Shiney Bores and Well-Oiled Actions – The Tommy Gun

The Thompson M1A1

This is the Auto-Ordnance M1SB which maintains the look of the original Thompson submachine gun, but operates as a semi-automatic rifle. Because of it’s barrel length, this model is an NFA item. The Full Automatic models are not currently in production at Auto-Ordnance.

(From Wikipedia:) The Thompson Submachine Gun was designed by General John T. Thompson, who was inspired by the trench warfare of World War I to develop a “one-man, hand-held machine gun”, firing a rifle caliber round. While searching for a way to allow such a weapon to operate safely, Thompson came across a patent issued to John Bell Blish. Thompson found a financial backer, Thomas Fortune Ryan, and started the Auto-Ordnance Corporation in 1916 for the purpose of developing his weapon. The principal designers were Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne, and George E. Goll. By late 1917, the limits of the Blish lock were discovered, and it had been found that the only cartridge currently in U.S. service suitable for use with the lock was the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol). The project was then titled “Annihilator I”, and by 1918, most of the design issues had been resolved. However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe.

At an Auto-Ordnance board meeting in 1919 to discuss the marketing of the “Annihilator”, with the war over, the weapon was officially renamed the “Thompson Submachine Gun”. While other weapons had been developed shortly prior with similar objectives in mind, the Thompson was the first weapon to be labeled and marketed as a “submachine gun”

The Thompson first entered production as the Model of 1921. It was available to civilians, though its high price resulted in few sales. Model of 1921 Thompsons were first sold in small quantities to the U.S. Post Office (to protect the mail from a spate of robberies), followed by several police departments in the United States and minor international sales to various armies and constabulary forces, chiefly in Central and South America. Thompsons were also acquired by the Irish Republican Army from supporters in the U.S. and were used in the latter stages of the Irish War of Independence and Civil War.

In 1938, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. military, serving during World War II and later into the Korean War, as well as early stages of the Vietnam War. Other Allied countries purchased the Thompson as well, notably the United Kingdom and France. Modifications to simplify production and reduce cost were made in 1942, resulting in the M1 and M1A1 models, which were commonly carried by both non-commissioned and commissioned officers.