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 (hence the prefix " sub- "). As a machine gun must fire rifle cartridges to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns.
138-563: The MP 40 ( Maschinenpistole 40 ) is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II . Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with inspiration from its predecessor the MP 38, it was heavily used by infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers , on
276-919: A United States Army officer, 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 Thompson saw early use by the United States Marine Corps during the Banana Wars , the United States Postal Inspection Service , the Irish Republican Army , the Republic of China , and the FBI following the Kansas City Massacre . The weapon
414-789: A telescoping bolt that extends forward wrapping around the barrel, and a vertical handgrip housing the magazine and trigger mechanism. The vz. 23 series was widely exported and especially popular in Africa and the Middle East with variants made by several countries. The vz. 23 inspired the development of the Uzi submachine gun . In 1949, France introduced the MAT-49 to replace the hodgepodge of French, American, British, German, and Italian SMGs in French service after World War II. The 9 mm Parabellum MAT-49
552-403: A cartridge malfunction ("jam"). Reloading an empty drum with cartridges was a difficult and involved process in which the 50 rounds would be inserted and then the magazine wound up until a minimum of 9 to 11 loud "clicks" were heard before seating the magazine into the weapon. In contrast, the "XX" twenty-round box magazine was light and compact. It tended not to rattle, and could be inserted with
690-405: A complete break with previous Beretta designs. It is a small, compact, very well made SMG and among the first to use a telescoping bolt design. The M12 was designed for mass production and was made largely of stamped steel and welded together. It is identified by its tubular shape receiver, double pistol grips, a side folding stock and the magazine housed in front of the trigger guard. The M12 uses
828-696: A copy of the Israeli UZI SMG magazine, modified to fit the Colt and lock the bolt back after the last shot. The Colt was widely used by US law enforcement and the USMC . In 1999, H&K introduced the UMP "Universal Machine Pistol" . The UMP is a 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP, closed-bolt blowback-operated SMG, based on the H&;K G36 assault rifle. It features a predominantly polymer construction and
966-632: A failed attempt to storm the Tallinn barracks . Some of the defenders were armed with the MP18s ; and this was possibly the first engagement where submachine guns were used on both sides. Germany transferred its MP 18s to the German police forces after World War I. They also saw use in the hands of various paramilitary Freikorps during the aftermath of the German Revolution . In the 1920s
1104-608: A faithful reproduction. Neither of the GSG-manufactured variants are compatible with originally manufactured MP 40 parts and magazines. Submachine gun The submachine gun was developed during World War I (1914–1918) as a close quarter offensive weapon, mainly for trench raiding . At its peak during World War II (1939–1945), millions of submachine guns were made for assault troops and auxiliaries whose doctrines emphasized close-quarter suppressive fire . New submachine gun designs appeared frequently during
1242-598: A federal road in Sergipe was disrupted by armed Cangaçeiros in December 1937 who violently opposed any attempts to build roads near their territory. In 1938, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. military and was used during World War II . There were two military types of Thompson submachine gun: Over 1.5 million military Thompson submachine guns were produced during World War II. Military users of
1380-515: A high degree of parts commonality with parent weapons, thereby easing logistical concerns. In 1982, Colt introduced the Colt 9mm SMG based on the M16 rifle . The Colt SMG is a closed bolt, blowback operated SMG and the overall aesthetics are identical to most M16 type rifles. The magazine well is modified using a special adapter to allow the use of the smaller 9mm magazines. The magazines themselves are
1518-644: A longer barrel . In 1915, the Kingdom of Italy adopted Revelli's design as the FIAT Mod. 1915 . It fired pistol-caliber 9mm Glisenti ammunition, but was not a true submachine gun, as it was originally designed as a mounted weapon. In late 1915, the first submachine gun with a buttstock was built: the Austro-Hungarian Standschütze Hellriegel M1915 although the weapon was never used in combat. In February 1916,
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#17327870563521656-604: A lot more controllable. It could be configured to fire either .45 ACP or 9mm Luger ammunition. The M3A1 was among the longest-serving submachine gun designs, being produced into the 1960s and serving in US forces into the 1990s. France produced only about 2,000 of the MAS-38 submachine gun (chambered in 7.65×20mm Longue ) before the Fall of France in June 1940. Production was taken over by
1794-567: A lot of bullets and most of the killing in Korea was done at very close ranges and it was done quickly—a matter of who responded faster. In situations like that it outclassed and outgunned what we had. A close-in patrol fight was over very quickly and usually we lost because of it." U.S. servicemen, however, felt that their M2 carbines were superior to the PPSh-41 at the typical engagement range of 100–150 meters. Other older designs also saw use in
1932-460: A new, more reliable box magazine was developed for the MP 18 to replace the older snail-drum magazines. In 1928 a new version of the MP 18, the MP 28, saw the light of day, it featured the new box magazine as standard, a bayonet lug and a single shot mode. The MP 28 was manufactured in Belgium and Spain and was widely exported from there, including to China and South America. Another variant based on
2070-520: A pistol variant chambered in 9mm . The .22LR variant features an all-metal construction with period-accurate Bakelite furniture, a folding stock, and a faux- suppressor to meet barrel length import requirements. The 9mm variant is classified as a pistol and therefore does not ship with a folding stock. Both variants are closed-bolt , blowback-operated semi-automatic firearms that vary substantially from originally manufactured MP 40s in internal operation, making them more of an affordable cosmetic replica than
2208-411: A prominent Chinese combat tactic in the conflict. The gun's ability to deliver large quantities of short-range automatic assault fire proved very useful in both defense and assault during the early part of the war when it was constantly mobile and shifting back and forth. Many Chinese Thompsons were captured and placed into service with American soldiers and marines for the remaining period of the war. In
2346-518: A quick-release barrel and butt-stock, double pistol grips, top-mounted magazine, and unusual offset right-side-mounted sights. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II and was used by the Australian Army from 1943 until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by the F1 submachine gun . Only about 45,000 Owens were produced during the war for
2484-411: A rather heavy trigger pull and a stock with an excessive drop, increases the tendency for the barrel to climb off target in automatic fire. In 1927, the U.S. Navy ordered 500 Thompsons but requested a lower rate of fire. Thompson requested that Payne develop a method of reducing the cyclic rate of fire. Payne then replaced the actuator with a heavier one, and replaced the recoil spring with a stiffer one;
