M1 Thompson: Savage Simplifies the SMG

Рет қаралды 275,695

Ай бұрын

All the best firearms history channels streaming to all major devices:
weaponsandwar.tv
The Thompson submachine gun struggled to find a market when it was originally produced, with the first batch of 15,000 Colt-made guns not finally all selling until the late 1930s. By that time, the clouds of war were gathering, and demand for submachine guns finally began to really grow. The US military had some Thompsons, and the British began buying as many as they could. The US wanted to increase production, and that meant simplifying the gun, both to reduce cost and to increase manufacturing efficiency. Talks to this end began in late 1941, and by February 1942 the engineers at Savage had a prototype of what would become the M1 Thompson.
This new version simplified almost every element of the gun, but most significantly it replaced the 3-piece Blish lock bolt with a solid one-piece affair that just worked as a normal blowback action. Unnecessary elements like the vertical front grip, Cutt’s compensator, quick-detach stock, and fancy contoured selector levers were discarded. The adjustable Lyman rear sight was replaced by a single metal tab with an aperture (quickly given a set of protective wings though, as the tab alone proved too fragile). The recoil guide rod was simplified, the oiling pads inside the receiver removed, and a simpler recoil buffer designed. The capability to use drum magazines was also discarded, and a new 30-round box magazine took their place.
The M1 was adopted in the spring of 1942, and July saw the first major delivery, of 48,000 guns. Simplifiecation work continued, however, and by the end of October a yet-simpler M1A1 pattern was adopted. This model replaced the hammer mechanism with a fixed firing pin. As a result, M1 production lasted only about 5 months. A total of 285,480 M1 Thompsons were made, but most of these were retrofitted to M1A1 configuration by simply swapping in the simpler new bolt. Finding intact M1 configuration guns is rather unusual today as a result.
utreon.com/c/forgottenweapons/
/ forgottenweapons
www.floatplane.com/channel/For...
Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! shop.forgottenweapons.com

Пікірлер: 703

@andrewrife6253 Ай бұрын

Us: "we simplified the Thompson at great expense" The British about to invent the sten: "haha, toob"

@genghiskhan6809 Ай бұрын

US later in 1943 after inventing the M3 grease gun: hehe toob.

@MDzmitry Ай бұрын

The toob brotherhood The brothertoob?

@Tojoblindeye Ай бұрын

Fifteen bucks of freedom

@sharonrigs7999 Ай бұрын

Soviets on PPS.....Da

@sharonrigs7999 Ай бұрын

The ANZACs were also in the toob cult with the incredible Owen. Arguably, the best WW2 SMG. They were vastly preferred over the F1 in Vietnam.

@user-zr1su6re3v Ай бұрын

I am approaching 60 years old....when I about 8 years old my father had one of those Shop Smith wood working machines......He made me an all wood Thompson....Many years later I purchased a 1928 Semi Auto Thompson.......I have half a dozen pictures of my father shooting the Thompson with a grin that you could not erase

@Ava-uq5dh Ай бұрын

Oh that's wonderful. Thank you for sharing. It seems this gun has a certain captivating quality! I've found Ian's comment sections, as well as The Chieftain/Nicholas Moran (a former tanker turned historian) often bring out some lovely memories and stories from commenters and I always have such a nice time reading them. My (now 60 year old as well) father was given a Lee Enfield to fire as part of the Scouts (or a similar organisation, I'll have to ask him) when he was 8 and nowadays he's frankly shocked he was allowed to! He couldn't lift it much at all, and almost fell over from the recoil even considering its mass. A funny, though hair raising tale. His father, who encouraged him into it never talked much of the war, nor the Korean war of which he also fought in as a medic, as due to his faith he would not fire upon another man in anger. After his passing we found an enormous NATO flag with all signatory nations stitched onto it, and where he'd been stationed as well as on leave marked, as well as large scrapbooks full of photographs from pre-war going all the way through until the early-mid 50s, detailing our English newspapers about Hitler coming to power, war brewing, and what he could find while overseas in France, Belgium, Germany, and small periods on leave whilst in Korea. Fascinating man with a quiet interest in contemporary events turned modern history that I miss dearly. Sorry for the run on text, few probably want to read such things! But I thought the talk of our forefathers fit.

@davefellhoelter1343 Ай бұрын

RIP GREATEST Me Too! "I Miss You!" Ya'll Y"ALL!!

