![]() ![]() Indeed, no self respecting rum runner would be caught dead without his Chicago Typewriter (lest they be dead).Īnd it was in this role-one that underlined the incomparable might of the Prohibition-era underworld-that Thompson’s submachine gun became cemented into America’s iconography. What the hell good was a close range portable man killer in peace time? Ask any turn of the century gangster running liquor as The Volstead Act and prohibition kicked into full swing. He ended up with a far superior weapon-and then the war was over. Ironically, Thompson was initially working toward what we know as a semi-automatic to replace the bolt action M 1930 Springfield issued in 1905. As a philosophy, the weapon was developed to make warfare mobile, transforming it from the static trench bloodbath of the Great War to the ambush, hit-and-go combat scenarios of WWII and beyond. ![]() In terms of portability, the Thompson stood unrivalled for the time period.Īs an ordinance, the personally transportable machine gun provided exceptional firepower (on par with the Maxim considering the maneuverability of the Tommy Gun) and was light enough, 4 kilos (9 lbs.), for an individual shooter to fire comprehensively in battle. Thompson developed a quality submachine gun that was 75% lighter than the Maxim. The first machine gun ever was designed by American-born, British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884 in London and his gun was the ‘gold standard’ up until the Thompson. He solved the weight dilemma the same way as most gun designers do today: a simpler design. Clear a trench by sweeping the ‘Tommy Gun’ from side to side and the soldier’s nickname for the gun, the Trench Broom, was coined.īefore Thompson any machine gun was heavy and only handled by a fire team so, accordingly, Thompson’s biggest design problem was weight. Thompson addressed the very real armament requirement of a weapon designed to decimate grouped soldiers to secure ground quickly. In the later years of WW I, Colonel John T. A submachine gun combines automatic firepower with the portability of a stocked, heavy calibre pistol. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |