War is never pretty, the carnage that took place during World War I in the trenches of Europe was particularly vicious. With the trench warfare as his inspiration, General John T. Thompson was in search of a one man highly portable machine gun, with the ability to use standard rifle cartridges. The project took on the title of the Annihilator. Unfortunately the development of the gun wasn’t completed until 1918, with prototypes becoming available to late to be shipped to Europe for combat evaluation.
After the war, the Annihilator was relabeled the Thompson Submachine Gun, the first to be marketed as a Submachine Gun. Becoming available to the general public in 1921, the Thompson Model 1921 was the first to hit the open market.
As often happens with bigger better armaments, they became popular with the criminal element almost immediately. John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Al Capone, and many more adopted this new rapid fire, light weight, large capacity weapon. Police departments and law enforcement in general picked up on the Thompson after realizing they were terribly out gunned when they had the misfortune to come up against them in shootouts.
The military accepted the Thompson into their arsenal in 1938. The .45 Caliber ammunition being the same as what the Colt 1918 semi-automatic pistol used simplified ammunition requirements. The more guns that use the same ammunition means a more streamlines chain of supply, with reduced storage and purchasing requirements.
The Thompson has a reputation for putting an enemy down, the .45 Caliber slug is comparatively slow, and large. Impact forge is great, when a target goes down, he usually stays down. With magazine capacities as high as 100 rounds, it was designed as a “Trench Broom” to clear out enemy troops from their entrenchments.
Serving honorably throughout World War II, it was replaced as standard issue during the Korean war. The Thompson Machine Gun was replaced by the M3/M3A1 Submachine Gun and the M1/M2 Carbine as the .45ACP round of the Thompson was found to be ineffective in jungle warfare.
Though used on a more limited basis during the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Thompson remained in service with law enforcement agencies and police departments for a number of years. The FBI finally declared the Thompson Machine Gun obsolete in 1976. At that time all Thompson’s that were held by the Federal Government were destroyed.
Prized by collector’s with war time production lowering the cost to $45 each, if you possessed a working copy of the 1928 Thompson .45ACP Submachine Gun today, it would easily fetch $20,000.
For a more comprehensive look at the Thompson Submachine Gun, also known as the Chicago Typewriter, Tommy Gun, or Chopper, be sure to visit:
Wikipedia Thompson submachine gun You’ve got to admit, if you’re at all interested in guns, this is one nice anti home invasion protector.