@jeffrogge8597 Ай бұрын

I guess it's been almost 25 hrs since I ran across a brand new replica Thompson M1A1 for $750 in a gunstore downstate. Still kills me that I couldn't buy it; but two small kids and a mortgage came first

@kirkmooneyham Ай бұрын

When I was a kid, I actually made myself a Thompson out of wood. It was the "GI version" like the M1A1, of course. I also made a 1911 to go with it. The Thompson got messed up later on, but I still have my 1911, even has a small nail for a front sight. Very cool story you related, thanks for sharing.

@AndyDrake-FOOKYT 17 күн бұрын

I've got a shop Smith from my grandfather...super cool. It's literally everything...just a steep learning curve and a lot of jig building.

@Bob-qk2zg Ай бұрын

I'm certain that Ian has an apartment in the Morphy's warehouse. He's wearing pajama bottoms and hiding a hot cup of cocoa.

@cbroz7492 Ай бұрын

.most likely...

@spiderenigma2803 Ай бұрын

he works there organizing the warehouse and gets permission from the seller or buyer to film the guns

@wierdalien1 Ай бұрын

@spiderenigma2803 pretty sure he doesn't work there

@bobskool Ай бұрын

Cot bed just out of shot

@zenjon7892 Ай бұрын

Smoking jacket and globe liquor cabinet just outside the shot

@jackmoorehead2036 Ай бұрын

I got to use one in Vietnam, it was a real A1, some one just showed up with 2 of them and 12 Magazines one day. He needed some Penicillin for the "Love Flu" and didn't want it on his Medical Records. So being the wise Corpsman I treated him for the prescribed amount of time and got the guns and gear. The Unit Armorer gave them a once over and they became very popular for patrols. They were still serving the Marines when my tour ended in 70.

@AdamBorseti Ай бұрын

That's a really good story, thanks for sharing! 👍🏻

@cbroz7492 22 күн бұрын

Medics and supply folks usually got over thusly..plenty of "trade bait"...

@minerran 14 күн бұрын

I purchased a new one from Auto-Ordnance a few years ago and was immediately impressed with how heavy it is - without a loaded mag! I would not want to carry that brick along with 10 mags of 45acp around all day in the jungle heat. Much respect to those who did that.

@lllordllloyd 12 күн бұрын

Wow, probably ex-French.

@DinnerForkTongue 11 күн бұрын

A good gun is a good gun, what can I say.

@raxit1337 Ай бұрын

I know this channel was originally for obscure weapons, but I really enjoy the episodes on much more common weapons too.

@ICECAPPEDSKY Ай бұрын

Sometimes it’s also common knowledge guns made by a very rare manufacturer. The channel has been around forever and never fails to educate and entertain

@TheBlinkMIDF Ай бұрын

Definitely, especially the M14 episode. I found that very informative with regards to how it was received in real life after having seen it games my whole life.

@qw3rty629 Ай бұрын

ill never forget the comment on an older thompson video "Welcome back to forgotten weapons" "This is one of the most iconic submachine guns"

@TehIdiotOne Ай бұрын

@@ICECAPPEDSKY Also at some point you're going to run out of "Forgotten" or "Rare" weapons, so you kinda have to go to less obscure ones.

@zlorrrrrf Ай бұрын

My grandfather (Beds & Herts Regiment) joined up in 1939 and was issued a Thompson. His only confirmed kill with it was as the pointman, creeping along a wooded road in France. A battered and bruised lone German officer stumbled out of the bushes and rapidly fired off his sidearm at point blank range. He somehow missed my grandad and his men, and the Thompson dropped him. Grandad said he emptied his entire mag into the German, then puked his guts out immediately while getting a pat on the back from his guys.

@pinokio6149 12 күн бұрын

Takve stvari se ne pricaju...Deda unuku,ili otac sinu...Moj otac je ratovao u Hrvatskoj 1992 godine.Ja sam ratovao 1999 godine na Kosovu...Otac mi je pricao o ratu...ali nikad mi nije rekao ubio sam coveka..ili slicno tome!Ja sam bio na Kosovu 1999 godine,na granici sa Albanijom.9 dana su nas napadali Albanci uz podrsku NATO-a...Instruktora iz USA,Engleske,Nemacke.Od nas 60 vojnika,poginulo je 34.Albanci su prestali sa napadom posle 9 dana,Nisu mogli da zauzmu objekat koji smo cuvali.Njih je poginulo oko 400 vojnika...Ja sam imao 17 gelera u telu kad su me operisali...Od glave do pete sam bio pokidan...Imam dva sina,Nikad,ali nikad im ne bih rekao,da ja sam ubio...5 vojnika..10..15...To je po meni nenormalno?Mozda je to kod vas normalno da se hvalite,ali kod nas to niko neradi.Naravno ima budala,koji kada popiju malo vise pricaju price da su..bili kao Rambo...ali takve ljude svi normalni izbegavaju.Rat je nesto najgore sto covek moze da vidi!Pakao,pa rat.Pozdrav iz Srbije❤

