Rockwall Gun Club Presents Famous Guns in History: Thompson Submachine Gun

This American made sub-machine gun was known as the “Tommy Gun”, “Chicago Typewriter”, “Trench Broom”, “The Chopper” or simply “The Thompson”.  Invented by John T. Thompson in 1918, it became infamous during the Prohibition era and used by the good and bad guys.  Thanks to Hollywood, the gun is known as the quintessential gangster gun and truly one of the most recognizable guns in the world. 

This sub-machine gun was favored for its large 45 ACP cartridges, accuracy in close encounters and especially the volume of automatic fire.  Today it is very popular among gun collectors for its historical significance and I would bet a few members of Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Hwy 205 in Terrell, Texas 75160 proudly own one. 

It is among the best-known firearm in recent history, although the original fully automatic Thompsons are no longer produced, numerous semi-automatic civilian versions are still being manufactured that comply with U.S. Firearm laws.  The actual production of this famous gun started in 1921 and ended in 1945 with over 2 million built.  Thompson envisioned a “One man, hand held machine gun” with .45 capabilities as a “Trench Broom” for use in WW1 trench warfare.  However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe. 

The Thompson was then available to be sold to civilians and was priced at $200 in 1921 (which in today's dollars would be around $2,700) much too pricey for the normal folks at that time.  The Thompson then was given to the Marines, police and various armies around the world.  The gun weighed about 10 lbs empty and was over 32 inches in length and had a rate of fire from 600 rpm to 1500 rpm in later models.  The feed system ranged from a 20 round magazine to a 100 round drum.  The major complaints against the Thompson were its weight, inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards and the lack of penetrating power.  But it was one scary gun, could be held with one hand and was the weapon that made the Twenties roar.  Later, in 1938, the Thompson was adopted by the U.S. Military and used extensively during WW11 in all theaters.  The tried and true Thompson was very effective and efficient in close combat because of its high rate of fire and stopping power at close range; our soldiers used this gun extensively in jungle patrols and street fighting.  It was slowly replaced with the U.S. M3 sub-machine gun around 1944.  After WW11, Thompson sub-machine guns were used by the Israelite's during the 1948 conflict.  During the Korean War American troops were surprised to encounter Chinese Communist forces heavily armed with the Thompsons.  This very historical sub-machine was later replaced by the M16 Assault rifle. 

Today because of their quality and craftsmanship as well as their gangster-era connection, the Thompson sub-machine gun has become very valuable to gun collectors.  If you are interested in finding one, maybe the folks at Rockwall Gun Club by calling them at 972.551.0470 and they can assist and it will be a great investment.  Stay tuned for other stories that made America as great as it is now.