2622-646: A side folding stock. The m/45 was widely exported and especially popular with CIA operatives and U.S. special forces during the Vietnam War. In U.S. service it was known as the "Swedish-K". In 1966, the Swedish government blocked the sale of firearms to the United States because it opposed the Vietnam War . As a result, in the following year Smith & Wesson began to manufacture an m/45 clone called
2760-401: A small loop that were used to hold the bolt in the forward position. The MP 38 receiver was made of machined steel, but this was a time-consuming and expensive process. To save time and materials, and thus increase production, construction of the MP 40 receiver was simplified by using stamped steel and electro- spot welding as much as possible. The MP 38 also features longitudinal grooving on
2898-415: A smaller buttpad and shortened ejector. In 1941, Hugo Schmeisser designed the MP 41, which was, in reality, an MP 40 upper receiver with a lower receiver of an MP 28/II submachine gun. It saw limited service, however, and was issued only to SS and police units in 1944. The MP 41 was also supplied to Germany's Axis ally Romania. Later in 1941, rival company Erma Werke sued Haenel , at which Schmeisser
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#17327870563523036-792: A technical point of view: During World War II, the resistance and the Allies sometimes captured MP 40s to replace or supplement their own weapons. The MP 40 was used for several decades following World War II by many countries around the world in armed conflicts. Some found their way into guerrilla groups such as the Viet Cong or African guerrillas. Its operators have included: During the Allied occupation of Germany starting in 1945, U.S. servicemen shipped home thousands of captured firearms as war trophies , including MP 40s. This practice required proper registration of automatic weapons in accordance with
3174-545: A telescoping return spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. The cocking handle was permanently attached to the bolt on early MP 38s, but on late-production MP 38s and MP 40s, the bolt handle was made as a separate part. It also serves as a safety by pushing the head of the handle into one of two separate notches above the main opening; this action locks the bolt in either the cocked (rear) or uncocked (forward) position. The absence of this feature on early MP 38s resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with
3312-615: A total of 653 units, though U.S. customs authorities in New York seized 495 of the units in June 1921. The Thompson, nicknamed "Tommy Gun" or "Chicago Typewriter" became notorious in the U.S. due to its employment by the Mafia : the image of pinstripe-suited James Cagney types wielding drum-magazine Thompsons caused some military planners to shun the weapon. However, the FBI and other U.S. police forces themselves showed no reluctance to use and prominently display these weapons. Eventually,
3450-510: A traditional wooden stock , a 25-round top-fed box magazine , and had a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute. By 1918, Bergmann Waffenfabrik had developed the 9x19mm Parabellum MP 18 , the first practical submachine gun. This weapon used the same 32-round snail-drum magazine as the Luger P-08. The MP 18 was used in significant numbers by German stormtroopers employing infiltration tactics , achieving some notable successes in
3588-731: A unit cost of about A$ 30. While most other countries during World War II developed submachine guns, the Empire of Japan had only produced one, the Type 100 submachine gun , based heavily on the German MP28. Like most other small arms created in Imperial Japan, the Type 100 could be fitted with the Type 30 bayonet . It used the 8×22mm Nambu cartridge, which was about half as powerful as a standard Western 9mm Parabellum round. Production of
3726-418: Is an inexpensive stamped-steel SMG with a telescoping wire stock, a pronounced folding magazine housing, and a grip safety. This "wildebeast-like design" proved to be an extremely reliable and effective SMG and was used by the French well into the 1980s. It was also widely exported to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In 1954, Israel introduced a 9mm Parabellum open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine gun called
3864-782: Is based on the AK-74 rifle and offers a high degree of parts commonality with the AK-74. It is the standard submachine gun for all branches of Russian military and police forces. In 2009, KRISS USA introduced the KRISS Vector family of submachine guns. Futuristic in appearance, the KRISS uses an unconventional delayed blowback system combined with in-line design to reduce perceived recoil and muzzle climb . The KRISS comes in 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, 9×21mm, 10mm Auto, and .357 SIG. It also uses standard Glock pistol magazines. By
4002-482: Is located between the magazine housing and the Margolit pistol grip. The barrel lacked any form of insulation, which often resulted in burns on the supporting hand if it was incorrectly positioned. The MP 40 also has a forward-folding metal stock, the first for a submachine gun, resulting in a shorter overall weapon when folded. However, this stock design was at times insufficiently durable for hard combat use. Although
4140-571: Is that this weapon was originally designed as an aircraft gun. In reality ground use was taken into consideration from the very beginning, particularly for the Bersaglieri 's cyclist battalions . Stocked pistols were common at the beginning of the 20th century, the Germans initially used heavier versions of the P08 pistol equipped with a detachable stock, larger-capacity snail- drum magazine and
4278-572: The .45ACP Mac-10 and .380 ACP Mac-11 , were developed to be used with silencers or suppressors . While these SMGs received enormous publicity, and were prominently displayed in films and television, they were not widely adopted by military or law enforcement agencies. By the 1980s, the demand for new submachine guns was very low and could be easily met by existing makers with existing designs. However, following H&K's lead, other manufacturers began designing submachine guns based on their existing assault rifle patterns. These new SMGs offered
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4416-689: The Brügger & Thomet APC and SIG MPX . During the Apartheid era of South Africa and the Rhodesian Bush War / South African Border War , a semi-automatic only pistol calibre carbine based on submachine guns existed for civilian personal protection as Land Defence Pistol s (LDP). Known examples were the Bell & White 84, BHS Rhogun, Cobra Mk1 , GM-16, Kommando LDP, Northwood R-76, Paramax, Sanna 77 and TS III. First developed during
4554-727: The Cold War , especially among special forces , covert operation commandos and mechanized infantrymen . Submachine gun usage for frontline combat decreased in the 1980s and 1990s, and by the early 21st century, submachine guns have largely been replaced by assault rifles , which have a longer effective range , have increased stopping power , and can better penetrate the helmets and body armor used by modern soldiers. However, they are still used by security forces , police tactical units , paramilitary and bodyguards for close-quarters combat because they are "a pistol-caliber weapon that's easy to control, and less likely to overpenetrate
4692-605: The Cuban Revolution , the Thompson submachine gun was used by both Batista 's army and Fidel Castro 's guerrillas. Both the latter and the Brigade 2506 also used some during the Bay of Pigs Invasion . During the Vietnam War , some South Vietnamese army units and defense militia were armed with Thompson submachine guns, and a few of these weapons were used by reconnaissance units, advisors, and other American troops. It