@Dolphinvet Ай бұрын

The rear sight is actually riveted in place, not spot welded. I own an M1 Thompson. It's a nice firing weapon. I actually have 3 bolts for my gun. The one shown here is the "shiny" bolt, and I have a shiny bolt, a blue bolt, and an M1A1 fixed firing pin bolt. I usually run it with the blue bolt and the hammer system which it came with when I bought it. I keep a couple spare barrels too just in case something tragic happens, and a lot of spare parts. Never needed them though. My dad carried an M1 Thompson in WWII. I have pictures of that, it's cool history.

@scottcallahan3470 Ай бұрын

Thank you for clarification of the rear sight mounting. It is also my understanding that the cross bolt reinforcement of the stock was an A1 feature. Scott

@Dolphinvet Ай бұрын

@@scottcallahan3470 I believe that's correct on the cross bolt. My Thompson was a GI smuggle back. It was amnesty registered in '64 and someone put a 1928 bbl on it with Cutts compensator and the entire weapon was chromed. I had it rebuilt with the correct M1 bbl, stripped and put back into dark blue instead of a parkerized finish. My original lower had a cross bolt. No idea why someone would have thought a bright chrome finish on an M1 Thompson would look cool. The trigger and selector switches had been gold plated. Very strange to see on a military gun.

@recoilrob324 Ай бұрын

@@Dolphinvet Back in the day....shiny was thought of as an improvement....hence the chrome Lugers, P38's and such that we used to see. You've got to admit that producing a chromed Thompson out of the case at the range would draw some attention...both good and bad.

@user-gl5yk5ys5b Ай бұрын

generally speaking, "shiny" thompson parts are just nickel steel

@user-gl5yk5ys5b Ай бұрын

@@Dolphinvet the stock cross bolt was introduced in mid-1943 on the M1A1 model.

@wesleymiles8756 Ай бұрын

Beware the “I needs my money, see?” To “Buy war bonds” pipeline

@angusmillerable Ай бұрын

"I need my money to buy war bonds."

@tomaspabon2484 Ай бұрын

@@angusmillerablePatriotic Gangster shakes down small businesses to buy war bonds, read all about it

@denisonsmock5456 Ай бұрын

Praise Ian for including SMG in the title. Otherwise I would have thought he was talking about the M1 rifle, or M1 Carbine, or M1 helmet, or the M1 bayonet, or iconic the M1 latex condom.

@vksasdgaming9472 Ай бұрын

You forgot M1 main battle tank.

@Kataquan Ай бұрын

And the ever lovable M1 Flamethrower

@SnoopReddogg Ай бұрын

Very disappointed there was zero helmet content...

@bigpoppa1234 Ай бұрын

And the rocket launcher.

@WindHaze10 Ай бұрын

Lets not forget the venerable M1 howitzer of 240mm

@Argument_Causer Ай бұрын

“Part sinner part saint.” “The Thompson truly was the gun that made the Twenties roar.” -*Ahoy*

@nomadmarauder-dw9re Ай бұрын

I read the book by that title.

@kurtarnold4050 Ай бұрын

It was also called the Chicago typewriter

@interestingoldthings4889 Ай бұрын

I think Savage is one of the unsung heroes of WW2 production. They made a million Lee Enfields between 1941 and 1944.

@Qingeaton Ай бұрын

Years ago, I saw a set of a Thompson and a 1911 that were made to be sold as a package. I remember it being $1000. The day after the show, I was wondering if I should have bought that set. Now, I wish I would have.

@Tunechi_Lee Ай бұрын

You mean like 50 years ago?

@rodgersmith1573 Ай бұрын

@@Tunechi_Lee 50 bucks says he's referring to a semi-auto 16" barrel Auto Ordnance, which is what makes the most sense. You're thinking he's referring to an open bolt MG? Highly unlikely. Even 50 years ago.

@gagekieffer772 Ай бұрын

@@rodgersmith1573 I mean you could still register machine guns back 50 years ago in the 1970's. It could have been a surplus Thompson that got into the civilian sector.

