One of the worlds most instantly recognizable guns has to be the Thompson Submachine gun.  Also known as The Tommy Gun, The Chicago Piano, The Chicago Typewriter, The Chopper and The Trench Broom.

Devised in 1919 by General John T Thompson, who was seeking to create a suitable weapon for any future trench warfare, the Thompson Submachine was invented.

It was originally manufactured by the Auto Ordnance Corporation in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA and was released in 1921 as the M1921. (several other variations later appeared)  It was an expensive gun to manufacture and this was reflected in the price as it retailed for $200, at a time when Fords Model T cars were sold for $400.  It would be the equivalent of buying a Tommy gun today for about $8,000.

However, because of the excellent build quality, fit and finish not to mention the awesome firepower, quite a lot were actually sold.  More notably to the U.S Post Office, several police departments and the F.B.I.  The U.S Marines also became interested and it was later adopted by them.  Perhaps though, the most notorious use of the Tommy gun was in the hands of the Chicago gangsters such as Bugs Moran, Machinegun Kelly, Al Capone and desperado John Dillinger.  Pictured below at the height of his power, Capone with his trademark white fedora, silk tie and cigar.

In the 1930s during prohibition the gangsters needed a powerful weapon to fight their enemies and to protect themselves with. The M1928 Tommy gun was the gun of choice, with its ferocious firepower.  But weighing just under 11 lbs empty or nearly 20 lbs with a full 100 round drum magazine, it was a big and hefty gun to tote around.

As the picture below testifies though, it was possible to fit a Tommy gun into a violin case when the gun was disassembled into its main components of receiver, stock, fore-grip and magazine.  And this is the way that the gun was first secretly transported around by the mobsters, until the police got wise to it and consequently searched everyone with a violin case there after!

" Hey cop!...what gives here ?...I'm just a musician already ! "  and I could imagine the policeman's reply..." Yeah, yeah sure ya are Bugsy...and waddya play?..the Chicago piano ? "

Field stripping the Tommy gun into its main components is a relatively simple procedure, and like all other guns no screw drivers or other tools are required to do so, as it all just slides and locks together.  It can be assembled in under a minute, ready to make the roaring twenties really roar.

With its high rate of fire, between 800 to 900 rpm depending on model and its large .45 caliber bullet, the Tommy gun soon earned its respect wherever it was employed.

Improved in 1926 with a Cutts compensator on the end of the muzzle to reduce recoil.  The compensator worked by allowing the propelling gases to emit out of the slots in it before the bullet exited the muzzle, in so doing it prevented the muzzle from climbing as the recoil was greatly reduced...

...thus the Tommy gun was very controllable to fire on full auto. Firing exactly the same bullets as the .45 Colt automatic pistol as seen below, there was never any trouble in sourcing ammunition for it, as the .45 ACP was a widely used and common cartridge at that time, it still is today.

The Tommy gun also had a wide variety of magazine choices, with the 20 and 30 round box magazine or the 50 and 100 round drum magazine.  It has to be said though that the drum magazines with their higher round capacity were the much more favored option.

The Tommy gun had an effective accurate range of about 50 yards, this was more than adequate for the gangsters who would fire at close range anyway, from car windows into buildings, into other cars and into guys on street corners.  For firing indoors or confined spaces, such as clubs, small rooms and from inside a car, the Tommy gun was perfectly suited.  The 100 round drum meant that you could fire off a large amount of "slugs" before having to change magazines.

The tremendous rate of fire also meant that a large area would be covered by a single gangster firing a single Tommy gun.

Two Tommy guns however, serial numbers 2347 and 7580 were used in the infamous St Valentines Day Massacre, on February 14th 1929.  Six members of Bugs Moran's gang and a mechanic were lined up against a wall in a garage of the SMC Cartage Company at 2122 North Clark Street, Lincoln Park of Chicago's North Side and executed by affiliates of Al Capone's gang.

The gangsters of the day ruled the roost with the Tommy gun, but to even the score, the law enforcement agencies also used them, more notably the F.B.I.  The F.B.I actually utilized the Tommy gun right up until 1976, when they declared it obsolete in favor of newer and more modern guns like the Heckler & Koch.

Below a good angled photo of the Tommy gun, its quite an imposing and intimidating weapon, especially when one peers down the business end of it with its wide .45 caliber muzzle with cutts compensator.

