Posted on 06/15/2017 6:21:16 AM PDT by w1n1
Few firearms have earned the mystique that the Thompson submachine gun has enjoyed for nearly a century. The long association that the "Tommy Gun" has had with gangsters, G-men and G.I.s has made it a movie star, a prized collectible, and an American icon.
The gun’s genesis dates back to World War I when retired General John T. Thompson sought to develop a lightweight, fast-firing rifle that U.S. troops could use as a “trench broom” to break the stalemate of trench warfare.
Thompson believed recoil or gas operated weapons were too heavy and complicated for this role and sought a new method of operation. He formed the Auto-Ordnance Company (AOC), found financial backing, and hired engineers to help develop this weapon.
Thompson seized upon the concept of the Blish Lock, developed by John Bell Blish (a career U.S. naval officer and inventor), as the key element for the design. Read the rest of the Tommy gun story here.
Heavy...?
As in “Way Cool Factor!”
I didn’t appreciate the power of the Thompson until I got some experience with a 1911 and saw the potential of the .45 round.
As in weight, but then ....
Yeah, he used it on a guy “in Mombassa in a barroom drinking gin”
Patty Hearst ain’t buyin’ it.
Oh, wait..
Not the one I fired. Heavy little sucker helped hold it steady as a water hose.
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