@zippymufo9765 18 күн бұрын

@@gagekieffer772Even in the 70's a thousand dollars was ridiculously low for a full auto Thompson.

@csabaszabo6859 Ай бұрын

the Thompson might be the only gun that have a bad guy and good guy variant.

@vksasdgaming9472 Ай бұрын

Bad guy variant has drum magazine and front handle. It is used to do prohibition drive-by.

@gibbypeen5826 Ай бұрын

I feel like i only see the silver berettas used by bad guys in movies lol

@boxmanharris1115 Ай бұрын

Cool. My M1A1 started life as an M1. It then had an A1 crudely stamped on it when it was converted to M1A1

@jakespeed6515 Ай бұрын

Just told my wife who asked what I’m watching - The Bob Ross of Machine guns!

@sethwallace4878 Ай бұрын

That is hilarious dude…I never thought about it like that 😂🤙

@blackcountryme 5 күн бұрын

But the "Fluffy little clouds" are flak bursts

@2011Kestrel Ай бұрын

I’ve had a thing for the M1 Thompson ever since I saw Clint Eastwood carrying one around in Kelly’s Heroes. I first saw the movie when I was a kid, and 40+ years later the film (and gun) is still one of my favs.

@Vin_San Ай бұрын

"Savage's Engineer" sound pretty based on a CV!

@rymanjones3 Ай бұрын

according to my dad, this was my great-grandfathers favorite gun in ww2, he fought on Okinawa. Pretty crazy how if he didnt make it back i wouldn't be typing this comment right now

@goforbroke4428 Ай бұрын

You owe your life to the Thompson submachine gun.

@benn454 Ай бұрын

@@goforbroke4428 Just like Brandon Herrera owes his life to the M3 Grease Gun.

@rymanjones3 Ай бұрын

@@goforbroke4428 thats what i was thinking, its pretty crazy. I heard a story that he was on patrol or something like that, and he spotted a machine gun nest and saw that they saw him, and thinking quickly he acted like he didn’t see them and waved behind him and said “cmon boys!” and kept going tricking them into waiting for the men to come behind him that weren’t there. He then snuck up above them and rolled a grenade into the position. Pretty awesome. He also had marksman badges and stuff and some purple hearts, one he earned in close quarters knife combat where he got his hand sliced open. I think he also carried a flamethrower at one point which is pretty crazy considering what the japs did if they caught someone with one. He brought back tons of pictures, two rifles, an officers sword + binos w/ case + revolver, and a katana that a family had given him as a gift I suppose while he dined with them. Pretty crazy stuff. We’ve got one of the rifles, its an early war Type 99 Arisaka with all matching serial numbers, anti aircraft sight ladder, and the dust cover all intact. I don’t even know how he managed to do it lol.

@1SilverDollar Ай бұрын

800 rounds per minute saved your family line.

@mfreund15448 Ай бұрын

The Atom Bomb saved many family lineages.

@gutfinski Ай бұрын

In the 1960’s, surplus dealers were selling these for only $59.50 each. Pretty cheap until you have to ante up $200.00 for the Tax Stamp!

@tanfosbery1153 Ай бұрын

$200 even then seems pretty good value to be able to own a full auto Thompson

@BeltFedToys 14 күн бұрын

@@tanfosbery1153 it was and still is theft by the government. Up until the 1930's anyone could mail order a Thompson then in 1986 they stopped all civilian machine gun manufacturing.

@johnemmert9012 Ай бұрын

I have seen period photos of M1928A1s with the L shape rear sight, no fins on the barrel, and no cuts compensator, or some combination of those features. It just goes to show how Savage and Auto Ordnance were trying to ease production difficulties.

@-kilian- 26 күн бұрын

The stamped / engraved markings on the side of the Thompson are so iconic

@AtlasJotun Ай бұрын

I had completely forgotten about the oiler pads on old-school Tommy-guns! With their relatively long and illustrious career, it's easy to forget they're interwar guns. The simplified iteration is still so massively intensive in terms of requisite tooling and machine-hours, Savage's optimistic projection of 125k/mo. production boggles the mind.

@tiiiimmmmmm Ай бұрын

When Fuddblasters did their episode on the Thompson and mentioned the Savage simplified version was the best one, I had to look through your old archive of Thompson videos for more info. Thanks for this video.

