Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 23 Article 17 Issue 6 March--April Spring 1933 Thompson Sub-Machine Gun Philip B. Sharpe Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation Philip B. Sharpe, Thompson Sub-Machine Gun, 23 Am. Inst. Crim. L. & Criminology 1098 (1932-1933) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. 1098 PHILIP B. SHARPE his parole was revoked and he was returned to the penitentiary to complete his sentence. 8 One witness testifying in this investigation cited a large number of typical examples of the effect of Marihuana of which the following is the outstanding case. A Mexican, under the influence, while going beneath a railroad viaduct imagined that he saw approaching him, at great speed, a rider on an enormous horse. Dodging behind a column for protection, when he looked out again, he realized that what he had seen was an old woman pulling a small wagon. Going home, despite the fact that his wife had that day given birth to a child, he compelled her to get out of bed and prepare his dinner. Still suffering from the characteristic hallucinations, as she was peeling an onion, he imagined that she was preparing to attack him, and seizing a club he hit her in the head with such force that she was knocked unconscious. While this is only one example, it is typical of conditions among habitual smokers. THE THOMPSON SUB-MACHINE GUN PHILIP B. SHARPE Editor's Note: Since the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory of North- western University, the Director of which is Editor of the Police Science Sec- tion of this JOURNAL, came into being as a direct result of the so-called Valentine Day Massacre which occurred in Chicago on February 14, 1929, a crime note- worthy for its speed of execution and the number of victims involved, both of which were made possible through the employment of the so-called "sub- machine gun," it seems quite fitting that an article exhaustively describing this weapon should appear in the section which he edits. Mr. Sharpe, as a perusal of his paper will show, is quite familiar with the history of the Thomp- son gun from its inception over ten years ago up to the present time. Persons interested in informing themselves upon the mechanism, function, and uses of this weapon, will find his contribution a most welcome one. C. G. At the National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, back in August, 1920, there appeared a strange looking weapon. It was neither rifle nor shotgun; pistol nor revolver. It had two odd-looking pistol grips with finger grooves in the forward surfaces. It had no buttstock. The user held the weapon on his hip by firmly grasping the two grips-and squeezed the trigger. Then things began to happen. From the muzzle burst a sheet of flame containing a string of copper-jacketed pellets; from the breech THOMPSON SUB-MACHINE GUN 1U99 erupted a shower of shiny brass cases. Crowds gathered. Here was a deadly arm, capable of spraying the landscape with sudden death in the form of 230 grain .45 Colt Automatic pistol bullets. Figure L IDENTIFICATION OF COMPONENT PARTS, MODEL 21AC (Fig. I) (No Tools Necessary for This Dismounting) 1. Cutts Compensator. 18. Firing Pin Spring. 2. Front Sight (Dovetailed into Corn- 19. Hammer. pensator). 20. Hammer Pin. 3. Barrel. 21. Buffer Pilot. 4. Receiver. 22. Buffer. 5. Rear Sight (Lyman), leaf raised. 23. Recoil Spring. 6. Ejector (Not removed for photo). 24. Sear Spring. 7. Frame Latch and Spring. 25. Sear Lever. 8. Actuator. 26. Sear Lever Spring. 9. Lock. 27. Safety. 10. Bolt. 28. Rocker Pivot, or Fire Control 11. Pivot Plate. Lever. 12. Sear. 29. Trigger Spring. 13. Magazine Catch. 30. Trip. 14. Magazine Catch Spring. 31. Disconnector. 15. Frame with Grip Attached. 32. Disconnector Spring. 16. Extractor. 33. Rocker. 17. Firing Pin. 34. Trigger. "What. is it?' was the topmost question. "A machine gun? What's it for?" The designers let their friends into the secret. It was 'a new development-and when prepared for the market would be known as the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun-one of the fastest firing weapons ever devised! That same year the new gun was adopted by the New York Police. The first move in making the Sub-Machine Gun interna- tionally famous had started-a move which has steadily spread until, with the start of 1932, several hundred police departments in the United States and Canada are equipped with the weapon which has made history in law enforcement. The writer has been keenly interested in the Thompson gun ever since that initial showing at Perry. His interest has