|
|
|
Mission: Auto Ordnance rifles
Intelligence:
Auto Ordnance was founded in 1916, when the distinguished Brigadier General John Taliaferro Thompson formed the Auto Ordnance Firearms Company with the intent of creating a fully automatic weapon that fell somewhere between a rifle and pistol. Being a general during WW I gave him first hand knowledge and Thompson felt that this new type of weapon, one that he called a “trench broom”, would be necessary for future conflicts. After experimenting with and rejecting gas operation for the action, Thompson looked into recoil operation, but that too was unsuccessful. He then
|
tried blowback, but that was not suitable for a powerful military cartridge. Finally, Thompson bought a patent from Commander John Bish of the US Navy for a delayed blowback breech system, which finally worked. We see this as a pattern that repeats itself among American innovators like Thompson, or even Edison for that matter: try, fail, try, fail, try, fail, continue to try, and eventually succeed. Winners never quit, and quitters never win. Americans do not quit.
|
 |
eventually, Thompson’s new gun went into production, and it was a huge success, to the point that it was adopted by the US Marine Corps. The gun was tested with 2,000 rounds and had only one stoppage, and that was likely due to a bad round. It was John Thompson who originally coined the term “submachine gun”, but the press at the time needed a catchy phrase to garner public attention. Hence, the term “Tommy Gun” came into being. The Marines loved the “Tommy Gun” for its reliability and knockdown power, but unfortunately so did the gangsters of the roaring twenties, and the use of the gun by criminals was highly exaggerated by the press of the day and the gun was demonized, much as “assault rifles” are today. The Thompson submachine “Tommy Gun” became the favorite of military units like the US Army Rangers, Marine Raiders, and armored and parachute units. Among these units, the gun became somewhat of a status symbol, and was vigorously sought after among the troops. The British ordered thousands of Tommy Guns, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill reportedly kept one in his car whenever he traveled.
general John Thompson died in 1940 at the age of 80, but his invention literally and figuratively left its mark on the world. The “Tommy Gun” became American folklore, with Auto-Ordnance even filing a trade mark for the name. The “Tommy Gun” is as American as baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. |
|
|
|