@AsbestosMuffins Ай бұрын

it is funny how complicated even the simplified Thompson is for being just an open bolt simple blowback gun

@JunkyardBashSteve Ай бұрын

The M1 Thompson was made with my personal every day mantra in mind "Good enough is good enough"

@AdamKorz-ku7fz Ай бұрын

Ahh my uncle Billy carried on in Saipan. He said they were coveted because they could shot through brush decently due to the fat 230grain 45acp. He was stationed as a mortarman in Iceland at the start of the War. Of of few Marines that had a theater badge from both sides. His name was William Authur Ryan from South Boston. He then served in Korea with the Army. He was the toughest SOB I have ever met

@seibertsmiths Ай бұрын

Shoot through the brush? What rounds did the .45acp have a leg up on in terms of that spurious data point? Sounds like the very beginning of some fudd lore.

@donwyoming1936 Ай бұрын

The 45 is not renowned for being able to shoot through anything. Big, fat, slow bullet tends to get hung up pretty easily. When it comes to shooting through brush, we've found the faster the rifling twist, the better the bullet resists twigs & limbs. So, the 30-06 was probably the most effective in the jungle for several reasons.

@tls29 Ай бұрын

You guys, he's passing on what his believe uncle, one of the greatest generation, told him. There are lots of things that military men believed that weren't necessarily true (just look at .30 Carbine) but give him a break. Respect and appreciation to the uncle.

@seibertsmiths Ай бұрын

@@tls29 we can respect his actions while pointing out what he said to his family members and ultimately what that family member is now spreading.. doesn't make any sense

@user-dz8zk4bf2i Ай бұрын

@@seibertsmiths Found "that guy".

@paulwillard5924 Ай бұрын

I have fired two M1A1’s, I love handling them. Still wish I could lay hands on a 28A1, though…

@jimeditorial Ай бұрын

My father trained with both versions in WW2, and once told me that the early ones were heavy and jam-prone, and the later box magazine guns were appreciated for lightness, but the front pistol grip was missed. He told me that he was expected to use full auto only in a dire emergency, and then in three round bursts. He also said that fired as a carbine, it was surprisingly accurate and controllable. He was later issued a Sten and told me of slam fires, and several accidental discharges....troops would climb onto a vehicle, snag the charging handle on webbing or netting, then draw it back enough to fire the weapon. They were told that a Sten cost 2 pounds to manufacture....

@lenb307 2 күн бұрын

I'd been looking for a good Thompson to buy for my collection for awhile and seeing this video that Ian did sold me on this one. Ian always does a great job of presenting not only the history of a firearm, but also the technical details and he does a great job of making it very enjoyable and interesting to watch. I'm excited to have been the winning bidder on this gun in the recent auction, and can't wait to get it in hand! Not only does it have a great history, it also has the provenance of actually being shown and disassembled by Ian!

@andrewrife6253 Ай бұрын

Legend has it that the Thompson program was the last time the us government cared about indiscriminate spending and wasting taxpayer money.

@jeffrogge8597 Ай бұрын

😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅😂

@wyattpeterson6286 Ай бұрын

I believe that.

@loetzcollector466 Ай бұрын

NASA has entered the chat

@bebo4807 Ай бұрын

And you actually give a fuck about taxpayer money? You have no idea about how most of taxes are spent. And this coming from someone who spends half his money on crap Chinese shit from Walmart.

@alexsis1778 Ай бұрын

As Ian said, the reduced cost was just a nice side effect. They really just wanted more guns which is generally the goal of wartime simplifications.

@kot0472 Ай бұрын

Now I just see there was a gap between M1928A1 and M1A1 in Thompson's playlist.

@TreacherousFennec 22 күн бұрын

Then: Tank: M4A1 Gun: M1A1 Now: Tank: M1A1 Gun: M4A1

@dude126 Ай бұрын

Can't get enough of the Thompson.

@jugantic4021 Ай бұрын

My father carried a Thompson while he was a corporal in Yugoslav navy.

@Blitzkrieg_Wolf Ай бұрын

FINALLY, someone posting some well rounded information on the Thompson instead of just sh*tposts about how "bad" it was... it was a product of its time and got the job done with flying colors.

@wadewilson524 Ай бұрын

It is amazing how quickly they got things approved and done!

@chubbycatfish4573 Ай бұрын

I was wondering about the differences between the M1 and M1A1 just yesterday. Great timing!

@catranger01 Ай бұрын

Besides cost reduction technically reducing the number of parts increases the reliability.

@jtplays7411 Ай бұрын

I had a Lee Enfield No. 4 made by Savage, it was in good shape and quite well made. The coolest part was it was marked as U.S. property.

@Waterlooplein1 Ай бұрын

I know Vic Marrow from "Combat" had one.

