sliding off the lower receiver and then simply removing the internal parts, cleaning them, and then putting it back together. The only tools needed are a hammer (for removing and reinstalling the two existing Ruger trigger group pins), a screwdriver, and a punch. Many of the infantry rifles employed during World War I boasted superb accuracy at long range. Different, also, is that the Standard Manufacturing 1922 operates using a blowback action that contains a semicircular bolt. The modularity and clever design of the Stemple Takedown Gun is perhaps best illustrated by the STG-M1A and STG-1928 (these are the same gun with either a horizontal or vertical front grip). I wish they would charge more and make a little better product. If a gun cycles light target . The Sten and M3 are much better and cost nearly half as much. In the later years of WW I, Colonel John T. Thompson addressed the very real armament. Our M1 Thompson model is a .45 caliber semi-automatic replica of the most famous American submachine gun of World War II. The possession of any fully automatic firearm is prohibited in the UK by the Firearms Act 1968; prohibited firearms can be possessed on a section 5 certificate, but these are not issued for sporting purposes. A submachine gun combines automatic firepower with the portability of a stocked, heavy calibre pistol. Everything screws together, lines up, and fits exactly like its supposed to.. The box magazine was quickly attached and detached, and was removed downward, making clearing jams easier. For the Korean TV series, see. The Thompson (with one Type XX 20 round "stick" magazine) had been priced at $200 in 1921 (roughly equivalent to $3,038 in 2021). The law also placed restrictions on the possession, transfer, and transport of the weapons. Section leaders carried them instead of pistols or rifles. Both the latter and the Brigade 2506 also used some during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Add to Cart. Well worth the money. Thompson came across a patent issued to the American inventor John Bell Blish in 1915, while searching for a way to allow his weapon to operate safely without the complexity of a recoil or gas-operated reloading mechanism. Taurus Marketing Manager Caleb Giddings highlights the features of the new Taurus Raging Hunter 460 Magnum, a purpose-built revolver with a 10.5-inch barrel and an effective recoil-taming brake, with Guns & Ammo Executive Editor Joe Kurtenbach. Only the fully automatic version is a prohibited weapon. The 10/22s Thompson persona is heightened by Scottwerxs optional pseudo-stick and drum magazines, which affix to Rugers 10-round rotary mags. Plus, Thompsons were extremely expensive for the time. His youth was much like that of a military brat, living from post to post, yet by the age of 16 he had . Original U.S. WWII Thompson SMG Five Cell 20 Round Magazine Pouch: Unmarked. Thompson submachine gun | Gun Wiki | Fandom What made the Thompson famous was its use by Prohibition-era criminals like Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, and Al Capone. Certain M1s had issues with high rate of fire climbing up to ~800 RPM. .45, M1A1, could be produced in half the time of the M1928A1, and at a much lower cost. The Army did not give the Model 1923 much consideration, so it was not adopted. [53] In the U.S. Army, many Pacific War jungle patrols were originally equipped with Thompsons in the early phases of the New Guinea and Guadalcanal campaigns, but soon began employing the Browning Automatic Rifle in its place as a point defense weapon. See our article on the site about how to age them well. The magazine was either a circular drum that held 50 or 100 rounds or a box that held 20 or 30 rounds. This categorization also legally allows it to have 1921 or 1928 style foregrip equipped, unlike other "pistol style" Thompson variants, without an AOW (Any Other Weapon) Tax Stamp. The U.S. Postal Service Loved This Historic Machine Gun There were two military types of Thompson submachine gun: Over 1.5 million military Thompson submachine guns were produced during World War II.[27]. It is officially known as the "Thompson Semi-Automatic Carbine, Model of 1927A1." There is a large extractor and fixed ejector. Meet the all-new Taurus Judge Executive Grade, a revolver featuring a hand-polished satin finish, presentation-grade wood grips, a brass rod front sight and an exceptional hand-tuned trigger. Review: Standard Manufacturing 1922 .22-Caliber Tommy Gun The Viet Cong liked the weapon and used both captured models as well as manufacturing their own copies in small jungle workshops.