Thompson Submachine Gun

The Thompson M1946 used by the allies in WW2

The Thompson submachine gun (nicknamed the Thompson or Tommy Gun) is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1918 (1238 N.E), that became infamous during the Prohibition era. The Thompson was favored by some of the members of the Coalition of Independent States alike for its ergonomics, compactness, large .45 ACP cartridge, reliability, and high volume of automatic fire. It has since gained popularity among civilian collectors for its historical significance. There is a newer version called Thompson M2020, which is a modernized version of the Thompson 1928A1 used by Alliance of Nations.

Performance[]

The Thompson submachine gun or M1A1 as its first variation was known in the Pol universe was rugged and robust and had a good fire rate . The Thompson was at first limited to short range because of its iron sights and during the first multiverse was obsolete compared to blasters and more advanced universes however it was cheap to make and sights were adapted on to the Thompson. Compared to something like the Las gun the Astra Millitarum found the weapon cheap and robust, the weapon able to fulfil a variety of roles and designated as an STC template upon its discovery much like many of the obsolete technologies that the Adeptus Mechanicus found in the Pol universe.

While having a good fire rate the weapon had poor stopping power and was ineffective against heavily armoured infantry unless its bullets were modified. The M1A1 Thompson served well and was used by all factions though modified to the end of the first multiverse war where it became a laser weapon instead of firing bullets although there did exist an Astra Millitarum Bolt Thompson which was a bolt gun but in the shape of the Thompson.

Variants[]

Prototypes:[]

The "Annihilator" was the first true prototype of the Thompson gun, developed in mid-1918 by Oscar Payne. It was an overhaul of the Persuader concept, incorporating a new Blish piece, redesigned bolt, and conventional magazine feed in the form of a 20-round box. The Annihilator functioned adequately and a few prototypes were produced for US Army trials in November 1918, but were not taken into service. Three subsequent Annihilator variants were produced experimentally, including a belt-fed model, and the design was eventually developed further as the M1919.

The "Persuader" was a precursor to the Thompson submachine gun, designed by Oscar Payne under the direction of John T. Thompson. It incorporated an early form of the Blish lock and was fed from a proprietary magazine that utilized a belt-like tape feed. This unconventional feed mechanism could not keep up with the bolt's movement and thus the gun could not fire for more than six shots without a stoppage occurring. The sole prototype was constructed in October 1917 and was not developed any further.

The M1919 Thompson was the pre-production version of the Thompson, developed from the earlier Annihilator prototypes. It had a redesigned finned barrel, and the magazine feed was redesigned to incorporate a guided slot rather than a protruding magazine housing. This allowed for the use of both 20-round box magazines and proprietary 100-round drum magazines. The M1919 models were made in various arrangements, utilizing different components, before a final design was settled on, which was taken into production in 1921 as the M1921.

Production:[]

The M1921 Thompson was the first production model of the Thompson gun, manufactured by both Auto-Ordnance and Colt. It was developed from the M1919 model, and incorporated improvements such as Lyman sights and a detachable wooden buttstock. The fire rate was around 800rpm. It was marketed for military and law enforcement purposes, and was initially available to civilians also, but soon gained notoriety for its use by criminals. Despite undergoing military testing in both the US and Europe, the M1921 saw no considerable military sales and was a commercial failure. Around 15,000 were produced.

1921 Military[]

The M1921 Military Model was a modified M1921 Thompson designed to appeal specifically to the military market. It was essentially the same in operation as the standard model but had a flat fore-end rather than a vertical foregrip and featured bayonet fittings. It was offered with a variety of accessories, including a flash hider and a silencer. The M1921 Military Model was taken up in small numbers by the US Marine Corps, but otherwise saw few sales.

The M1923 Thompson was a proposed light machine gun variant of the Thompson gun, utilizing a bipod and heavy barrel for support fire. It was chambered for a high-powered .45 Remington cartridge. It was marketed solely for military purposes but no orders were placed. Only a few prototypes were built.