4830-539: The Democratic Army of Greece were also using Thompson submachine guns, either captured from government forces or inherited from ELAS . ELAS was the strongest of the resistance forces during the period of Greek Resistance against the Germans and Italians and were supplied with arms from both the British and the United States. After the demobilization of ELAS, an unspecified number of arms were not surrendered to
4968-593: The Dunkirk evacuation , the Royal Navy adopted the 9mm Parabellum Lanchester submachine gun . With no time for the usual research and development for a new weapon, it was decided to make a direct copy of the German MP 28 . Like other early submachine guns it was difficult and expensive to manufacture. Shortly thereafter, the simpler Sten submachine gun was developed for general use by the British armed forces, it
5106-559: The Eastern and Western Fronts as well as armoured fighting vehicle crews. Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war. The MP 40 was often called the "Schmeisser" by the Allies, after the weapon designer Hugo Schmeisser . Schmeisser had designed the MP 18 , which was the first mass-produced submachine gun. He did not, however, have anything to do with
5244-538: The FN P90 features an unusual appearance, having a 50-round magazine housed horizontally above the barrel, an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls. A simple blowback automatic weapon, it was designed to fire the proprietary FN 5.7×28mm cartridge which can penetrate soft body armor. The FN P90 was designed to have a length no greater than an average-sized man's shoulder width, to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as
5382-710: The M76 . The m/45 was used in combat by Swedish troops as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo , during the Congo Crisis during the early 1960s. Battlefield reports of the lack of penetrative power of the 9mm Parabellum during this operation led to Sweden developing a more powerful 9 mm round designated "9mm m/39B". In 1946, Denmark introduced the Madsen M-46 and, in 1950, an improved model,
5520-583: The MPi 69 , which is similar in appearance to the Uzi SMG. The MPi 69's receiver is a squared stamped steel tube that partly nestles inside a large plastic molding (resembling a lower receiver) which contains the forward hand-grip, vertical pistol-grip and the fire control group , making the MPi 69 one of the first firearms to use plastic construction in this way. In the 1970s, extremely compact submachine guns, such as
5658-648: The Madsen M-50 . These 9 mm Parabellum stamped steel SMGs featured a unique clamshell type design, a side-folding stock, and a grip safety on the magazine housing. The Madsen was widely exported and especially popular in Latin America, with variants made by several countries. In 1948, Czechoslovakia introduced the Sa vz. 23 series. This 9 mm Parabellum SMG introduced several innovations: a progressive trigger for selecting between semi-automatic and full auto fire,
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5796-587: The National Firearms Act before they could be imported, but this was curtailed later in the occupation, meaning a relatively small number of civilian-transferable original German MP 40s remain in circulation and are valued at around $ 20,000-37,500 as of 2021, with some selling for almost $ 50,000. After the commercial importation of complete machine guns was banned by the Gun Control Act of 1968 , MP 40 parts kits (the disassembled parts of
5934-752: The Owen and Austen . Thompsons were also given to the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy . In Burma and India, British forces largely replaced the Thompson with the Sten gun . New Zealand commando forces in the South Pacific campaign initially used Thompsons but switched them for the more reliable, lighter, and more accurate Owen during the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal campaigns. The U.S. Marines also used
6072-453: The Uzi (after its designer Uziel Gal ). The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design with the magazine housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon. The Uzi has become the most popular submachine gun in the world, with over 10 million units sold, more than any other submachine gun. In 1959, Beretta introduced the Model 12 . This 9mm Parabellum submachine gun was
6210-430: The Wehrmacht , with whole infantry battalions being armed with little else. Even in the hands of conscripts with minimal training, the volume of fire produced by massed submachine guns could be overwhelming. Britain entered the war with no domestic submachine gun design but instead imported the expensive US M1928 Thompson. After evaluating their battlefield experience in the Battle of France and losing many weapons in
6348-485: The bolt-action service rifles then in use (such as the American M1903 Springfield ). Thompson came across a patent issued to the American inventor John Bell Blish in 1915, while searching for a way to allow his weapon to operate safely without the complexity of a recoil or gas-operated reloading mechanism. Blish's design (then known as the Blish lock ) was based on the supposed adhesion of inclined metal surfaces under pressure. Thompson gained financial backing from
6486-416: The "L" 50-round drum and "XX" 20-round box magazines were tested 6 December 1941, at Fort Knox, Kentucky . An extended thirty-round box magazine and a forty-round magazine, which were made by welding two 20-round magazines face to face, jungle style, were tested. The testers considered both superior to either the "XX" box or "L" drum. The 30-round box was approved as the new standard in December 1941 to replace
6624-442: The "XX" and "L" magazines. (The concept of welding two box magazines face-to-face was also carried over to the M42 submachine gun.) The staff of Savage Arms looked for ways to simplify the M1928A1, and produced a prototype in February 1942, which was tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in March 1942. Army Ordnance approved adoption (as the M1) in April 1942. M1s were made by Savage Arms and by Auto-Ordnance . M1s were issued with
6762-437: The .45 ACP cartridge. The Thompson was first used in combat in 13 June 1921, when West Virginia state troopers fired on the mountainside near Lick Creek, where striking miners were firing at passing cars. By the time of the Battle of Blair Mountain , 37 had been acquired by the West Virginia state police and 56 were in the hands of coal companies and local law enforcement. The guns were also shipped to various hardware stores in
6900-474: The 1960s, Heckler & Koch developed the 9mm Parabellum MP5 submachine gun. The MP5 is based on the G3 rifle and uses the same closed-bolt roller-delayed blowback operation system. This makes the MP5 more accurate than open-bolt SMGs, such as the Uzi. The MP5 is one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world, having been adopted by over 40 nations and numerous military, law enforcement, and security organizations. In 1969, Steyr introduced
7038-411: The 1960s. They shipped their remaining stocks to arm the forces of Lon Nol 's Khmer Republic in 1975. They were then captured and used by the Khmer Rouge . During the Troubles (1969–1998), the Thompson was again used by the Irish Republican paramilitaries. According to historian Peter Hart , "The Thompson remained a key part of both the Official IRA and Provisional IRA arsenals until well into
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#17327870563527176-551: The 1970s when it was superseded by the Armalite and the AK-47 ." The Thompson was also used by U.S. and overseas law enforcement and police forces, most prominently by the FBI . The FBI used Thompsons until they were declared obsolete and ordered destroyed in the early 1970s. Because of their quality and craftsmanship, as well as their gangster-era and WWII connections, Thompsons are sought as collector's items. There were fewer than 40 pre-production prototypes. The Colt Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut
7314-548: The 1980s, personal defense weapons (PDWs) were created in response to a NATO request for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum submachine guns. PDWs are compact automatic weapons that are sufficiently light to be issued to non-combat arms or support troops, particularly those in vehicles, while being capable of greater range and terminal ballistics than a handgun. As a result of these characteristics, most PDWs can be used as close quarters battle weapons for special forces and counter-terrorist groups. Introduced in 1991,
7452-417: The 30-round box magazine and would accept the earlier 20-round box, but would not accept the drum magazine. The Thompson was used in World War II in the hands of Allied troops as a weapon for scouts, non-commissioned officers ( corporal , sergeant , and higher), and patrol leaders, as well as commissioned officers, tank crewmen, and soldiers performing raids on German positions. In the European theater,
7590-407: The 7.62×25mm Tokarev, albeit slightly less powerful). During the Winter War , the badly outnumbered Finnish used the Suomi KP/-31 in large numbers against the Russians with devastating effect. Finnish ski troops became known for appearing out of the woods on one side of a road, raking Soviet columns with SMG fire and disappearing back into the woods on the other side. During the Continuation War ,
7728-405: The Austro-Hungarian first fielded the M.12/P16 machine pistol. This was the first machine pistol to be adopted by any military, being issued to Tyrolean units fighting in the alps In 1916, Heinrich Senn of Bern designed a modification of the Swiss Luger pistol to fire in single shots or in full-automatic. Around the same time Georg Luger demonstrated a similar Luger machine pistol which inspired
7866-409: The Cutts compensator (a muzzle brake ) was offered as an attachment option for the Thompson. Models with the compensator were cataloged as No. 21AC , at the original price of $ 200. The plain Thompson (without the attachment) was designated No. 21A at a reduced price of $ 175. In 1928, Federal Laboratories took over distribution of the weapon from Thompson's Auto-Ordnance Corporation. The new cost
8004-409: The Finnish Sissi patrols often equipped every soldier with KP/-31s. The Suomi fired 9mm Parabellum ammunition from a 71-round drum magazine (although often loaded with 74 rounds). "This SMG showed the world the importance of the submachine gun in modern warfare", prompting the development, adoption and mass production of submachine guns by most of the world's armies. The Suomi was used in combat until
8142-442: The German Sturmgewehr ). In the years following the war, this new format began to replace the submachine gun in military use to a large extent. Based on the StG44, the Soviet Union created the AK-47 , which is to date the world's most produced firearm , with over 100 million made. After World War II, "new submachine gun designs appeared almost every week to replace the admittedly rough and ready designs which had appeared during
8280-422: The German Army to develop submachine guns. Colonel Bethel-Abiel Revelli had already conceived the principles of the submachine gun in September 1915, when he wrote that his gun could be converted to a single-barreled version that "may be mounted in the manner of a rifle so that it may be fired from the shoulder" . The FIAT Mod. 1915 would be later modified into the OVP 1918 automatic carbine. The OVP 1918 had
8418-466: The Germans found themselves out-gunned in short range urban combat which caused a shift in their tactics, and by the end of the war the MP 40 and its derivatives were sometimes issued to entire assault platoons. Starting in 1943, the German military moved to replace both the Karabiner 98k rifle and MP 40 with the new, revolutionary StG 44 . By the end of World War II in 1945, an estimated 1.1 million MP 40s had been produced of all variants. During and after
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#17327870563528556-464: The Germans introduced the 9mm Parabellum MP38 which was first used during the invasion of Poland of September that year. The MP38 production was still just starting and only a few thousand were in service at the time. It proved to be far more practical and effective in close-quarters combat than the standard-issue German Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifle . From this experience, the simplified and modernized MP40 (commonly and erroneously referred to as
8694-568: The Italians were among the first to develop submachine guns during World War I, they were slow to produce them under Mussolini ; the 9mm Parabellum Beretta Model 38 (MAB 38) was not available in large numbers until 1943. The MAB 38 was made in a series of improved and simplified models all sharing the same basic layout. The MAB 38 has two triggers, the front for semi-auto and rear for full-auto. Most models use standard wooden stocks , although some models were fitted with an MP40-style under-folding stock and are commonly mistaken for it. The MAB 38 series
8832-428: The Korean War, US troops were surprised to encounter communist Chinese troops armed with Thompsons (amongst other captured US-made Nationalist Chinese and American firearms), especially during unexpected night-time assaults which became a prominent Chinese combat tactic in the conflict. The gun's ability to deliver large quantities of short-range automatic assault fire proved very useful in both defense and assault during
8970-456: The Korean War. The Thompson had seen much use by the U.S. and South Korean militaries, even though the Thompson had been replaced as standard-issue by the M3/M3A1. With huge numbers of guns available in army ordnance arsenals, the Thompson remained classed as "limited standard" or "substitute standard" long after the standardization of the M3/M3A1. Many Thompsons were distributed to the US-backed Nationalist Chinese armed forces as military aid before
9108-506: The M1928A1 units had complaints of the "L" 50-round drum magazine. The British Army criticized "the [magazine's] excessive weight, [and] the rattling sound they made" and shipped thousands back to the U.S. in exchange for 20-round box magazines. The Thompson had to be cocked, bolt retracted, ready to fire, in order to attach the drum magazine. The drum magazine also attached and detached by sliding sideways, which made magazine changes slow and cumbersome. They also created difficulty when clearing
9246-405: The M3/M3A1 never replaced the Thompson, and purchases continued until February 1944. Though the M3 was considerably cheaper to produce, at the end of World War II, the Thompson, with a total wartime production of over 1.5 million, outnumbered the M3/M3A1 submachine guns in service by nearly three to one. Thompson submachine guns were used by both sides during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war . Following
9384-433: The MP 18 was the MP 34 that was manufactured by the Germans through the Swiss front company Solothurn. The MP 34 was manufactured from the very best materials available and finished to the highest possible standard. Consequently, its production costs were extremely high. It was adopted by the Austrian police and army in the 1930s, and they were taken over by the Germans after German annexation of Austria in 1938. The MP35
9522-416: The MP 36, and the MP 40 was a further simplification of the MP 38, with certain cost-saving alterations, most notably in the more extensive use of stamped steel rather than machined parts. The MP 40 submachine guns are open-bolt , blowback -operated automatic arms. The only mode of fire is automatic, but the relatively low rate of fire permits single shots with controlled trigger pulls. The bolt features