prompted the PHILIP B. SHARPE preparation of this compilation of historical and practical data on a much misunderstood firearm. The few Thompson guns which have fallen into the hands of law breakers are much more in a minority than law enforcement ex- ecutives believe. For nearly two years, it is safe to state, probably S E " Figure IL Thompson Sub-Machine Gun, Model 1921AC, fitted with Cutts Compensator, 20-shot clip magazine and detachable stock. Figure III. Thompson Sub-Machine Gun, (Navy model of 1928) fitted with Compensator, 50-shot drum magazine, sling strap, and detachable stock. not one of these guns has gone astray, due to an entirely new sales system which will be explained later. The original Thompson gun is the product of a mind well known in military circles-General John T. Thompson, U. S. A., retired. General Thompson served for many years in the Ordance Dept. of the Army, retiring in 1914. But even a retired war horse cannot be shoved into the background. When the World War broke out, and THOMPSON SUB-MACHINE GUN 1101 American arms makers, together with various machinery firms, under- took to fill contracts for small arms for sundry Allied nations, the government stepped in to supervise this work. General Thompson was appointed Director of Arsenals, and the task fell on his shoulders. The former Ordnance executive foresaw the entry of the United States into the affray, and his military experience clearly indicated that our two armories-Springfield and Rock Island Arsenal-could not be tooled up to handle properly the manufacture of the Model 1903 rifle in sufficient quantities to equip our large armies. So he carefully studied the foreign arms available. The Remington Arms Company, at its Chester, Pennsylvania, plant, was manufacturing huge quantities of British Enfield rifles for England. To General Thompson, this arm seemed to be the most practical. Hence, when War was declared, General Thompson hav- ing been recalled to service, supervised the retooling of the Reming- ton-Chester plant to manufacture this rifle chambered for the U. S. service cartridge. Thus the "Springfield-Enfield" or "U. S. Rifle, Model 1917," as it was officially known, sprang into existence to be added to the capacity outputs of our military small arms plants. That they served their purpose well, only to be abandoned with the coming of peace, is a matter of record. With the cessation of hostilities, General Thompson turned his genius in other directions. The recent war had impressed on him the necessity for a new weapon, rapid in its rate of fire, yet suf- ficiently portable to replace the present Mauser type service rifle. A military man with a background of experience realizes that any new equipment, to be adopted, must not only shoot, but must with- stand the test of time, weather, wear, and carelessness on the part of enlisted men. The self-loading or "automatic" rifle intrigued him, although none of the existing types of actions met his critical ap- proval. The Browning Automatic Rifle, model 1918, was a moderately successful arm, although its disadvantages were prominent. It was too heavy. The empty gun and magazine weighed fifteen pounds, fifteen ounces. With the loaded clip of 20 rounds of service ammunition, another pound was added. Furthermore, General Thompson be- lieved that a gas operated arm was not practical because of its neces- sarily complicated structure. Yet the many Brownings turned out of the Colt plant managed to give a successful account of themselves. Thompson, however, set forth to design a mechanical action hav- ing the following features: PHILIP B. SHARPE Simplicity Accessibility Positive action under all conditions Normally light weight High rate of controlled fire. He designed and manufactured at the Colt plant in Hartford, Conn., twenty new type rifles which were submitted to the Army for tests, along with a number of other makes, both in the standard .30/06 caliber and also chambered for a new cartridge, the Pedersen .276. Results of this test were never made public, and it is doubtful if an automatic or self-loading rifle will be adopted by our Army and Navy for some time to come. A number of years ago I had an opportunity to handle, but not dismount, the .30 Thompson rifle at Springfield Armory. The gun weighed but ten pounds, and despite its long receiver, balanced well. These rifles were built to hold five shots and fired a single shot for each complete pull and release of the trigger. Since that time, two other rifles equipped with twenty shot magazines have been manu- factured and submitted to the military authorities.