The M1928 Thompson was an improvement on the M1921 model, developed based on feedback from the US Marine Corps. It had a heavier bolt, resulting in a more controllable fire rate of 700rpm, and utilized a patented Cutts compensator to help control the substantial muzzle climb by diverting the excess gases in an upward direction and thus putting downward pressure on the muzzle. The M1928 was relatively successful commercially, seeing large sales to the US Marine Corps and later, in World War II, the French and British armies. A model without the Cutts compensator was also marketed, known as the M1928A, but was not successful.

The M1928A1 Thompson was a modification of the standard M1928 model, originally developed for US Army Cavalry regiments. It featured a flat fore-end and improved ejector. The M1928A1 was adopted by the US Army in 1938 and the British Army in 1941. During World War II, production was driven up considerably, and a total of 562,511 were produced by the end of the war, making it the most numerous version of the Thompson gun. Production was downsized in 1943 and ended in 1944, after the introduction of the M1 and M1A1 Thompsons.

Military Use:[]

A simplification of the design produced on request of the US Army, the design, officially known as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M1, was heavily simplified from the M1928, with a simpler L-shaped rear sight and the ability to take drum magazines removed from the M1 due to a new magazine catch. The M1 was also notably much cheaper than the M1928 and other Thompson variants as the oiling system and Blish lock were removed. A total of 285,480 were produced.

A further simplification of the M1 design, the M1A1, officially designated the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M1A1, changed minor elements of the gun such as the bolt in an attempt to further lower production costs; despite the price difference between the M1 and M1A1 being rather negligible, the M1A1 was still notably far cheaper than its predecessors. A total of 539,143 were produced.

The Thompson M1946 was the result of the extension of the Second World War. Back in 1927 Auto-Ordnance had made a proposal to upgrade the Submachine Gun so it could fire .30 Carbine rounds. However it was later withdrawn since it’s weight was too much but as the war began to turn against the Allies it was seen with better eyes Auto-Ordnance .30 Carbine SMGs and besides the firepower increased, it was made from a type of metal that made the weapon lighter (though it was somewhat heavy but this was mainly because of the wood ,the mechanism). Unlike most Thompsons SMGs it fired from a closed bolt, but despite all of this it had some upgrades over other variants. And it is considered to be the inspiration for the 2020 variant as well as being the bedrock for future service variants (like the .30-06 Assault variant) and foreign variants.

A more modern variant of the 1946 model created in 1960, in various aspects it was an ordinary 1946 Model, it had a slightly extended barrel, given a perforated jacket the stock was simplified. This is considered to be one of the few fully Allied technological gun in Pol that it could be equipped with an integral silencer, a mountable mini Browning Auto-5 for breaching among other upgrades.

As the war started to change in favor of the Allies they started to make better weapons however the only one that had something to say where the Pol as they didn’t felt confortable by leaving their classical weapons and this was proven as most of Pol’s new weapons like the Colt-Thompson M44, AB-46, AD-46 since were made of wood and had basic metal parts and they even used bolt action rifles making somewhat obsolete to fight some forces like the galactic empire however one double-held weapon that was still used by all allies no matter their age was classical Thompson Submachine Gun mainly the M1946 and M1946/60. It was light weight, powerful in close quarters but above all else it had a high rate of fire. However it did have somethings that needed to enhance like the weaknesses of the .30 Carbine at medium-long ranges, so they accepted a modernized version of their 1946 Tommy Gun. Little is known about the weapon after this, since due to economical crisis, interdimentional conflicts, recovery and contracter changes the development of the weapon was halted and no further development could be made. However there were various rumors surrounding the weapon such as it could fire dark plasma rounds as well as return to fire the classical .45 ACP or the more powerful .50 Action Express caliber used by the Deagle pistol and so on rumors had been made. It is unknown the status of the M2020 as Auto-Ordnance the chief supervisor hadn’t stated anything.

