The Thompson Submachine Gun Read online

  CYCLIC RATE: The theoretical rate of fire of an automatic weapon, assuming an uninterrupted supply of ammunition. Normally shown as rounds per minute [rpm]

  FORE-END/FORE-GRIP: The front grip of a submachine gun or rifle.

  PARKERIZED: A wartime form of blueing, but one that produced a matt, blue-grey finish.

  PEEPSIGHT: A simple open rearsight, used mainly for close range shooting.

  RECEIVER: The body of a weapon within which the breech-block travels.

  RECOIL SPRING: Also known as the return spring. It is the spring in an automatic weapon that cushions the rearward movement of the breech-block, eventually returning it to its forward firing position.

  SEAR: A small angled bar linked to the trigger which locates in a slot in the bolt or breech-block, holding it to the rear. When the trigger is pulled, the sear is released and the firing mechanism moves forward to ignite the cartridge.

  SEMI-AUTOMATIC: A weapon that fires one shot and automatically re-cocks but will not fire a second shot until the trigger is pulled. Most submachine guns have a fire selector that enabled them to shoot in semi- or fully-automatic mode.

  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Unpublished sources:

  Author interview with Msr Jean-Marie Clemenceaux

  Author interview with Sergeant Jack Lovell, ex-3 Commando

  Author interview with Sergeant Thomas ‘Tommy’ Dales, ex-2 Commando

  Author interview with Peter Evans, ex-East Yorkshire Home Guard

  Chief Inspector of Small Arms Report, RSAF Enfield, 9 July 1921 (Pattern Room Library, National Firearms Collection, Royal Armouries, Leeds)

  US Marine Corps Report, Report of Infantry Weapons, October 1943

  US Ordnance Department Report, 7 March 1928

  Published sources:

  Canfield, Bruce N., US Infantry Weapons of World War II, Mowbray Publishing, Lincoln, RI (1996)

  Cox, Roger A., The Thompson Submachine Gun, Law Enforcement Ordnance Company, Athens, GA (1982)

  Cutts Jr, Brigadier General R.W., Guns Magazine (November 1957)

  Helmer, William J., The Gun that Made the Twenties Roar, Macmillan, London (1969)

  Hill, Tracie. L., Thompson – The American Legend, Collector Grade Publications, Ontario (1996)

  Hill, Tracie. L., The Ultimate Thompson Book, Collector Grade Publications, Ontario (2009)

  Hogg, Ian V. and John Weeks, Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, Guild Publishing, London (1991)

  Iannamico, Frank, American Thunder II, Moose Lake Publishing Llc, Henderson, NV (2009)

  Purvis, Melvin, American Agent, Doubleday, NY (1936)

  Pyle, Ernie, Brave Men, Dunlap, NY (1944)

  US Marine Corps, Report of Infantry Weapons in Combat (October 1943)

  First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford, OX2 0PH, UK

  44-02 23rd Street, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA

  E-mail: [email protected]

  © 2010 Osprey Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Print ISBN: 978 1 84908 149 8

  PDF ebook ISBN: 978 1 84908 150 4

  ePub ebook ISBN: 978 1 84908 654 7

  Page layout by Ben Salvesen

  Battlescene artwork by Peter Dennis

  Thompson cutaway artwork by Paul Dibden

  Index by Michael Forder

  Typeset in Sabon and Univers

  Originated by PDQ Media

  Printed in China through Worldprint

  10 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Imperial War Museum Collections

  Many of the photos in this book come from the Imperial War Museum’s huge collections which cover all aspects of conflict involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the start of the twentieth century. These rich resources are available online to search, browse and buy at http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk. In addition to Collections Online, you can visit the Visitor Rooms where you can explore over 8 million photographs, thousands of hours of moving images, the largest sound archive of its kind in the world, thousands of diaries and letters written by people in wartime, and a huge reference library. To make an appointment, call (020) 7416 5320, or e-mail [email protected]. Imperial War Museum http://www.iwm.org.uk

  Artist’s note

  Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the colour plate battlescenes in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiries should be addressed to:

  Peter Dennis, ‘Fieldhead’, The Park, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG18 2AT, UK

  The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to express my thanks to Blake Stevens of Collector Grade Publications for permission to use selected extracts from Tracie L. Hill’s seminal books on the Thompson submachine gun. Thanks also go to The Royal Armouries, Leeds, Dr Robert Maze, Laurie Landau, Brian Dick and Jan DeJonge, for photographs of their splendid Thompsons and to the late Jack Lovell, ‘Tommy’ Dales, Erwin Paul and Jean-Marie Clemenceaux. I am grateful to the staff of the following institutions for the use of their photographic collections: The Imperial War Museum, London, and the US Army and US Marine Corps.

  Cover photograph by SSgt Walter F. Kleine, courtesy National Archives. Okinawa, 1945: A BAR-gunner ducks to one side as the Tommy-man lets rip with his M1A1.

  Title page image: FBI agent on the range at the US Department of Justice building, with a Navy M1928 Thompson fitted with ‘L’ drum magazine.

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