Army and Weapons | Deadly SMG Thompson submachine gun | The Thompson submachine gun is an American, invented by John T. Thompson, in 1919, which became infamous at the time of Prohibition. It was a common sight in the media of the time, used by both police officers and criminals. Thompson is also known informally as: the "Tommy Gun," "Trench Broom", "Trench Sweeper", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano" and "chopper".
The Thompson was favored by soldiers, criminals and the police as ergonomics, compactness, large .45 ACP cartridge, reliability, and high volume of automatic fire. He has since gained popularity among collectors for its historical importance civilians.
The Thompson submachine gun was developed by General John T. Thompson who originally proposed an automatic rifle (semi-automatic rifle) to replace the bolt-action rifles then in use service. While searching for a way to allow such a weapon to function safely without the complexity of a mechanism for recoil or gas operated, Thompson came across a patent issued to John Bell Blish in 1915 based on membership metal surfaces inclined pressure. Thompson has found a donor, Thomas F. Ryan, and started the company Auto-Ordnance in 1916 in order to develop his automatic rifle. The principal designers Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne, and George E. Goll. In late 1917, the limits of the principle Blish were discovered: instead of working like a locked breech, it functioned as a friction delayed blowback action. It was found that the cartridge currently in service in the United States suitable for use with the lock was the .45 ACP round. Thompson, then devised a "one-man, one machine gun hand" in .45 ACP as a "trench broom" for use in trench warfare during the War I. Payne designed the gun itself and with his stick and drum magazines. The project was then titled "Annihilator I", and in 1918, most design problems had been resolved. However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe .
At a meeting of the Board Auto-Ordnance in 1919 to discuss the marketing of the "Annihilator", the war was over, the weapon was officially renamed the "Thompson Submachine Gun." While other weapons had been developed shortly before with similar goals in mind, the Thompson was the first weapon to be labeled and marketed as a "machine pistol". Thompson for automatic weapons as a "trench broom to sweep enemy troops in the trenches, filling a role for which the bar had been proved unsuitable. Simultaneously, the concept was developed by German troops using their own Bergmann MP18 submachine guns, along with tactics sturmtruppen.
Thompson first entered production as the model of 1921. It was available to civilians, even though its high price resulted in some sales. Model of 1921 Thompsons were first sold in small quantities to the U.S. Postal Service (to protect the mail from a wave of burglaries), followed by several police agencies in the United States and international sales minor various armies and police forces, mainly in Central and South America. Thompsons were also acquired by the Irish Republican Army supporters in the United States and were used in the later stages of the war of Irish independence and civil war.
The Thompson achieved most of its early notoriety in the hands of the Prohibition and Depression-era gangsters and in Hollywood movies. Nationalist China also acquired a certain amount for use against Japanese land forces, and eventually began producing copies of Thompson in small quantities for use by its various armies and militias.
In 1938, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. Army, serving during World War II and later in the Korean War and the early stages of the Vietnam War. Other Allied countries purchased the Thompson as well, including the United Kingdom and France. Changes to simplify and reduce production costs were made in 1942, resulting in M1 and M1A1 models, which were commonly practiced by both NCOs and officers.
There were two military types of Thompson SMG. The M1928A1 used a 20 - and later 30-round box magazine or 50 - and 100-round drum. It had cooling fins on the barrel, and cocking handle was on top of the receiver. The M1 and M1A1 had a plain barrel without cooling fins, a simplified rear view of a 20 - and later, the magazine box of 30 cartridges, and the cocking handle was on the side of the receiver. The M1928A1 with the regular M1928 was the choice of the Marines. The M1A1 was the choice of the army. Thompson for automatic weapons as a "trench broom to sweep enemy troops in the trenches, filling a role of the bar had been unable to . Ironically, this concept was adopted by German troops using their own machine guns, along with tactics sturmtruppen.
The Thompson found particular utility in the Second World War in the hands of allied troops as a weapon for scouts, non-commissioned officers and patrol leaders. In the European theater, the gun has been widely used in the units of British and Canadian commandos and U.S. paratroopers and Ranger battalions. A variant of the Swedish M1928A1, called Kulsprutepistol m/40 ("Submachine Gun m/40" ["spray gun" directly translated]), served in the Swedish army between 1940 and 1951. Through Lend-Lease, the Soviet Union also used the Thompson, but this practice was not widespread.
In the Pacific theater, the Australian Army infantry and other Commonwealth forces initially used the Thompson extensively in jungle patrols and ambushes, where it was prized for its firepower, but his truck and supply problems eventually led to its replacement by other submachine guns such as Owen and Austen. U.S. Marines also used the Thompson as a weapon limited issue, especially in their later island assaults. The Thompson was soon found to have a limited effect in the cover of thick jungle, where the low velocity .45 bullet would not penetrate most small-diameter trees, or Japanese helmets or protective vests (in 1923 The army rejected the 0.45 Remington-Thompson, who had twice the energy of the ACP .45). In the U.S. Army, numerous patrols in the jungle of the Pacific War were originally equipped with Thompsons in the early stages of New Guinea and Guadalcanal campaigns, but soon used the bar in its place, especially front (point) and rear (tail) positions, as a point defense weapon.
At the time of the Korean War, the Thompson had been withdrawn from service, a machine pistol standard problem with U.S. forces. He was replaced by the machine gun M3/M3A1 and the M1/M2 carbine. Many Thompsons were distributed to the Chinese armed forces as military aid before the fall of the government of Chiang Kai-shek to Mao Zedong's Communist forces in 1949. During the Korean War, American troops were surprised to encounter Chinese Communist troops heavily armed with Thompsons, especially at night surprise attacks. The ability of the weapon to deliver large amounts of short-range automatic assault fire proved very useful in the defense and assault during the first part of the conflict. Many of these weapons have been recovered and returned to service with American soldiers and Marines for the balance of the war.
The Thompson was also used because limited by the U.S. Marine Corps (carrying more than their service post office) as the M1928 in a series of interventions in Central America, including Nicaragua, where he was popular with the Marines as a point defense weapon to counter an ambush by Sandinista guerrillas. During the Vietnam War, some South Vietnamese army units and defense militias were armed with Thompson machine guns, and some of these weapons were used by reconnaissance units, advisors and other U.S. troops. He was then replaced by the M16.
The Thompson was also used by the United States and overseas law enforcement and police forces, most prominently by the FBI. The FBI used Thompsons until 1976, when it was declared obsolete. All Thompsons in U.S. government possession were destroyed, except for a few token museum pieces and training models.
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The Thompson submachine gun was developed by General John T. Thompson who originally proposed an automatic rifle (semi-automatic rifle) to replace the bolt-action rifles then in use service. While searching for a way to allow such a weapon to function safely without the complexity of a mechanism for recoil or gas operated, Thompson came across a patent issued to John Bell Blish in 1915 based on membership metal surfaces inclined pressure. Thompson has found a donor, Thomas F. Ryan, and started the company Auto-Ordnance in 1916 in order to develop his automatic rifle. The principal designers Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne, and George E. Goll. In late 1917, the limits of the principle Blish were discovered: instead of working like a locked breech, it functioned as a friction delayed blowback action. It was found that the cartridge currently in service in the United States suitable for use with the lock was the .45 ACP round. Thompson, then devised a "one-man, one machine gun hand" in .45 ACP as a "trench broom" for use in trench warfare during the War I. Payne designed the gun itself and with his stick and drum magazines. The project was then titled "Annihilator I", and in 1918, most design problems had been resolved. However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe .
At a meeting of the Board Auto-Ordnance in 1919 to discuss the marketing of the "Annihilator", the war was over, the weapon was officially renamed the "Thompson Submachine Gun." While other weapons had been developed shortly before with similar goals in mind, the Thompson was the first weapon to be labeled and marketed as a "machine pistol". Thompson for automatic weapons as a "trench broom to sweep enemy troops in the trenches, filling a role for which the bar had been proved unsuitable. Simultaneously, the concept was developed by German troops using their own Bergmann MP18 submachine guns, along with tactics sturmtruppen.
Thompson first entered production as the model of 1921. It was available to civilians, even though its high price resulted in some sales. Model of 1921 Thompsons were first sold in small quantities to the U.S. Postal Service (to protect the mail from a wave of burglaries), followed by several police agencies in the United States and international sales minor various armies and police forces, mainly in Central and South America. Thompsons were also acquired by the Irish Republican Army supporters in the United States and were used in the later stages of the war of Irish independence and civil war.