9660-404: The MP 40 was generally reliable, a major weakness was its 32-round magazine. Unlike the double-column, staggered-feed magazine found on the Thompson M1921/1928 variants , the MP 40 uses a double-column, single-feed version. The single-feed insert resulted in increased friction against the remaining cartridges moving upwards towards the feed lips, occasionally resulting in feed failures; this problem
9798-424: The Model of 1921. It was available to civilians, but, because of the weapon's high price, initially saw poor sales. The Thompson (with one Type XX 20 round "stick" magazine) had been priced at $ 200 in 1921 (roughly equivalent to $ 3,416 in 2023) The major initial complaints concerning the Thompson were its cumbersome weight, its inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards (46 m), and its lack of penetrating power using
9936-553: The Model of 1928. The Thompson saw popularity as a point-defense weapon for countering ambushes by Nicaraguan guerrillas (in the Banana Wars ) and led to the creation of four-man fire teams which had as much firepower as a nine-man rifle squad. Federal sales were then followed by sales to police departments in the US, as well as to various international armies and constabulary forces; chiefly in Central and South America. In 1926,
10074-693: The Schmeisser) was developed and made in large numbers; about a million were made during World War II . The MP40 was lighter than the MP38. It also used more stamped parts, making it faster and cheaper to produce. The MP38 and MP40 were the first SMGs to use plastic furniture and a practical folding stock, which became standard for all future SMG designs. The Germans used a large number of captured Soviet PPSh-41 submachine guns, some were converted to fire 9mm Parabellum while others were used unmodified (the German 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge had identical dimensions to
10212-521: The Thompson as a limited-issue weapon, especially during their later island assaults. The Thompson was soon found to have limited effect in heavy jungle cover, where the low- velocity .45 bullet would not penetrate most small-diameter trees or protective armor vests. (In 1923, the Army had rejected the .45 Remington–Thompson , which had twice the energy of the .45 ACP.) In the U.S. Army, many Pacific War jungle patrols were originally equipped with Thompsons in
10350-462: The Thompson in small quantities for use by their armies and militias. In the 1930s, Taiyuan Arsenal (a Chinese weapons manufacturer) produced copies of the Thompson for Yan Xishan , the then warlord of Shanxi province. The FBI had also acquired Thompsons in 1933 following the Kansas City Massacre . A number of these guns were acquired by a construction company in Brazil, after construction of
10488-582: The Thompson was the first weapon to be labeled and marketed as a "submachine gun". Thompson intended for the weapon to provide a high volume of automatic, man-portable fire for use in trench warfare—a role for which the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) had been determined ill-suited. The concept had already been developed by German troops using their own Bergmann MP 18 (the world's first submachine gun) in concert with their Sturmtruppen tactics. The first Thompson entered production as
10626-403: The Thompson was the only submachine gun available to the Australian Army for most of the vital Kokoda Track campaign in 1942. It became so prized that soldiers routinely picked up Thompson guns dropped by killed or wounded comrades. However, the weight of the ammunition and difficulties in supply eventually led to its replacement in Australian Army units in 1943 by Australian-made submachine guns,
10764-539: The U.S. and South Korean military, even though the Thompson had been replaced as standard-issue by the M3/M3A1. With huge numbers of guns available in army ordnance arsenals, the Thompson remained classed as Limited Standard or Substitute Standard long after the standardization of the M3/M3A1. Many Thompsons were distributed to the US-backed Nationalist Chinese armed forces as military aid before
10902-599: The Winter War against Finland. The PPSh's 71-round drum magazine is a copy of the Suomi's. Later in the war they developed the even more readily mass-produced PPS submachine gun - all firing the same small-caliber but high-powered Tokarev cartridges. The USSR went on to make over 6 million PPSh-41s and 2 million PPS-43s by the end of World War II. Thus, the Soviet Union could field huge numbers of submachine guns against
11040-535: The accuracy of the U.S. M1 Garand and M1 carbine , it provided more firepower at short distances and was well-suited to the close-range firefights that typically occurred in that conflict, especially at night. United Nations Command forces in defensive outposts or on patrol often had trouble returning a sufficient volume of fire when attacked by companies of infantry armed with the PPSh. As infantry Captain (later General) Hal Moore stated: "on full automatic it sprayed
11178-425: The action in which it was used. During the failed 1924 Estonian coup , communists used Thompsons in an attempt to storm the Tallinn barracks; meanwhile the MP 18 was used by the defenders. This was possibly the first engagement where submachine guns were used on both sides. The Thompson achieved early notoriety in the hands of Prohibition and Great Depression -era gangsters and the lawmen who pursued them. It
11316-638: The associated wear and tear (within reasonable limits) will not significantly diminish their value, as it would on original collectible examples. Manufacture of new tube guns ceased following the passage of the Firearm Owners Protection Act in 1986. There are several semi-automatic variants and cosmetic replicas of the MP 40 available for civilian ownership in the U.S. Beginning in 2014, American Tactical Imports began importing an MP 40 replica manufactured by German Sporting Guns GmbH chambered in .22LR , and since 2016 has also imported
11454-491: The bolt safely closed. The box magazine was quickly attached and detached, and was removed downward, making clearing jams easier. The box magazine tripped the bolt open lock when empty, facilitating magazine changes. An empty box was easy to reload with loose rounds. However, users complained that it was limited in capacity. In the field, some soldiers would tape two "XX" magazines together, in what would be known as "jungle style" , to quicken magazine changes. Two alternatives to
11592-646: The businessman Thomas F. Ryan and proceeded to found a company, which he named the Auto-Ordnance Company , in 1916, for the purpose of developing his new "auto rifle". The Thompson was primarily developed in Cleveland, Ohio . Its principal designers were Theodore H. Eickhoff, Oscar V. Payne, and George E. Goll. By late 1917, the limits of the Blish lock were discovered (which is essentially an extreme manifestation of static friction ), and, rather than
11730-423: The changes reduced the rate of fire from 800 to the 600 rpm of the U.S. Navy Model 1928. Later M1 and M1A1 Thompsons averaged also 600 rpm. Compared to more modern submachine guns, the Thompson is quite heavy, weighing roughly the same as the contemporary M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, and requires a lot of cleaning. This was one of the major complaints about the weapon by U.S. Army personnel to whom it
11868-399: The design or development of the MP 40, although he held a patent on the magazine. The MP 40's variants included the MP 40/I and the MP 41. From 1940 to 1945, an estimated 1.1 million were produced by Erma Werke . The Maschinenpistole 40 ("Machine pistol 40") descended from its predecessor the MP 38, which was in turn based on the MP 36 , a prototype made of machined steel . The MP 36
