This law-still in effect today-prevents civilians from owning fully automatic firearms unless they pay a tax and register their weapons with the ATF. In 1934, after five more years of the police being out gunned by organized crime syndicates, Congress passed the National Firearms Act. These murders brought the Thompson SMG into the public eye and many began calling for gun control. Four men dressed like policemen-presumably from Al Capone’s Italian South Side Gang-lined up and executed members of Chicago’s Irish North Side Gang with two Tommy Guns. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929 when Al Capone’s men allegedly killed five opposing mobsters and two associates.
The event that brought the Thompson to infamy was the St. During this time, the submachine gun earned other nicknames such as the “Street Sweeper” and the “Chicago Typewriter.” Known as the gun that made the twenties roar, the Thompson was often found in the hands of mobsters.
Ironically, the company whose motto was “On the Side of Law and Order” was responsible for producing one of the most notorious weapons used by the gangsters in the prohibition era. They promoted it as a “gun for the home” to the citizens and as an “anti-bandit” gun for the police. They began advertising to civilians and the police. The end of the war meant few military sales so the Auto-Ordnance Company shifted their focus and changed their marketing scheme. The gun was finalized in 1918, but the war concluded before it saw any action. So, in 1916, Thompson started the Auto-Ordnance Company-with financing by Thomas F Ryan-to create such a weapon, a “Trench Broom.” Along with Theodore Eickhoff, Oscar Payne and George Goll, Thompson designed and developed the “Annihilator” chambered in. Upon witnessing trench warfare, he set out to solve the problem of deadlock by inventing an automatic rifle for soldiers to carry. Thompson, before inventing the Drum Gun, was the chief of the Small Arms Division of the Ordnance Department and later the head consulting engineering at Remington. The Tommy Gun is named after one of its creators John T Thompson. It was made for the trenches but made infamous by criminals. Wielded by the likes of Bonnie and Clyde and Al Capone and his mobsters, the Thompson Submachine Gun is legendary. While it might not have been the most interesting repair job, this gun was surely fun to test fire and has an interesting history.
And, voila! It worked! The gun started to feed and work beautifully. So, while at the range, I finagled with it a little more. Sometimes this happens and I have to make final adjustments to the gun before it will fire.
#Auto ordnance thompson problems full
Each gun that undergoes repair services requires a test fire in order to ensure that the gun functions properly before I return it to the customer.Īs the only full service gunsmith in the area, I get to do some really fun test fires. This is probably one of my favorite parts of being a gunsmith. In order to see if that was, in fact, the proper diagnosis and solution, I headed up to Albany Rifle and Pistol Club to test fire the gun.