An end cap located at the rear of the receiver tube was provided for stripping the weapon. Weight of the T-2 with an empty magazine was 8.6 pounds. The open-bolt-operated T-2 was made from sheet metal stampings and had a receiver that was constructed from metal tubing. The T-2 weapon was an entirely different concept than the Thompson had been. The Auto-Ordnance entry in the Ordnance Department’s submachine gun trials for replacing the Thompson was their prototype T-2 submachine gun. 45 caliber submachine gun to compete in the U.S. By 1942 Auto Ordnance was ready to submit their new. M3 weapon, that eventually became the weapon that replaced the Thompson, was adopted.Ĭoncerned about losing a lucrative government contract to another contractor, the Auto-Ordnance Corporation quickly began to develop their own replacement for the Thompson. Many weapons were tested from 1939 until 1943 even after the U.S. Still, the weapon was heavy and time-consuming to manufacture.Īs early as 1939, when Savage was first tooling up to make the Thompson, the government began to seek a less expensive weapon in the submachine gun class. The introduction of the simplified M1/M1A1 model in late 1942 cut the cost even further. The price of the 1928 model Thompson was continually reduced until it reached a low of $70. 30 caliber Browning machine gun that cost the government only $55 each. The British paid $168.75 first 1928 model Thompsons, compare this to the M1919A4. The gun was cumbersome, heavy and very expensive to produce. By World War II, the 1921/1928 model of the Thompson was obsolete. Most of the guns were subcontracted out to the Savage Arms Corporation although some were manufactured at Auto-Ordnance’s Bridgeport factory. Due to the huge demand for the Thompson, the weapon was placed back into production in 1940. Most of these Colt-made guns were immediately purchased by the British Government. There were still a few of the original 1920-era Colt made Thompsons remaining in Auto-Ordnance’s inventory. The only proven design that was immediately available was the. Both the weapon and the tactics for its use in close quarter fighting were largely ignored by the allies.Īs early as 1939, as the German Army was advancing across Europe, both the British and United States realized their oversight in ignoring the pistol caliber submachine gun, and both countries scrambled to get a submachine gun in service. The concept of the submachine gun as a military weapon was first introduced by the Germans near the end of World War I in 1918, but its appearance was brief. A few were sold to police departments and other security concerns. Virtually no one was interested in buying the expensive Thompson submachine gun. World War I had ended just a few years earlier and most countries had large surplus of military weapons. and several foreign governments for military use numerous times. The Auto-Ordnance Corporation had attempted to sell the weapon to the U.S. The Thompson submachine gun first appeared on the commercial market in 1921.
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