12006-566: The early 2010s, compact assault rifles and personal defense weapons had replaced submachine guns in most roles. Factors such as the increasing use of body armor and logistical concerns have combined to limit the appeal of submachine guns. However, SMGs are still used by police (especially SWAT teams) for dealing with heavily armed suspects and by military special forces units for close-quarters combat, due to their reduced size, recoil and muzzle blast, and capability for sound suppression. Submachine gun designs adopted during this period include
12144-475: The early part of the war when it was constantly mobile and shifting back and forth. Many Chinese Thompsons were captured and placed into service with American soldiers and marines for the remaining period of the war. The Yugoslav Army received 34,000 M1A1 Thompsons during the 1950s as part of a US Military Aid to Yugoslavia Agreement. These guns were used during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s. During
12282-519: The early phases of the New Guinea and Guadalcanal campaigns, but soon began employing the Browning Automatic Rifle in its place as a point defense weapon. The Army introduced the U.S. M3 and M3A1 submachine guns in 1943 with plans to produce the latter in numbers sufficient to cancel future orders for the Thompson, while gradually withdrawing it from first-line service. However, due to unforeseen production delays and requests for modifications,
12420-647: The end of World War II, many MP 40s were captured or surrendered (upwards of 200,000) to the Allies and were then redistributed to the paramilitary and irregular forces of some developing countries. The Norwegian army withdrew the MP 38 from use in 1975 but used the MP 40 for some years more. In particular, the Territorials ( Heimevernet ) used it until about 1990, when it was replaced by the Heckler & Koch MP5 . The MP 40/I (sometimes erroneously called MP 40/II )
12558-697: The end of the Lapland war , was widely exported and remained in service to the late 1970s. Inspired by captured examples of the Soviet PPS submachine gun , a gun that was cheaper and quicker to manufacture than the Suomi, the Finns introduced the KP m/44 submachine gun in 1944. In 1940, the Soviets introduced the 7.62×25mm PPD-40 and later the more easily manufactured PPSh-41 in response to their experience during
12696-467: The fall of Chiang Kai-shek 's government to Mao Zedong 's communist forces at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 (Thompsons had already been widely used throughout China since the 1920s, at a time when several Chinese warlords and their military factions running various parts of the fragmented country made purchases of the weapon and then subsequently produced many local copies). During
12834-672: The fall of Chiang Kai-shek's government to Mao Zedong's communist forces at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. (Thompsons had already been widely used throughout China since the 1920s, at a time when several Chinese warlords and their military factions running various parts of the fragmented country made purchases of the weapon and then subsequently produced many local copies.) US troops were surprised to encounter communist Chinese troops armed with Thompsons (among other captured US-made Nationalist Chinese and American firearms), especially during unexpected night assaults, which became
12972-731: The final year of the war. However, these were not enough to prevent Germany's collapse in November 1918. After World War I, the MP 18 evolved into the MP28/II SMG, which incorporated a simple 32-round box magazine , selective fire , and other minor improvements. Though the MP18 had a rather short service life, it was influential in the design of later submachine guns, such as the Lanchester , Sten and PPD-40 . The .45 ACP Thompson submachine gun had been in development at approximately
13110-422: The firearm working as a locked breech, the weapon was instead designed to function as a friction-delayed blowback action. It was found that the only cartridge then in service suitable for use with the new lock was the .45 ACP . General Thompson envisioned a "one-man, hand-held machine gun" chambered in .45 ACP to be used as a "trench broom" for the ongoing trench warfare of World War I . Oscar V. Payne designed
13248-661: The government but kept hidden and were later used by the Democratic Army of Greece. The Thompson also found service with the KNIL and the Netherlands Marine Corps during their attempt to retake their former colony of Indonesia. The gun was used by Indonesian infiltrators during the 1965 Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation . By the time of the Korean War in 1950, the Thompson had seen much use by
13386-525: The gun excluding the receiver tube) were imported and reassembled onto receivers manufactured in the United States by Charles Erb, Wilson Arms, and others. These remanufactured legally transferable machine guns, colloquially called "tube guns", are (depending on quality of construction and condition) generally valued at 50-75% of the price of original German MP 40s, as they do not have their historical background. As such, they are commonly used for recreational range shooting and WW2 historical reenactments , because
13524-416: The gun was even more inadequate: by the war's end, Japan had only manufactured about 7,500 of the Type 100, whereas Germany, America, and other countries in the war had produced well over a million of their own SMG designs. The German military concluded that most firefights took place at ranges of no more than ~300 yd (270 m). They therefore sought to develop a new class of weapon that would combine
13662-601: The gun was widely utilized in British and Canadian commando units, as well as in the U.S. Army paratrooper and Ranger battalions , where it was issued more frequently than in line infantry units because of its high rate of fire and its stopping power, which made it very effective in the kinds of close combat these special operations troops were expected to undertake. Military Police were fond of it, as were paratroopers, who "borrowed" Thompsons from members of mortar squads for use on patrols behind enemy lines. The gun
13800-512: The high volume of fire of the submachine gun with an intermediate cartridge that enabled the shooter to place accurate shots at medium ranges (beyond that of the 100–200 yd (91–183 m) range of the typical submachine gun). After a false start with the FG 42 , this led to the development of the Sturmgewehr 44 select-fire assault rifle (assault rifle or storm rifle is a translation of
13938-409: The inside of an infantry fighting vehicle . The FN P90 is currently in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations. Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the " Tommy gun ", " Chicago typewriter ", or " trench broom ") is a blowback-operated , selective-fire submachine gun , invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson ,
14076-696: The mail from a spate of robberies. These weapons were loaned to the United States Marine Corps which was, at that time, tasked with guarding mail shipments; this prompted the US Navy to formally test the Thompson. The Navy requested a reduction in the rate of fire. Auto-Ordnance complied, modifying the weapons by adding a substantial amount of mass to the actuator. In 1927 a number of Thompsons would be shipped to Marines in China and Nicaragua . The Navy subsequently ordered 500 guns, designated
14214-434: The manufacturer Auto-Ordnance . These models retain a similar appearance to the original models, but have various modifications in order to comply with US firearm laws . Brigadier General John T. Thompson , who spent most of his career in the ordnance department of the U.S. Army , was the original inventor and developer of the Thompson submachine gun. He envisioned it as being a fully automatic rifle in order to replace