[61]. But if you have owned or fired a Thompson you will be disappointed. Like a lot of shooters, Ive always wanted to own a Tommy gun. It was a common sight in the media at the time, and was used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. (The last we checked, an M1928A1 or semiauto from Auto Ordnance averaged near 11 pounds. Johnson, Melvin M. and Haven, Charles J. Upon learning of the friction-delayed blowback firing action patented by John Bell Blish in 1915, Thompson, a U.S. Army ordnance officer, sought to incorporate that design into an effective trench sweeper weapon. [38] They purchased a total of 653 units, though US customs authorities in New York seized 495 of the units in June 1921. The 1928 Thompson would be the last small arm adopted by the U.S. Army that used a year designation in the official nomenclature. But it can be enhanced with the addition of a Timney 10/22 trigger or a Volquartsen TG2000 competition trigger assembly, along with a Power Custom extended bolt handle. With a design date prior to 1942 it is not considered a "weapon of war." It was also depicted in Hollywood films during this era, most notably regarding the St Valentine's Day Massacre. Everything else comes with the kit, including simple 10-step instructions and socket wrenches for tightening the replacement screws. While not a new model in the usual sense of incorporating major changes, in 1926 the Cutts Compensator (a muzzle brake) was offered as an option for the M1921; Thompsons with the compensator were cataloged as No. Auto-Ordnance's contract price for the M1 Thompson was $42.94 each. Naturally, the furniture on these are shaped walnut. Only one prototype was made in .351 WSL using a standard 20" barrel which had a ROF of 1000rpm. [44], A number of these guns were acquired by a construction company in Brazil,[who?] The M1A1, standardized in October 1942 as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. This is a very nice replica ! By the end of the war, the M1A1 was replaced with the even lower-cost M3 (commonly called the "Grease Gun"). Contact: Scottwerx, LLC, (818) 248-1139; www.1022fungun.com. First issued in 1943, the M1 uses a simple blowback operation, with the charging handle moved to the side. The Ultimate Guide To Pistol Caliber Carbines (PCCs) & Submachine Guns The Auto-Ordnance Corporation was founded in America in 1916 with the intention of developing a variety of weapons; they may well have done so, but only one has survived, the Thompson sub-machine gun.Named for General John T. Thompson, the company's design director, the first models were built-in prototype form in 1919.The first production models appeared in 1921 and from then on manufacture . Stemple 76/45 + Russian Lend-Lease Thompson Kit = STG-M1A PRODUCT REVIEWS. It was later replaced by the 9mm Sten gun and Lanchester SMG. They are also famously associated with the US Army in WW2 including many famous Airborne and special units. Models used in the Pacific by Australian troops had their sling swivels remounted on the left side to allow it to be fired more easily while prone. The Squad Leaders buttstock, pistol grip and fore-end are American walnut. August 8, 2018. Home Defense III $4K Guns & Gear Giveaway Click here to enter now. M1921 Thompsons were sold in small numbers to the United States Postal Inspection Service[34] so they could protect the mail from a spate of robberies. Since rimfire ammunition varies greatly in pressures and velocities, building a gun that effectively cycles a range of ammunition deserves credit be given to engineering, especially when having to work another firearm's appearance and ergonomics. The Rugers front sight is retained, and the rear sight is a .040-inch peep held by two screws that allow for slight windage adjustments; elevation is set for 25 yards. In World War 2 the 'Tommy Gun' as it was often known, was popular with soldiers as a relatively compact automatic weapon with a hard hitting .45 round. Historic 'gangster' submachine guns found buried at Lake Hume It weighed almost 10 pounds (4.5 kg) empty and fired .45-calibre ammunition. The G.I. Thompson In World War II - An Official Journal Of The NRA The Cutts compensator, barrel cooling fins, and Blish lock were omitted while the buttstock was permanently affixed. [67] For these reasons, the 20-round and later 30-round box magazines soon proved most popular with military users of the M1928A1, and drum compatibility was not included in the design of the wartime M1 and M1A1 models. Under federal regulations, these changes make the Model 1927A1 legally a rifle and remove it from the federal registry requirements of the National Firearms Act. The Thompson was not found to be very effective in Ireland; having only caused serious casualties in 32 percent of the action in which it was used. [27], Thompson submachine guns were used by both sides during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. 