US Caliber .45 M1928A1 / M1 / M1A1 Thompson SMG
Rosaire Cyr poses with a M1928A1 Thompson SMG
509th Lead Scout Richard Fisco carries a M1928A1 Thompson SMG with a M1 Carbine sling. Back from a night patrol he is being debriefed by the Intelligence Officer. He spoke German and French He was known for listening in on German conversations and occasionally conversed with them in the dark from within their lines to gain intelligence. Venafro, Italy, November 1943
509th Lead Scout Sgt Richard Fisco carries a M1928A1 Thompson SMG with a modified forward grip. He is demonstrating his fighting stance utilizing a low profile point and shoot technique rather than using the sights. Italy, 1944
Theodore Fina ready for the jump carries his M1928A1 at the ready without the stock to make it more compact. The stock is easily removable with the push of a button on the stock aft of the receiver. He also has the forward vertical grip installed. Italy, August 1944
What many people may not know about the iconic Thompson Submachine Gun was that it was the result of a failed attempt to create an Auto Rifle. Lt Col. John T. Thompson while serving as Chief of Ordnance for the Cuban Campaign where he gained a reputation for his logistical organizational abilities, safely transporting 18,000 tons of munitions from Tampa, FL to the battlefields in Cuba without incident. During this campaign he met Lt. John H. Parker who convinced him to acquire 15 gatling guns so Lt Parker could form a Gatling Gun unit. After the Cuban campaign, Col. Thompson was assigned as Chief, Small Arms Division, Ordnance Department. As Chief of Small Arms, he supervised the development of the M1903 Springfield Rifle and the development of the .45 ACP. He also chaired the board which approved the adoption of the M1911 pistol. In this position he also advocated for the development of an Auto Rifle from his experiences in the Cuban Campaign but met some resistance as some considered automatic rifles somewhat wasteful.
In 1914, Col. John Thompson retired from the Army and went to work as Chief Engineer for Remington Arms Company and supervised the construction of the Eddystone Arsenal, Chester, PA. In his spare time he continued to conduct research into the development of an Auto Rifle. While researching patents that could help solve problems with locking or delaying the opening of the breech, he came across the design by Commander John Blish, U.S. Navy who developed the Blish Lock based off of the Blish Principle. The Blish Principle believed that metals had a greater tendency to adhere to each other when high pressure is rapidly applied. This was based on observations he made from breeches that would come open or unscrewed under low pressure firing charges but would remained closed and locked under high pressure firing charges on naval guns. Commander Blish took this theory and developed the Blish Lock that was essentially a wedge that delayed the opening of breech until pressures dropped to a safe level.
John Thompson was excited to find this patent and believed it would solve the problem of premature opening and unsafe chamber pressures in a blowback firearm design. Further it did not require a complex locking mechanism. In 1915 John Thompson contacted John Blish about the design and worked out an agreement to use his design in exchange for shares in a company he would be forming soon. In 1916 the Auto Ordnance Corporation was formed with financial backing from Thomas Ryan, a tycoon in the tobacco industry. The first two employees were Chief Engineer Theodore Eickhoff and Assistant George Goll. In 1917, several prototypes were designed and tested using the Blish Lock and Blowback design with rifle ammunition. Tests found that it would fire several rounds and then jam up damaging the Blish Lock and not extracting cartridges properly. Lubricating the cartridges helped but this was an unacceptable solution. Eickhoff then tested the design with .45 ACP round and found it to work reliably. Since the intent was to design an Auto Rifle, Eickhoff did not look forward to telling the bad news to John Thompson. John Thompson when he heard to news replied “Very well, we shall put aside the auto rifle for now and instead build a little machine gun. A one man hand held machine gun. A trench broom!”
With the Great War in its third year, trench warfare tactics had been developed to counter the advances in artillery and heavy machine guns giving the advantage to the defenders. Even the lightest machine guns of the time, the Lewis Gun and the Chauchat, while mobile were still somewhat cumbersome and in short supply leaving most of the fight upon reaching the enemy trench to bolt action rifles, bayonets, grenades and clubs. Having a short range repeating arm, firing pistol cartridges would be an ideal close quarters offensive weapon for trench clearing.