The first Tommy gun to see military use was the Model 1928, used by the US navy during its expedition in Nicaragua.  Called the "Navy" model 1928, it was fitted with a heavier bolt to bring the rate of fire down to 600 rpm. With the start of WWII, the US Army procured a large number of these Navy Tommy guns, and marked them as US Model 1928A1.

The British Army, more notably the B.E.F - British Expeditionary Force in WWII were apparently the first to  utilize the Tommy gun in WWII combat.  The weapon was bought by the British Government, as their army was initially quite poorly equipped.  Great Britain was not actually prepared for the war that it declared on Germany, neither did it have the money or resources to wage war and consequently Great Britain loaned a lot of materials off the U.S.A, including ships, tanks, and munitions along with the guns to fire them.

Below we can see the famous 1940 photo of Sir Winston Churchill doing his pose with a M1928 Tommy gun, with the pinstripe suit, hat and cigar, the Tommy gun quite suited him !

The British commando's, paratroopers and many infantry outfits were equipped with the Tommy gun, and it was issued with several 30 round box magazines as the drum magazines were too bulky for an infantryman to a carry.

The United States and Canadian forces also adopted the gun and it saw action in the Pacific and European conflicts right up to the end of the war. Over 1,700,000 of these guns were built by The Auto Ordnance Corporation, Savage Arms and Colt with another 1,400,000 being built by other companies for WWII usage.

Below is an original USMC photo of two marines seen fighting on Wana Ridge, Okinawa on May 18th 1945. On the left is one Davis Hargraves as he provides covering fire with his M1 Tommy gun whilst brother in arms, Gabriel Chavarria moves with his .30 cal Browning Automatic rifle.

The Tommy gun, although no longer produced for military application, can still be found today in collections, museums, history discussion groups and on the firing range. Insurgents and the odd soldier here and there around the world can still be noted carrying a Tommy gun, as long as they can get the ammunition for it, they will use it.

Below a Youtube video shows some guys having fun firing the Tommy gun. They have a lot of misfires too, this is the fault of the guy who did the hand loading and not the Tommy gun itself.

Below a south paw county Sheriff demonstrates how to shoulder and ready the Tommy gun, it is still a formidable weapon...in anyone's hands!

Because of the guns notoriety with the gangster era and some of its historical usage in WWII, a good working order original M1921 or M1928 Tommy gun can fetch well over $20,000 in an auction.

Below is the M1A1 Thompson submachine gun, with the cocking lever now situated on the right-hand side of the receiver.  This was the most popular model and was used extensively by the Marines, US Army and Commandos in WWII.  Most if not all of the military versions of this gun were not fitted with the cutts compensator on the muzzle and were issued with the 30 round box magazine.  Of course, soldiers carried several loaded magazines with them in specially adapted webbing belts.

It was a very popular gun and was well liked by all who utilized it, in combat it was an effective, accurate and reliable weapon.  The M1A1 Thompson was not however the mainstay issued weapon of choice by the Government, this was reserved for the M3 'Grease gun' as seen below, that was more widely issued.

The reason for the adoption of the M3 was down to the age old argument...the manufacturing cost.  The M3 was made from pressed steel fittings and was infinitely cheaper to produce than the expensive and austere Tommy gun.  The old saying amongst military personnel " Your gun is made by the cheapest bidder" is often so very true.

The M3 used the same .45 caliber ammunition as the Tommy gun but it had a much slower rate of fire at 450 rpm.  Those who were adept at firing this gun could shoulder it up, take aim and fire off only one round with the dexterity of a quick trigger pull...something not possible with the Tommy gun, unless it was adapted for single and auto fire.  And weighing just over 8lbs, it was a lot lighter than the Tommy gun too.

The M3 and M3A1 being a cheap and simple gun to manufacture saw action right up to the end of WWII, plus later action in the Korean war, the Vietnam war and was still issued to US tank crews up to 1980-81 when it was decided that it would be retired for a more modern gun, I guess something like the Keckler and Koch MP5.

Overall though, the Thompson Submachine gun is a weapon that has carved its name quite indelibly into American history and folklore.  It is now quite  impossible to imagine the 1930's Chicago gangster or US Marine fighting in WWII Okinawa or Iwo Jima without being equipped with this gun.

So in one way or another, the Tommy gun will live on, forever ingrained in our history as a great gun if not the most famous of all time.