@user-ci2mn1oy3w 15 күн бұрын

I combined elements of the Miinuteman .45 smg and Bill Holmes 9mm smg. I used an M16 pistol grip, a 3" long chunk of an 18" Uzi barrel, Sten mags The Tubing OD, wall thickness and recoil spring for the Minuteman Design was way incapable of handling .45 ACP recoil, but worked fine in 9mm. I put a suppressor on these smgs that was longer and heavier than the receiver. The bolt was 2 diameter, like the minuteman. The mag was slung underneath, not sideways, like the Minuteman. The bolt was 3 piece, the large tubing rear part being filled with lead. It had a 10 shot per second cyclic rate. The was a sight, but it was dovetailed for windage and filed for height adjustment. i added a folding buttstock, but nobody ever used the stocks or the sights when testing it.

@thomasconnolly7452 15 күн бұрын

Very informative. A Thompson is the one bucket list purchase I have yet to make.

@leafygreens7318 Ай бұрын

Thank you Ian! Always fascinating and informative! Cheers, Petr

@TC-re7nv Ай бұрын

Never enough thompson info/videos, will watch every single time Ian Salute from VA!

@BBB_bbb_BBB Ай бұрын

These are always my favorite videos where you get to see the evolution of the same gun throughout its different revisions. I always like seeing how they simplify parts along the the way.

@dcspooky6903 Ай бұрын

Fantastic review of an iconic weapon! thank you very much Ian......greatly appreciated.

@johnmccrea8106 Ай бұрын

Great video!!!! Thank you so much for explaining it in detail 👍👍👍👍👍

@propdoctor21564 14 күн бұрын

Excellent video as always.

@vuogg8505 Ай бұрын

Nice, i just re watched some of the old Thompson videos... Ian bless me with another one

@worldbiggestfan1 Ай бұрын

And in video games the common mistake referring to the m1 or m1a1 Thompsons as m1928 Thompson

@Sabretoothsquirrel Ай бұрын

And in video games if there is a drum mag they rarely slide in from the side like Ian described. They just get shoved up in there.

@stardust_2339 Ай бұрын

@@pallas_weptBut are military designations copyrighted?

@KhrisMiddletonFitnessOfficial Ай бұрын

@@pallas_weptAbsolutely false and nonsensical.

@worldbiggestfan1 Ай бұрын

And the Thompson was use by nco

@alliele-cl9ob Ай бұрын

The m1928 version of Thompson has a forward grip, 50 round drum mag, different barrel and a top bolt

@NefariousEnough Ай бұрын

Tremendous!! Thank you.

@claywurzlow8487 Ай бұрын

Very nice video, Appreciate it!!!!

@weswolever7477 Ай бұрын

Reaches under the table and comes out with my holy grail of guns

@nealgold8442 29 күн бұрын

Great video and very informative.

@markp6062 Ай бұрын

Very interesting!! Thanks for sharing.

@kapower06 Ай бұрын

Having a m1928a1 myself, they shoot nice and controllable with cutts compensator. Would be interested to see the difference without. I also know the cyclic rate changes with each variation.

@stanallen1072 Ай бұрын

Wow, you finally found one. Thanks for showing it to us!

@geraldmaybebaby1585 Ай бұрын

I love the naked engineering of the selector switches. To me, they actually look beautiful. The minimum for function is marvellous.

@mootpointjones8488 Ай бұрын

Fascinating, thank you 👍

@brucemagee3199 Ай бұрын

Thanks that was very interesting

@storytimedavidcollins2897 Ай бұрын

Thanks again Ian

@kurtploszczyniec1403 Ай бұрын

Nice Marathon Arctic GSAR there

@tltc191 Ай бұрын

Savage Arms in Utica, NY. My hometown for the win!

@causewaykayak Ай бұрын

We have an Utica in North Wales, UK . Wonder if there's a historic link ??

@tltc191 Ай бұрын

@@causewaykayak I was always told it was named after the Utica of the Carthage Empire. Neighboring cities to Utica, NY include Rome, Amsterdam and Syracuse. Some of the adjacent smaller villages include Paris and Poland.

