Collectibles Articles Directory
Number One Ranked Article Directory
1000 Books on Collectibles || 115 FREE Collectibles Price Guides || 1,000,000 Collectibles Images || 200 Collectibles Glossaries
Home | Weapons And Tools | Firearms
Custom Search

Tommy Gun; Ushering in the Machine Gun Age

By: Randall Graham

Tommy Gun, gangster style



Like many of the world's classic firearms, the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun is instantly recognizable. It was developed initially for trench warfare in World War I, but by the time it was taking shape, the war was over. Unfazed by this timing, the gun's designer, John T. Thompson, a West Point graduate, was still intent on developing a hand-held fully-automatic weapon, so he surged ahead. What had started out as a solution for trench warfare--which pretty much ended at the close of World War I--was then presented as a police firearm.

During Prohibition in the "Roaring Twenties" (and also the 1930's), small numbers of these weapons were stolen--or otherwise acquired by corrupt means--from police armories and used by infamous Gangsters. Because of some high-profile crimes like the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, committed by notoriously famous organized criminals--an image further bolstered by Hollywood--the "Tommy Gun" practically became the national mascot for gangster crime. The truth is that a vast majority of Thompsons were used by police and military, and for the most part saw very little action in the hands of gangsters. Some of those gangsters however, did meet their end at the hands of police using the Tommy Gun. While powerful and capable of delivering a high rate of fire, it was too large and heavy for easy concealment, which was strongly preferred by gangsters toting around illegal weapons. The cliche' of carrying the gun around in a violin case was not very practical, and was probably used very little, except for in the movies.

While the most famous version of the Tommy Gun is the one with the large 50-round drum magazine, that version was not suitable for military use, as it made the gun--already heavy--excessively heavy, and tended to rattle. The military, having adopted the Thompson in 1938, preferred the version with the straight 30-round clip. It was the first fully automatic weapon issued to troops. Many more modifications were made to the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun in order to lighten its weight and production cost. Used by American paratroopers and Ranger battalions, as well as the Navy and Marines, the Thompson soon found its way around the world, seeing action in China, Austrailia, The Soviet Union, and almost all U.S. Allies. It also saw action in the Korean War, and Vietnam, and countless other conflicts.

Thompson M1928



The Thompson is still made today in legalized semi-automatic versions which range in price from US $900-$1,400. Original and functioning Thompsons from World War II and earlier can fetch $20,000 or more.

Article Source: https://www.collectibles-articles.com

Randall Graham is an internet marketer and author and fan of history. He is also a co-author of the blog, "The Non-Smoking Gun".

Reenactors, history buffs and gun fanciers will find authentic non-firing, black powder and blank-firing replicas of historic and classic firearms of the American Revolution, Civil War, Old West, both World Wars and the 20th Century at GunsOfOld.com. Other items of interest include Old West badges, Civil War and World War reenactor gear, holsters and other leather goods.

eBay Related Items on eBay:

Please Rate this Article              # of Ratings = 3 | Rating = 3.7/5

Print This Article

 Comments Closed Add To Favorites Email to Friends Publisher Ready
Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Firearms Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Weapons And Tools | Firearms
Publish Five Articles With Us
And Place This On Your Site:
Collectibles-Articles.com Expert Author
COLLECTIBLES RESOURCES
100+ FREE Price Guides!
1 million+ Collectibles Pics!
200+ Collectibles Glossaries!
100+ Reference Guides!
Collectibles News Feeds!
WE'VE BEEN FEATURED!
-National Public Radio -Pittsburgh Tribune -WIRED -lovetoknow Antiques Guide -Indianapolis Examiner -Whiskey Jack's Review -Ruby Lane -Collectibles Corner TV -The Auction Wally Show
♥ FEATURED ARTICLE ♥
Each week we choose an article that is exceptionally well written and interesting.
WHY WE DECLINE ARTICLES:
1.No interest to COLLECTORS
2.Poorly written or "Spun"
3.Is a sales pitch
4.No real information
5.Rewritten duplicates
NAVIGATION
AUTHOR LOGIN
REGISTER To Be An Author!
Why Be An Author?
SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
Submission Rules - READ!
FAQs For Authors
Top Articles
Top Authors
RSS Feeds of Articles
Collectibles-Articles HOME
This site is protected by NetworkScanning.com providing Vulnerability Assessment testing and security services.
We Twitter Best New Free Collectibles Articles, Price Guides, Glossaries, References - Follow Us!!
Read/Get Genre Short Stories
Emailed to You for FreeShort Story Me Genre Fiction
Crime - Fantasy - Horror
Mystery - Science Fiction
COLLECTOR'S BOOKSTORE!
Collectibles Books
Choose from 1000!
COLLECTIBLES MALL DISCOUNTS!
Collectibles Mall
Click the Image!
COLLECTIBLE ANTIQUE
STOCK CERTIFICATES
Antique Stock Certificates Scripophily
RealStockCertificates.com
Our Authors have been Featured at Ruby Lane:
Bookmark Any Page!
TRANSLATE
Tranlate Page To ChineseChinese  Tranlate Page To FrenchFrench 
Translate Page To GermanGerman  Translate Page To ItalianItalian 
Translate Page To JapaneseJapanese  Tranlate Page To KoreanKorean 
Tranlate Page To PortuguesePortugese  Tranlate Page To SpanishSpanish 
COLLECTIBLES TRIVIA
Exclusive Excerpts From:
COLLECTIBLES TRIVIA
Click the Image!
ADMINISTRATION
About Us
Contact Us
Link to Us
Our Authors' Books!
Privacy Policy
Sitemap
Terms of Service
OTHER RESOURCES
-Collectibles-Directories.com
©2008-2010 Copyright Collectibles-Articles.com All rights reserved.
Collectibles Articles Directory
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors.
Collectibles-Articles.com and its owners have no responsibility for said content.