14352-502: The new firearm along with its stick and drum magazines. The project was titled "Annihilator I". Most of the design issues had been resolved by 1918; however, the war ended two days before prototypes could be shipped to Europe. At an Auto-Ordnance board meeting in 1919, in order to discuss the marketing of the "Annihilator", with the war now over the weapon was officially renamed the "Thompson Submachine Gun". While other weapons had been developed shortly prior with similar objectives in mind,
14490-471: The occupying Germans, who used them for themselves and also put them into the hands of the Vichy French . The Owen Gun is a 9mm Parabellum Australian submachine gun designed by Evelyn Owen in 1939. The Owen is a simple, highly reliable, open bolt, blowback SMG. It was designed to be fired either from the shoulder or the hip. It is easily recognisable, owing to its unconventional appearance, including
14628-500: The receiver and bolt, as well as a circular opening on the magazine housing. These features were eliminated on the MP 40. One feature found on most MP 38 and MP 40 submachine guns is an aluminum, steel, or Margolit (a variation of Bakelite ) resting bar under the barrel. This was used to steady the weapon when firing over the side of open-top armored personnel carriers such as the Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track . A handguard, also made of Margolit,
14766-733: The region. Some of the first batches of Thompsons were bought (in America) by agents of the Irish Republic (notably the Irish politician Harry Boland ). The first test of the Thompson in Ireland was performed by Irish Republican Army unit commander Tom Barry , of the West Cork Brigade , in the presence of IRA leader Michael Collins . They purchased a total of 653 units, though US customs authorities in New York seized 495 of
14904-651: The same magazines as the Model 38 series. Submachine guns again proved to be an important weapon system in the Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953). The Korean People's Army (KPA) and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) fighting in Korea received massive numbers of the PPSh-41, in addition to the North Korean Type 49 and the Chinese Type 50, which were both licensed copies of the PPSh-41 with small mechanical revisions. While lacking
15042-596: The same time as the Bergmann and the Beretta. However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe. Although it had missed its chance to be the first purpose-designed submachine gun to enter service, it became the basis for later weapons, and was much more successful than the submachine guns produced during World War I. The Thompson entered production as the M1921. It was available to civilians, but, because of
15180-573: The simplified M1 . The Thompson was still expensive and slow to produce. Therefore, the U.S. developed the M3 submachine gun or "Grease Gun" in 1942, followed by the improved M3A1 in 1944. While the M3 was no more effective than the Tommy Gun, it was made primarily of stamped parts and welded together and could be produced much faster and at a fraction of the cost of a Thompson; its much lower rate of fire made it
15318-564: The simplified World War II M1 and M1A1 variants (without the Blish lock and oiling system ). A Model 1921A believed to have been owned by Bonnie and Clyde , but without historical documentation to substantiate this provenance, sold at auction on 21 January 2012, in Kansas City for $ 130,000. Early versions of the Thompson, the Model 1919, had a fairly high cyclic rate of fire, as high as 1,200 rounds per minute (rpm), with most Model 1921s at 800 rpm. This rate of fire, combined with
15456-600: The submachine gun was gradually accepted by many military organizations, especially as World War II loomed, with many countries developing their own designs. The U.S. Marine Corps adopted the Thompson during this period, they used them during the Banana Wars in Central America and it was also used by the China Marines . During the 1924 uprising the Soviets supplied four Thompsons to Estonian Communist militants; those were used against Estonian soldiers in
15594-534: The target". There are some inconsistencies in the classification of submachine guns. British Commonwealth sources often refer to SMGs as "machine carbines". Other sources refer to SMGs as "machine pistols" because they fire pistol-caliber ammunition, for example, the MP-40 and MP5 , where "MP" stands for Maschinenpistole ("submachine gun" in German, but cognate with the English term "machine pistol"). However,
15732-511: The term " machine pistol " is also used to describe a handgun -style firearm capable of fully automatic or burst fire , such as the Stechkin , Beretta 93R , Glock 18 , and the H&K VP70 . Furthermore, personal defense weapons such as the FN P90 and H&K MP7 are often called submachine guns. In 1895, Hiram Maxim produced the 'miniature Maxim' which was a pistol-calibre Maxim machinegun weighing 27 lb (12.2 kg) that
15870-509: The underside of the weapon or the magazine housing with the supporting hand to avoid feed malfunctions. At the outbreak of World War II, the majority of German soldiers carried either Karabiner 98k rifles or MP 40s, both of which were regarded as the standard weapons of choice for an infantryman. However, later confrontations with Soviet troops such as the Battle of Stalingrad , where entire enemy units were armed with PPSh-41 submachine guns,
16008-645: The units in June 1921. The remainder found their way to the Irish Republican Army by way of Liverpool, England, and were used in the last month of the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921). After a truce with the British in July 1921, the Irish Republican Army imported more units, which were used in the subsequent Irish Civil War (1922–1923). The Thompson was not found to be very effective in Ireland; having only caused serious casualties in 32 percent of
16146-465: The war, Thompsons were issued to members of Israel's elite Unit 101 , upon the formation of that unit in 1953. During the Greek Civil War , the Thompson submachine gun was used by both sides. The Hellenic Armed Forces , gendarmerie and police units were equipped with Thompson submachine guns supplied by the British and later in the war by the United States. The opposing Communist fighters of
16284-435: The war. Some (the better ones) survived, most rarely got past the glossy brochure stage." Most of these survivors were cheaper, easier, and faster to make than their predecessors. As such, they were widely distributed. In 1945, Sweden introduced the 9 mm Parabellum Carl Gustaf m/45 with a design borrowing from and improving on many design elements of earlier submachine-gun designs. It has a tubular stamped steel receiver with
16422-438: The weapon's high price, initially saw poor sales. The Thompson (with one Type XX 20 round "stick" magazine) had been priced at $ 200 in 1921 (roughly equivalent to $ 3,416 in 2023). The Thompson was used in combat that same year: West Virginia state police bought 37 guns and used them during the Battle of Blair Mountain . Some of the first batches of Thompsons were bought by agents of the Irish Republican Army . They purchased
16560-551: Was Chief Designer, for patent infringement. Production subsequently ceased on the MP 41. The MP 38 and MP 40 also directly influenced the design of later weapons, including the Spanish Star Z45 , the Yugoslavian Zastava M56 , and the semi-automatic German Selbstladebüchse BD 38 replica. Details of the MP 40 have also been adopted in other submachine guns, which otherwise differ significantly from