@causewaykayak Ай бұрын

Thanks for the information. I see Utica hosts North American Festival of Wales from time to time. A lot of places in N Wales have middle eastern place names. Its from a time when Religious Revival was married to political protest. I guess it was a way if asserting independence of allegiances. Place names are very interesting . Thanks again for the trouble you took to reply

@SoloPilot6 Ай бұрын

A few decades ago, LA County Sheriffs had some M1A1s with Cutts Compensator and the QD buttstock. Dunno if they were hybrids, or simply had the grooves machined into the lowers. They also had some M1928s. The Cutts on the M1A1s, bosted controllability, even when firing the standard 3 - 5 round burst, but added a noticeable amount of muzzle blast.

@rolliejohnson1000 Ай бұрын

Hell yeah man very informative

@KRRabbit1 Ай бұрын

Excellent, thank you sir. I do hope you get the chance to review the West Hurley Thompsons. They get some grief, but they are an additional chapter to the Thompson story.

@user-ci2mn1oy3w 15 күн бұрын

It took me just as long to make the silencer as it did to make the rest of the gun. If I had it to do over again, I'd use 50 rd 1022 magazines, and rectangular tubing, so as to make the gun more compact and much cheaper to shoot. I'd have to drill an off center hole back into the bolt and rig a removable firing pin,, but no big deal. I've used the springs and brass rods from locks as (modifiable) friction-additions to change the cyclic rate. Drill holes in the sides of the bolt body and install the springs and plugs, letting their friction reduce the cycle rate. You can't make the full auto 22 reliable at more than about 900 rpm and you dont want to use up your ammo any faster than that, anyway. I made one such 22lr, cylindrical receiver. FUN little gun, man. Of course, none of this was done in the USA. Can't have such things going-on

@762parabillim Ай бұрын

I picked up an original at the scene of a find of PIRA weapons in Londonderry in 1976, and passed it on to the relevant laboratory (DRC), but not before examining all of the internals out of curiosity. A very interesting gun, particularly the H! Far too heavy, though, I thought, for an assault weapon; strictly a spray and pray for a gangster.

@christurley391 Ай бұрын

Thanks again

@mcqueenfanman Ай бұрын

Yep, I remember that series.

@TheWizardOfGore89 Ай бұрын

Love it! The fact the military used this big ass hunck of metal is amazing.

@iceonthesun8880 Ай бұрын

Maybe outdated by today's standards, but, honestly... Anything that spits out 45ACP in full auto is scary

@shawnr771 Ай бұрын

The US Special Operations rolled out .458 Beowulf uppers for the M16/M4 for close quarters operation.

@Fox-86 Ай бұрын

@@shawnr771 I think you're mixing up 458 socom with 50 beowulf

@CAepicreviews Ай бұрын

@@shawnr771 .458 Socom, 'Beowulf' is .50 Beowulf (12.7x42mm)

@erikbukovac5944 16 күн бұрын

.45 vector, firing at 1000+ RPM and almost no recoil definitely is scary. the only more powerful SMG is probably the mp5/10, 10mm in an SMG is crazy

@Fox-86 16 күн бұрын

@@erikbukovac5944 mp5/10 must have been a beast too. I wonder if we'll see a comeback, considering 10 mm is back in demand

@lukehorning3404 Ай бұрын

That is probably the gun I would want if I bought a Thompson

@TheArklyte Ай бұрын

Imagine if during Prohibition and Great Depression instead of expensive Thompson, the STEN or "Greese Gun" had hit the streets en masse?

@starlingcz Ай бұрын

I have here Thompson M1 with number in range 117XX made by Savage and it has not cover for rear sights. Safe and semi auto controls are like from M1928.

@simonerubino52 Ай бұрын

Not being new to firearms, but being new to the enter workings of a Tommy gun. So to speak, man, this was an awesome video, thank you.

@ExcuseMePhoney Ай бұрын

I love this man so much

@Dang_Near_Fed_Up Ай бұрын

One of the most iconic firearms of all time, especially with the drum mag in place. These were the icon firearm of mobsters in Hollywood movies.

@warwolf715 15 күн бұрын

Beautiful

@ChrisSmith-lo2kp Ай бұрын

my brother-in-law was a Huey Cobra pilot in the very early 70s and he won a WW2 era Thompson in a poker game - they were valued because the 45 ACP round was relatively low velocity, so jungle vegetation wouldn't deflect the round (unlike a M16) and it had immediate stopping power

@g24thinf Ай бұрын

The 1921 Colt Thompson is still the king.

@sanderhenkes7591 Ай бұрын

Superb!

@jaxwest6703 Ай бұрын

Thanks Ian for a great review of this version of the Thompson as well as the others. Although I have some excellent firearms in my collection my 1928 Thompson is the favorite.

@PavewayJDAM Ай бұрын

If PSA got a contract to make Thompsons....just as good!