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All variants and modified versions of Thompson submachine guns (even semiautomatic-only versions) are prohibited by name in Canada, as part of Prohibited Weapons Order No. Lightweight aluminum receiver (TM1C), One 30 round stick magazine / One 10 round stick magazine (TM110S), Walnut fixed stock and horizontal foregrip. The Thompson guns used in the massacre are still being held by the Berrien County Sheriff's Department. I was skeptical at first, because it's so inexpensive. These guns were used during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Indeed, the Thompson became so widely known in that era that it is commonly (but erroneously) believed to be the first submachine gun. Though it could use both the 50-round drum and the 20- or 30-round box magazines, active service favored the box magazines as the drums were more prone to jamming, rattled when moving, and were too heavy and bulky on long patrols. There are several U.S. made automatic and semi-automatic variants, copies, or replicas. A new magazine catch with the provision for retaining drum magazines removed, was produced, but most M1s and later M1A1s retained the original. The gun, in a government approved semiautomatic conversion or clone, can legally be owned by hunters and sport shooters. 562,511 were made. (1941). Many Thompsons were distributed to the US-backed Nationalist Chinese armed forces as military aid before the fall of Chiang Kai-shek's government to Mao Zedong's communist forces at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 (Thompsons had already been widely used throughout China since the 1920s, at a time when several Chinese warlords and their military factions running various parts of the fragmented country made purchases of the weapon and then subsequently produced many local copies). Tommy Guns are prohibited in CT, MD, NY. (In 1923, the Army had rejected the .45 RemingtonThompson, which had twice the energy of the .45 ACP). Jeff Bradley shows off the Modern Hunting Rifle (MHR) from Christensen Arms at SHOT Show 2023. in Weimar Germany ISBN 0889353565, 9780889353565, This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 09:24. Rotate the lever 90 degrees to the horizontal and the magazine slips to the left out of the gun. The Model 1927A3 is a semi-automatic, .22 caliber version of the Thompson produced by Auto-Ordnance in West Hurley. Classic FBI Guns: Thompson Submachine Gun - Gun Digest Thompsons(!) Thompson requested Payne to develop a method of reducing the cyclic rate of fire. or Best Offer +C $6.97 shipping. These modern versions should not be confused with the original semi-automatic M1927, which was a slightly modified M1921 produced by Colt for Auto-Ordnance. In its original design, it was finished more like a sporting weapon, with an adjustable rear sight, a blued, finned barrel and vertical foregrip (or pistol grip) and the Blish lock. Original U.S. WWII Thompson SMG Five Cell 20 Round Magazine Pouch: WWII Dated & Marked. ), The staff of Savage Arms looked for ways to simplify the M1928A1, and produced a prototype in February 1942, which was tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in March 1942. [65][66] In 1927, the U.S. Navy ordered 500 Thompsons but requested a lower rate of fire. The original selective-fire Thompson variants are no longer produced, although numerous semi-automatic civilian versions are still being produced by the manufacturer Auto-Ordnance. So even though one is tempted to unleash a volley of 36-grain hollow points, rapid-fire can be sluggish. [4], During the failed 1924 coup Estonian communists used Thompsons in an attempt to storm the Tallin barracks; meanwhile the MP 18 was used by the defenders. It's about half the scale of a real Thompson Model 1921 submachine gun that it mimics. If a gun cycles light target loads - in my case Lapua and Eley's match loads - it will cycle anything found in a gun store. The Tale of the Tommy Gun - Popular Mechanics An extended thirty-round box magazine and a forty-round magazine, which were made by welding two 20-round magazines face to face, jungle style, were tested. For example, the receiver is made from aluminum, which means that there is considerable weight savings as compared to a similarly configured .45-caliber Tommy Gun. They began producing copies of the Thompson in small quantities for use by their armies and militias. New Zealand commando forces in the South Pacific campaign initially used Thompsons but switched them for the more reliable, lighter, and more accurate Owen during the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal campaigns.