Work on the new concept began immediately, by the summer of 1918 a design was finalized with a few minor changes made for durability and construction. Prototypes were made and designated Annihilator I. The first shipment was packaged and shipped for overseas delivery, arriving in New York City port on 11 November 1918, Armistice Day. Now that the war was over, there would be no need for a trench clearing weapon. With shareholders and much invested in the company, they needed to find a new market. In 1919 Auto Ordnance Corporation began to redesign the weapon for civilian use. The board discussed how to classify the gun and what to name it going forward. Eventually, they approved the name Thompson Submachine Gun.
In 1920, John Thompson demonstrated the Model 1919 Thompson Submachine Gun at the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. This was done in hopes of still securing an Army or Navy contract as well as to make the broader public aware of this unique firearm. Firing 1,500 rpm from a 100 round drum, from a weapon smaller than a rifle made quite an impression.
Auto Ordnance Corporation made further changes to the Thompson SMG by adding a detachable wooden stock so that the shooter could better utilize Lyman adjustable sight. These design changes were incorporated into the Model of 1921. Auto Ordnance then contracted with Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Company of Hartford, Connecticut to begin production. Starting in March 1921, 15,000 Model of 1921s would be produced. These could be bought by civilians for $175 to $200 and soon became notoriously popular with gangsters during the prohibition era, despite Auto Ordnance Corporations attempts to prevent sales to criminals. It was during this time that the Thompson SMG acquired the nicknames “Chopper, Gat, Chicago Typewriter, and the Tommy Gun”. Movies further amplified the impression that every gangster had one to even a greater degree. In actuality, criminals were paying $1,000 to $2,000 on the black market to acquire one. During the prohibition era the Coast Guard would purchase a number of Thompson SMGs to use on patrol boats for boarding parties of rum runners.
By 1925 only 3,000 had been sold. With sales lagging, and the need to revive interest in the Thompson SMG, Auto Ordnance created a semi-auto version in 1927 by converting some of their stock of Model of 1921s and re-designating them Model of 1927. The words “Submachine Gun” were milled off and over stamped with “Semi-Automatic Carbine”.
From 1926 to 1928 the US Marines purchased 671 Model of 1921s. Initially these were used to protect the US Mail after several violent hijackings. The hijackings quickly ended and the Marines would later use their Model of 1921s in action in Nicaragua and China. In 1928 the Navy contracted Auto Ordnance for a supply of Thompson SMGs but wanted the cyclic rate of fire lowered from 800 to 600 rounds per minute. Auto Ordnance again used existing stock of Model of 1921s and modified the internals to slow the rate of fire. They would also change to a horizontal fore grip. These would be marked “U.S. Navy and the “1” in Model of 1921 would be over stamped with an “8”. While a few were acquired by the Navy, many more Navy marked Model of 1928s were sold to police departments and to foreign governments. In 1930 the Marine Corps officially adopted the Thompson SMG due to its success in combat. In 1932 the US Army also acquired a few Navy Models for limited procurement for use in armored vehicles in the Cavalry.
With the stock market crash of 1929 and the great depression that followed, the 15,000 Thompsons made by Colt for Auto Ordnance would last for 20 years. Auto-Ordnance was eventually sold to Russell Maguire in the late 1930’s. With war breaking out in Europe, France contracted for 3,000 on November 1, 1939 which used up the remaining Thompsons in stock. The British soon followed with orders. Russell Maguire approached Colt to produce another run of M1928 Thompson SMGs. Colt was already committed to other military contracts and turned him down. He next turned to Savage Arms Corporation of Utica, NY who agreed in 1939 to begin production. Part of the agreement included that Savage Arms would not place their name on the weapon. Weapons would be stamped “Auto-Ordnance Corporation. New York, N.Y. U.S.A.” on the right side of the receiver serial numbers would be prefixed with the letter “S” for Savage. After initial retooling and production sample testing, Savage Arms began to fill contracts. The French requested an additional 3,000 in March 1940. Followed again by the British. The British purchased 108,000 Savage Arms built M1928 TSMG for $175.00 each with parts and accessories. These would be pre Lend Lease Act so no US markings would be on them. France was not able to take delivery before they surrendered to Germany.
