Auto-Ordnance was a U.S. arms development firm founded by retired Colonel John T. Thompson of the United States Army Ordnance Department in 1916. [1] Auto-Ordnance is best known for the Thompson submachine gun, used as a military weapon by the Allied forces in World War II, and also notorious as a gangster weapon used during the Roaring Twenties.
Auto-Ordnance Corporation was created by John T. Thompson in August 1916 with the backing of investor Thomas Ryan. In 1915 Thompson had found the Blish Lock patent of Commander John Blish, which was the operating principle of the first prototypes of the Thompson submachine gun and the Thompson Autorifle. In exchange for shares of the newly founded company Blish agreed to give Thompson his patent. Thompson hired two design engineers Theodore H. Eickoff and Oscar V. Payne. The engineers learned that the Blish lock design, which was a delayed blowback action, was ineffective with the .30-06 rifle cartridge but very effective with the .45 ACP pistol round. The birth of the Thompson submachine gun took place when Thompson had the idea of a "trench sweeper" or "trench broom". The first short run production model was 1919, too late for use in World War I. [2]
Thompson first showed the submachine gun design to the US government, but it became a gun for law enforcement before it was put to use in the military. The initial production of the Model 1921 was by Colt. After the Thompson submachine gun received the nickname "Tommy Gun" in the popular press, Thompson went to the trademark office to protect the nickname. A small run of M1928 and M1928A1 made by Savage Arms were stamped "TOMMY GUN". [3]
Auto-Ordnance produced different prototypes for military rifle trials in the 1920s [4] and for the .30 carbine trials in the early 1940s [5] but these were not adopted by the military. Later during World War II, Auto-Ordnance established its own production plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and produced the M1928A1, M1 and M1A1 Thompsons to augment production by Savage Arms for the military. Auto-Ordnance also made parts for other military firearms as a subcontractor for other manufacturers in World War II.
The Thompson M1A1 was typically issued to tankers and others affiliated with vehicles, due to the weapon's heavy weight and short effective range. Later, it became popular for use in urban environments due to its short barrel making it easier to bring to target in a confined space than the M1 Garand, and in jungle warfare due to its volume of fire and stopping power.
During the 1950s, the assets of the original Auto-Ordnance Corporation were acquired and operated by Numrich Arms Corporation (NAC, no relation to the original 1916 AOC). Numrich Arms Auto-Ordnance assembled limited numbers of Thompson submachine guns primarily for law enforcement from existing receivers found in the crates purchased in 1951, including M1928A1 and M1A1 models. Numrich also supplied parts for Thompson guns to law enforcement and gun collectors. In 1974, the Numrich incarnation of Auto-Ordnance made a few full auto Thompson submachine guns and numerous semi-automatic only replicas of the Thompson gun for the collectors' market, including .22 LR caliber.
Auto-Ordnance Corporation was bought out in 1999 by Saelio Enterprises Inc., parent company of Kahr Arms. Numrich Arms continued as Gun Parts Corporation. Kahr continues to make semi-automatic-only "Thompson Carbines" in .45 ACP. Although they appear identical to their selective-fire (full-auto) predecessors, unlike those the new production Thompsons fire from a closed bolt rather than the open bolt of the original Thompson design. Dimensional changes prevent installation of full-auto bolts and fire control groups in the semi-auto frames or receivers. Variations include the "Chicago Typewriter" 1927A-1 which resembles the Model 1921AC of the gangster era; the 1927A-1 "Commando" which resembles the early World War II Model 1928A1 Thompson with the Cutts Compensator; the TM1 which resembles the later World War II M1 Thompson with the side-mounted bolt handle; and a "Thompson pistol" that essentially is an M1928 without provision for mounting a buttstock. Kahr Auto-Ordnance also manufactures replicas of the U.S. World War II M1 carbine and M1911 pistol.
A machine pistol is an autoloading pistol capable of fully automatic fire, including stockless handgun-style submachine guns.
