It was available to civilians, though its high price resulted in few sales. The Thompson first entered production as the Model of 1921. 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". However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe.Īt 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". The project was then titled "Annihilator I", and by 1918, most of the design issues had been resolved. By late 1917, the limits of the Blish lock were discovered, and it had been found that the only cartridge currently in United States service suitable for use with the lock was the. Thompson found a financial backer, Thomas Fortune Ryan, and started the Auto-Ordnance Corporation in 1916 for the purpose of developing his weapon. While searching for a way to allow such a weapon to operate safely, Thompson came across a patent issued to John Bell Blish. 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. The Thompson Submachine Gun was designed by General John T. 4 Civilian ownership in the United States.45 ACP bullet, and high volume of automatic fire. The Thompson was favored by soldiers and civilians alike for its compactness, large. The Thompson was also known as the " Tommy Gun", " Chopper", " Chicago Typewriter" and " Chicago Piano". It was a common sight of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. The Thompson submachine gun is an American submachine gun that became infamous during the Prohibition era. World War II, Korean War, First Indochina War, Vietnam WarĪuto-Ordnance Company (originally), Colt, Savage Arms United States military, FBI, Swedish Army, British Army, Canadian Army, Australian Army, United States This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia ( view authors).ġ938–1971 (officially, United States military) Thompson M1A1 on display at Virginia War Museum
Firearm Infobox Name, Image, type, origin