The Thompson achieved most of its early notoriety in the hands of the Prohibition and Depression-era gangsters and in Hollywood movies. Nationalist China also acquired a certain amount for use against Japanese land forces, and eventually began producing copies of Thompson in small quantities for use by its various armies and militias.
In 1938, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. Army, serving during World War II and later in the Korean War and the early stages of the Vietnam War. Other Allied countries purchased the Thompson as well, including the United Kingdom and France. Changes to simplify and reduce production costs were made in 1942, resulting in M1 and M1A1 models, which were commonly practiced by both NCOs and officers.
There were two military types of Thompson SMG. The M1928A1 used a 20 - and later 30-round box magazine or 50 - and 100-round drum. It had cooling fins on the barrel, and cocking handle was on top of the receiver. The M1 and M1A1 had a plain barrel without cooling fins, a simplified rear view of a 20 - and later, the magazine box of 30 cartridges, and the cocking handle was on the side of the receiver. The M1928A1 with the regular M1928 was the choice of the Marines. The M1A1 was the choice of the army. Thompson for automatic weapons as a "trench broom to sweep enemy troops in the trenches, filling a role of the bar had been unable to . Ironically, this concept was adopted by German troops using their own machine guns, along with tactics sturmtruppen.
The Thompson found particular utility in the Second World War in the hands of allied troops as a weapon for scouts, non-commissioned officers and patrol leaders. In the European theater, the gun has been widely used in the units of British and Canadian commandos and U.S. paratroopers and Ranger battalions. A variant of the Swedish M1928A1, called Kulsprutepistol m/40 ("Submachine Gun m/40" ["spray gun" directly translated]), served in the Swedish army between 1940 and 1951. Through Lend-Lease, the Soviet Union also used the Thompson, but this practice was not widespread.
In the Pacific theater, the Australian Army infantry and other Commonwealth forces initially used the Thompson extensively in jungle patrols and ambushes, where it was prized for its firepower, but his truck and supply problems eventually led to its replacement by other submachine guns such as Owen and Austen. U.S. Marines also used the Thompson as a weapon limited issue, especially in their later island assaults. The Thompson was soon found to have a limited effect in the cover of thick jungle, where the low velocity .45 bullet would not penetrate most small-diameter trees, or Japanese helmets or protective vests (in 1923 The army rejected the 0.45 Remington-Thompson, who had twice the energy of the ACP .45). In the U.S. Army, numerous patrols in the jungle of the Pacific War were originally equipped with Thompsons in the early stages of New Guinea and Guadalcanal campaigns, but soon used the bar in its place, especially front (point) and rear (tail) positions, as a point defense weapon.
At the time of the Korean War, the Thompson had been withdrawn from service, a machine pistol standard problem with U.S. forces. He was replaced by the machine gun M3/M3A1 and the M1/M2 carbine. Many Thompsons were distributed to the Chinese armed forces as military aid before the fall of the government of Chiang Kai-shek to Mao Zedong's Communist forces in 1949. During the Korean War, American troops were surprised to encounter Chinese Communist troops heavily armed with Thompsons, especially at night surprise attacks. The ability of the weapon to deliver large amounts of short-range automatic assault fire proved very useful in the defense and assault during the first part of the conflict. Many of these weapons have been recovered and returned to service with American soldiers and Marines for the balance of the war.
The Thompson was also used because limited by the U.S. Marine Corps (carrying more than their service post office) as the M1928 in a series of interventions in Central America, including Nicaragua, where he was popular with the Marines as a point defense weapon to counter an ambush by Sandinista guerrillas. During the Vietnam War, some South Vietnamese army units and defense militias were armed with Thompson machine guns, and some of these weapons were used by reconnaissance units, advisors and other U.S. troops. He was then replaced by the M16.
The Thompson was also used by the United States and overseas law enforcement and police forces, most prominently by the FBI. The FBI used Thompsons until 1976, when it was declared obsolete. All Thompsons in U.S. government possession were destroyed, except for a few token museum pieces and training models.