@jacqueschouette7474 Ай бұрын

I fired a Thompson SMG once, but I don't know if it was an M1 or and M1A1. What I do know is that it was so old and used that when the rounds came out of the barrel, they were already starting to tumble, so instead of nice, round bullet holes in the target, you had silhouettes of the rounds going thru the target sideways. I was also surprised at how much the Thompson didn't kick. I have a 1911 and was expecting a good kick in automatic, but the weight of the Thompson really damped the kick of the 45 round.

@user-ci2mn1oy3w 15 күн бұрын

I could easily keep 5-6 shot bursts on a 55 gallon drum at 25m, with the silencer mounted. I never got to try any of them without the silencer. I used a Wing- bolt thru the upper receiver and the rear "plug" of the recoil srprin assembly to attach the butt-stock. I used a "j" slot in the receiver. to hold the bolt open, and as a 'safety. I cut a slot in the upper and welded in an ejector-stud. The firing pin was machined as part of the breechface. I case hardened the sear, trigger, breechface, extractor and ejector, and the bottom edge of the bolt where it caught the sear. I SHOULD have added a bolt "catch" but didnt know to do so, This block of steel needs to be silver brazed or plug welded into the upper in such a way as to catch the larger OD part of the bolt and spare the breech face the pounding of when some fool let the bolt shut without ammo in the magazine. There was no selector, but I easily fired single shots with the full-auto trigger.

@TMFShooting Ай бұрын

Wow '' the Chicago Typewriter , Turned the M1 , Great Video Ian 💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

@clintwilde1048 3 күн бұрын

The biggest mystery in many firearms within this Blish device. The magic 'chamber pressure reduced to a safe level' before the gun cycles, as in the 1911 where the lugs disengage, when the 'chamber pressure drops to a safe level' and it cycles. I have asked around how that was ever determined, and about the best answer was they just fiddled with it until they got it right. But I would surely like to know if there really was an engineering way to figure that issue out, or did John Browning machine the lugs in the slide and the barrel and kept filing them down until the gun worked flawlessly.

@svenneff Ай бұрын

I don't even like the Thompson but, when Ian speaks, I listen.

@Mihalyofficial Ай бұрын

This weapon allowed me to single handedly defeat the germans in the medal of honour games. I will always think of it fondly.

@jensenwilliam5434 Ай бұрын

Thanks

@johndilday1846 Ай бұрын

This version is the one my father carried for a while in WW2 before it was replaced by the M3 Grease gun. My dad said he was very unhappy with having to trade in the Thompson for the M3.

@TR4Ajim 12 күн бұрын

SgT Saunders introduced this gun to a lots of kids (like me) in the show COMBAT!

@Lankythepyro Ай бұрын

Great video, thanks Ian and everyone at Forgotten Weapons. It seems the bolt change between the M1 and M1A1 was significant in simplifying manufacture but didn't really affect the performance of the gun in literally any way (except *possibly* making it slightly safer), while maintaining full parts compatibility. With that in mind it's a little surprising to me that any effort was made to convert the M1s to A1s; I imagine the only reason to do so would be to replace a damaged bolt. Is there something I'm missing here? Is it literally the case that conversion to A1 mostly only occurred when the bolt needed replacing?

@USApatriotLarry Ай бұрын

My uncle used the Thompson through his WW2 service life. 3rd Infantry division, company L, 15th infantry. N Africa through Germany/Austria.

@herbertliedel7019 Ай бұрын

Several years ago on a trip to Front Sight Range in Nevada had a choice of firing an M16, Uzi, or Thompson. Ran 3 mags through the Thompson. Fun time.

@mwb3984 Ай бұрын

Just when we all thought we knew something, here comes Ian! Good video, learned a lot, thank you once again. All of your content is Very Enjoyable mainly due to you integrating politics, economics and history all in one - giving us a good feel for why things happened as they did.

@Ramonatho Ай бұрын

Man, if you took off the stock and changed the pistol grip, this gun would look modern, if not futuristic. It's crazy how ahead of it's time, and how almost art deco this gun looks.

@frankhinkle5772 Ай бұрын

Thanks, that peice of history is pretty interesting.

@Dan-hs6rt 20 күн бұрын

"I before E, except after C"....yeah, well i believe science (and a few other words that don't come to my old mind at the moment), put that "rule" to rest... another lie they told us... Just pokin' fun, don't get all butt-hurt. I learned "hooked on phonics" myself. I don't know how i have lived this long...