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Chapter 5 Weapons
93
Thompson Submachine Gun
Operation
Selective fire (fully and
semiautomatic)
Caliber
.45 (11.4 mm)
Muzzle velocity
280 mps (920 fps)
Capacity
50-round drum
20- and 30-round detachable
box magazine
Weight
4.9 kg (11 lbs)
Overall length
85.6 cm (33.7 in.)
Rate of fire
600 to 725 rounds per minute
Effective range
50 m (55 yds)
John T. Thompson, who helped develop the M1903
Springfield rifle and M1911 .45 caliber pistol, began
work on a “trench broom” for close quarters combat
shortly after his retirement from the Army in 1918.
He recognized that the .45-caliber slug used in the
M1911 pistol would be devastating when used in a
fully automatic weapon. By the spring of 1920,
Thompson’s company (Auto-Ordnance) produced a
prototype capable of firing 800 rounds per minute.
Despite its excellent test performance, the Thompson
was not adopted for use by either the U.S. Army or
Marine Corps. Still, Thompson contracted with Colt
for the manufacture of 15,000 guns, designated
“Thompson Submachine Gun, Model of 1921.” The
15,000 guns manufactured by Colt lasted until the
eve of World War II. In 1940, the U.S. Army ordered
20,000 Thompson submachine guns; in 1941 the
Army ordered an additional 319,000. One of the
main assets of the Thompson submachine gun was
reliability; it performed better than most submachine
guns when exposed to dirt, mud, and rain. The main
complaints against the Thompson were its weight
(over ten pounds), its inaccuracy at ranges over 50
yards, and its lack of penetrating power (a common
complaint with all submachine guns).
MP40 Machine Pistol
Operation
Fully automatic
Caliber
9 mm (.354 in.)
Muzzle velocity
380 mps (1,247 fps)
Capacity
32-round magazine
Weight
3.97 kg (8.7 lbs)
Overall length
83.2 cm (32.75 in. with
stock extended)
Rate of fire
500 rounds per minute
Effective range
100 m (110 yds)
The MP40 machine pistol was based on the prewar
MP38, modifying the earlier design to make it more
suitable for mass production; more than a million
were produced during the war. Its folding metal
stock made it compact and easy to carry, even in
cramped circumstances; its startling staccato bursts
of fire shattered the silence in many a Norman
hedgerow. The MP40 won the admiration of Allied
soldiers, who often referred to the MP40 as the
“Schmeisser,” despite the fact that firearms engineer
Hugo Schmeisser, designer of the Bergmann MP18
submachine gun in 1918, was not involved in the
design of either the MP38 or the MP40.