16698-540: Was a modified version of the standard MP 40 with a dual side-by-side magazine holder (for a theoretical ammunition total of 64 rounds), designed for special operations troops on the Eastern Front to compensate for the Soviet PPSh-41's larger magazine capacity. However, the design proved unsuccessful due to weight and reliability issues. Authentic versions, in addition to the dual mag magazine well, also have
16836-587: Was also depicted in gangster films during this era, most notably regarding the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre . The Thompson guns used in the massacre are still being held by the Berrien County Sheriff's Department. The Thompson has been referred to by one researcher as the "gun that made the twenties roar ". Around 200 Model of 1921 Thompsons were sold in 1926 to the United States Postal Inspection Service so they could protect
16974-495: Was also sold to the general public. Because it was so widely used by criminals, the Thompson became notorious during the Prohibition era as the signature weapon of various organized crime syndicates in the United States in the 1920s. It was a common sight in the media at the time, and was used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. The Thompson was widely adopted by the U.S. armed forces during World War II , and
17112-511: Was also used extensively by other Allied troops during the war. Its main models were designated as the M1928A1, M1 and M1A1 during this time. More than 1.5 million Thompson submachine guns were produced during World War II. It is the first weapon to be labelled and marketed as a "submachine gun". The original selective-fire Thompson variants are no longer produced, although numerous semi-automatic civilian versions are still being produced by
17250-541: Was another interwar German submachine gun, designed by the Bergmann brothers. It was exported to Sweden and Ethiopia and also saw extensive use in the Spanish Civil War . About 40,000 of the type were manufactured until 1944, with many going into the hands of the Waffen SS . The Erma EMP was yet another submachine gun from this period, based on a design by Heinrich Vollmer , about 10,000 were manufactured. It
17388-576: Was contracted by the Auto-Ordnance Corporation to manufacture the initial mass production of 15,000 Thompson Submachine Guns in 1920. An original Colt Model 1921 A or AC, Model 1927 A or AC, Model 1928 Navy A or AC, properly registered in working condition with original components can easily fetch from US$ 25,000 to $ 45,000+ depending on condition and accessories. For WWII, approximately 1,700,000 Thompson Submachine Guns were produced by Auto-Ordnance and Savage Arms , with 1,387,134 being
17526-525: Was designed to be a more cost effective, lighter weight, and less complex design alternative to the MP5. The UMP has a side-folding stock and is available with four different trigger group configurations. It was also designed to use a wide range of Picatinny rail mounted accessories In 2004, Izhmash introduced the Vityaz-SN a 9mm Parabellum, closed bolt straight blowback operated submachine gun. It
17664-530: Was developed independently by Erma Werke 's Berthold Geipel with funding from the German Army . It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer 's VPM 1930 and EMP . Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP 36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to answer a request from the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) for a new submachine gun, which was adopted as MP 38. The MP 38 was a simplification of
17802-406: Was exacerbated by the presence of dirt or other debris. Another problem was that the magazine was also sometimes misused as a handhold. This could cause the weapon to malfunction when hand pressure on the magazine body caused the magazine lips to move out of the line of feed, since the magazine well did not keep the magazine firmly locked. German soldiers were trained to grasp either the handguard on
17940-653: Was exported to Spain, Mexico, China and Yugoslavia, but also used domestically by the SS, as well as being produced under license in Francoist Spain . Changes in design accelerated during the war, with one major trend being the abandonment of complex and finely made pre-war designs like the Thompson submachine gun to weapons designed for cheap mass production and easy replacement like the M3 Grease Gun . While
18078-592: Was extremely robust and proved very popular with both Axis and Allied troops (who used captured MAB 38s). It is considered the most successful and effective Italian small arm of World War II. During the later years of the war, the TZ-45 submachine gun was manufactured in small numbers in the Italian Social Republic . A cheaper alternative to the MAB 38, it also sported an unusual grip safety . In 1939,
18216-429: Was issued. Although the drum magazine provided significant firepower, in military service it was found to be overly heavy and bulky, especially when slung on the shoulder while marching. The M1928A1 Thompson drum magazine was rather fragile, and cartridges tended to rattle inside it, producing unwanted noise. For these reasons, the 20-round and later 30-round box magazines soon proved most popular with military users of
18354-500: Was listed as $ 225 per weapon (equivalent to $ 3,992 in 2023), with $ 5 per 50-round drum and $ 3 per 20-round magazine. Thompsons had also been widely used throughout China, where several Chinese warlords and their military factions running various parts of the fragmented country made purchases of the weapon, and subsequently produced many local copies. Nationalist China acquired a substantial number of Thompson guns for use against Japanese land forces. They began producing copies of
18492-536: Was much cheaper and faster to make. Over 4 million Sten guns were made during World War II. The Sten was so cheap and easy to produce that towards the end of the war as their economic base approached crisis, Germany started manufacturing their own copy, the MP 3008 . After the war, the British replaced the Sten with the Sterling submachine gun . The United States and its allies used the Thompson submachine gun, especially
18630-676: Was not widespread. In the Malayan Campaign , the Burma Campaign and the Pacific Theater , Lend-Lease-issue Thompsons were used by the British Army , Indian Army , Australian Army infantry and other Commonwealth forces. They used the Thompson extensively in jungle patrols and ambushes, where it was prized for its firepower, though it was criticized for its hefty weight and poor reliability. In New Guinea,
18768-591: Was partially replaced by the MAC-10 , albeit during Vietnam, the fully automatic fire provided by the M16 made the Thompson less effective than it previously had been. Still, not only did some U.S. soldiers have use of them in Vietnam, they encountered them as well. The Viet Cong liked the weapon and used both captured models as well as manufacturing their own copies in small jungle workshops. The Australian government destroyed most of their Thompson machine carbines in
18906-423: Was prized by those lucky enough to get one and proved itself in the close street fighting that was encountered frequently during the invasion of France. A Swedish variant of the M1928A1, the Kulsprutepistol m/40 (machine pistol, model 40), served in the Swedish Army between 1940 and 1951. Through Lend-Lease , the Soviet Union also received the Thompson, but due to a shortage of appropriate ammunition, its use
19044-399: Was sold in small quantities to various countries and tested by the US military but not adopted. In 1896, a select-fire pistol was patented by the British inventor Hugh Gabbett-Fairfax. In April 1914, Abiel Bethel Revelli, an Italian military officer patented a twin-barreled, magazine-fed automatic gun in a pistol caliber, lighter than a machine gun and shorter than a rifle. A common myth
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