Monday, December 2, 2019

The Thompson Submachine Gun: How the Infamous Weapon Shifted became Synonymous with WII to Gangsters

      The Thompson submachine gun, or commonly referred to as the Tommy Gun, was a weapon first invented in 1919, and played a significant role in WWII. The gun was created by General John T. Thompson, a US army officer who served in the Spanish-American War, World War I, and retired to work on his invention. Thompson first wanted to create semi-automatic rifle, which could replace the current bolt action rifles being used at the time. While researching different weapons, he came across a patent that limited recoil and gas-operated reloading to increase the safety for its operators. After creating the basic idea for the gun,Thompson was able to gain financial support and backing, Thompson was ready to ship the prototypes to Europe, but by the time he was ready, the war had already been over for two days. 

      After the gun was ready for sale, it entered the consumer market. The price was noticeably higher than most other guns, costing around $200, or $2809 in 2018. Because of this, the gun was viewed as an unattainable, yet inventive way of safety. When WWII started, the gun was used by the US military in two versions, the M1928A1, M1, and M1A1. With these variants, over 1.5 million were produced during the war. Primarily used by the United States, other members of the Allies used the guns against the Axis powers. The gun was found to be very effective in close combat due to it’s high rate of fire and close range accuracy. The gun remained in service after the war, with it being discontinued for warfare in 1945.
 
       Because the gun was first sold to consumers, it was often used for crime, specifically for organized crime. Mobsters such as Al Capone dominated the sale of illegal liquor and used guns such as the Tommy Gun to incite fear and protect themselves. In 1933, Texas banned fully automatic weapons and New York State banned submachine guns. During Prohibition, the increase of organized crime increased to supply Americans with illegal liquor. This was the first time that the United States passed gun restriction/safety laws, which differed from their stance on guns with the second amendment. Although this didn’t significantly change the use of these weapons, it helped suppress the use of the Tommy Gun for purposes other than war.

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 4, 2019 at 9:41 AM

    It is interesting that a private citizen made a weapon that would eventually be used by the US and British military. Even after his military career, John T. Thompson created this submachine gun, which he probably was not expecting to sell that well since it was expensive. During the war, he made a new version, which was cheaper, and then used by the US army.

    https://www.britannica.com/technology/Thompson-submachine-gun

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  2. AnonymousDecember 4, 2019 at 8:57 PM

    It's interesting to see how gun regulations began and how they seemingly contradicted the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. Today, it's still debated whether American citizens should have restrictions on their rights to bear firearms, as the Constitution explicitly gives citizens that right. Still, guns pose an enormous threat to safety, especially as school shootings are becoming overwhelmingly more prevalent and gun legislation can't keep up with the increasing rates of gun-related crime.

    https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/guncontrol.pdf

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