With the signing of the Lend Lease Act in March 1941, the demand from Allied nations quickly outpaced production capacity, resulting in Auto Ordnance opening a factory in 1941 in Bridgeport, CT. Minor changes were made and designated M1928A1 TSMG. The most noticeable change was from the vertical wooden fore grip to a horizontal wooden fore grip. Also, all Savage and Auto Ordnance built weapons would be stamped Auto-Ordnance Corporation Bridgeport Connecticut. U.S.A.” to reflect the new address. Coordination was made for 100% parts interchangeability between Savage and Auto-Ordnance. The first M1928A1s to be produced at the Bridgeport plant were in August 1941. Auto Ordnance prefixed their serial numbers with “A.O.” Serial numbers can be found on the left side of the receiver and matching serial number on the bottom of the trigger housing normally covered when the stock is installed. Lend Lease weapons would be marked as US Property since they would be contracted by the US Government and lend / leased to Allied nations. US Ordnance Department would also contract M1928A1s for the US military. Initial cost per weapon was $202.50. This cost would gradually reduce with each successive contract.
Around serial number S. 400,000 and A.O. 80,000, Auto Ordnance began to simplify the design of the M1928A1 by replacing the complex Lyman adjustable rear sight with a fixed sight formed in the shape of an “L”. This change took place in Feb 1942 at the request of the Ordnance Department who determined that a simpler more ruggedized sight with a larger sighting aperture was needed. The .125 sight aperture was ranged at 100 yards and the notch at the top for 250 yards. This sight would also be used later on the M1 TSMG.
To further simplify and speed up production the complex finned barrel was examined by the Ordnance Department. It was determined to be unnecessary since the open bolt design permitted cooling. Around serial number S. 500,000 and A.O. 85,000 the finned barrel was superseded by the smooth tapered barrel. During this time checkering of various parts began to be eliminated.
Further redesign and simplification continued on the TSMG when Savage Arms proposed to the Ordnance Department in February 1942 a series of improvements that would eliminate the complicated three piece Blish Lock bolt design for a single piece bolt design. The Ordnance Department adopted the new design in April 1942 as the Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M1. The M1 TSMG would also see the Cutts compensator removed, provisions for the drum magazine removed and the charging handle moved to the right side. The M1928A1 was then classified Limited Standard on 25 April 1942. The last M1928A1 TSMG was manufactured on 15 October 1942 at a cost of $70.00 per weapon. The total for all M1928 and M1928A1s manufactured from 1940 to 1942 was 1,070,832 (Auto Ordnance – 323,900 and Savage Arms – 746,932). Thereafter all TSMG manufacturing would be the M1 with the first being delivered in July 1942. A final design change would be accepted by the Ordnance Department on 29 October 1942 when Savage Arms presented a bolt design which eliminated the hammer, spring and firing pin by machining the firing pin head directly into the face of the bolt. The design would be designated Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M1A1.
While these changes simplified production, the TSMG was still a heavy compared to a new Submachine gun that the Ordnance Department was developing that would soon be designated the M3. The Ordnance Department notified Auto Ordnance to conclude production with the last contracted M1A1 being produced on 15 February 1944 at a final cost of $43. In all, 714,355 (Savage Arms – 464,800, Auto Ordnance – 249,555) M1 and M1A1s were delivered. On 16 March 1944 the Ordnance Committee officially designated the M1928 and M1928A1 obsolete. The M1 and M1A1 would both continue to serve in limited standard through the end of WWII and to a limited degree in Korea and Vietnam.
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