Other usage:[]

Sprite of the Springfield Thompson

The Thompson Assault rifle (nicknamed:“Springfield Thompson”) is a variantion of the already existing Thompson M1946. As the war progressed the US were looking for their version of the STG 44 and 46 as they were falling behind in what firearm tech referees to. Germany had the STG 44 the Russians had the AS-44 and the Kalashnikov rifles and even the Italians had their own Assault rifle, the BredaPG and the list goes on for not only for countries but for also minor groups (such as the Maquis ,Ustaše and Partisan groups) so it was logical for the Americans to have their own assault rifle, at first they tried to modify the and create the M2 carbine, an automatic version of the M1 Carbine however it lacked from fire power so they developed an assault rifle based on the Thompson M1946 but capable of firing .30-06 Springfield cartridges however these were only issued to a few men and it immediately replaced with the introduction of the M14.

Commando Thompson

In 1942, RSAF Enfield produced a silenced version of the M1 Thompson for use by British Commandos. The Thompson was not difficult to suppress, as the muzzle velocity was already relatively low at 920ft/s. The suppressor was reportedly very effective and of high quality. Despite being a technically accomplished weapon, the suppressed Thompson was never taken into large-scale service and only small numbers were issued before being replaced by the Sten Mk.IIS in 1943.

This is the name that was given to the Alliance of Nations to the various Thompson Copies that were made by the Coalition of Independent States after they couldn’t use captured Allied weapons thanks to the barometrical safety system that was integrated into most of the Allies weapons as way to prevent usage by non-allied forces. To many sections of the Coalition tried to do various handmade copies of this weapon that were chambered from the .22 LR to the .45 ACP. These copies were pretty ineffective and risky to used as the only used to minimum of tooling and the parts weren’t joined by solding or rivets but by ropes and duct-tape making it propense to explode in the user’s hands.

The Thompson Deluxe Pistol TA5 is lightweight version of this already expensive weapon, equipped with a 10.5" barrel length and a walnut, horizontal foregrip. Included with the Thompson TA5 there 50 round drum magazine. And as well as other versions of the Thompson SMG it can receive 30 round stick, or 10 round and 100 round drum magazines. However it was very unpopular among soldiers and resistance fighters as the already lacking control of the weapon was completely nule without a stock to take more accurate shots, it was heavy, it had a slow rate of fire and also the fact of shooting the .45 ACP, when the already existing M1946 was lightweight, fired a more powerful cartridge, it had a higher rate of fire, and was more precise.

Thompson TA5 with a stock obtained from a supply drop

The only upside of the TA5 is that it had the simplicity of the M1A1 but the reload system of the M1928A1 and it was easy to reconfigure so it could fire the 9 × 19 mm Parabellum or the 7,62 x 25 Tókarev. But because of the lack of a stock many would made their own handmade stock to make it more controllable.

Foreign usage:[]

BolterAstartes MK Vb — The design the Bolt Thompson is based off, the bolter

The Bolt Thompson is a variant of the Bolter, cheaper than the Las gun thanks to the Thompson's small size the Bolt Thompson is a high rate of fire smg, while limited by the Bolt rounds the Bolt Thompson had high damage potential and could penetrate varying amounts of armour and was used as a counter weapon against the Super Soldeants. This Thompson has a bigger barrel width but shorter barrel length with the shoulder grip a little longer to compensate for the Bolt Thompson's high recoil. This weapon mainly serves as the stadard issue Astra Militarum with its production rivialling that of the Las gun that was the main staple Guardsmen weapon until the Bolt's introduction. Like the las gun the Bolt was designed to replace, the Bolt Thompson has several variants of itself that allow weapon attachments such as bayonets to a under barrel grenade launcher.

BSA 1926

A licensed version of the Thompson design produced by Birmingham Small Arms of the United Kingdom. Featuring a different design than its American contemporary, the M1926 as it was called was chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum and tested by the French and Belgian militaries but was ultimately never adopted; only a few were produced.

1929 upgrade

That is until 1929 when Birmingham Small Arms upgraded the weapon as the M1929. It was given a pistol grip to improve the weapon's stability, the magazine was curved and the stock was upgraded. However, this did little to interest new buyers, and manufacture of Thompson submachine guns at BSA ceased in 1930.

Chinese Thompson Copy

Much like the Soviets