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with notably less firepower than a machine gun. As a machine gun must fire rifle cartridges to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns.
The Blish lock is a breech locking mechanism designed by John Bell Blish based upon his assumption that under extreme pressures, certain dissimilar metals would resist movement with a force greater than friction laws would predict. In modern engineering terminology, it is an extreme manifestation of what is now called static friction, or stiction. His locking mechanism was used first in the Thompson submachine gun. Nowadays it is discredited as a useful firearm operating principle, due to its almost nonexistent effects on the operation and functioning of a firearm; because of that, firearms which theoretically employed it operate not by the supposed Blish lock principle, but, in fact, by blowback operation.
The Thompson submachine gun is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by United States Army Brigadier General John T. Thompson in 1918. It was designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare of World War I, although early models did not arrive in time for actual combat.
The M1 carbine is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was issued to the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced in several variants and was widely used by paramilitary and police forces around the world after World War II.
John TaliaferroThompson was a United States Army officer best remembered as the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun.
The .45 Reising submachine gun was manufactured by Harrington & Richardson (H&R) Arms Company in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, and was designed and patented by Eugene Reising in 1940. The three versions of the weapon were the Model 50, the folding stock Model 55, and the semiautomatic Model 60 rifle. Over 100,000 Reisings were ordered during World War II, and were initially used by the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and the United States Coast Guard, though some were shipped to Canadian, Soviet, and other allied forces to fight the Axis powers.
The .30 Carbine (7.62×33mm) is a rimless carbine/rifle cartridge used in the M1 carbine introduced in the 1940s. It is a light rifle round designed to be fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch (458 mm) barrel.
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge.
The Hyde-Inland M2 was a United States submachine gun design submitted for trials at Aberdeen Proving Ground in February 1941. Work was undertaken by General Motors Inland Manufacturing Division to develop workable prototypes of George Hyde's design patented in 1935. The model first submitted for trials in April 1942 was designated the Hyde-Inland 1. Trials revealed the design was superior to the M1 submachine gun in mud and dirt tests, and its accuracy in full-automatic firing was better than any other submachine gun tested at the time. An improved Hyde-Inland 2 was designated U.S. Submachine gun, Caliber .45, M2 as a substitute standard for the M1 Thompson in April 1942. As Inland's manufacturing capacity became focused on M1 carbine production, the US Army contracted M2 production to Marlin Firearms in July 1942. Marlin began production in May 1943. Marlin's production failed to match the trials prototype performance; and Marlin's original contract for 164,450 M2s was canceled in 1943 upon adoption of the M3 submachine gun. The M2 is chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge and used the same 20- or 30-round magazine as the Thompson. Its cyclic rate of fire is 570 rounds per minute. None of the approximately 400 manufactured were issued by any branches of the United States military.
The 9×25mm Mauser is a cartridge developed for the Mauser C96 service pistol around 1904 by DWM. Mauser pistols in this relatively powerful caliber were primarily intended for export to Africa, Asia, and South America. The 9mm Mauser Export cartridge was produced specifically for Mauser pistols and carbines made from 1904 to 1914 and then later from approximately 1930 to 1945 for submachine guns chambered for this caliber.
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was chambered for the same .45 ACP round fired by the Thompson submachine gun, but was cheaper to mass produce and lighter, at the expense of accuracy. The M3 was commonly referred to as the "Grease Gun" or simply "the Greaser," owing to its visual similarity to the mechanic's tool.
The Thompson Light Rifle was an attempt by the Auto-Ordnance Company to manufacture a light rifle for the United States Armed Forces. The overall weapon was based on their well proven .45 ACP submachine gun, although the original .30 Carbine caliber rifle was based on the M1921/27 variants. It worked well but due to the war effort was found expensive for mass production and its weight defied the concept of a light rifle.
The M1944 Hyde Carbine was developed by George Hyde, designed to be a light rifle for the US Armed Forces. The overall weapon was based on the Thompson Submachine Gun, which Hyde drew inspiration from in many of his weapon designs.