Thompson M1 serial number 152577

[Marcel Banziger]

I have this Thompson M1 for quite some time now but never really took the time to take some shots from it. It's number matching with serial number 152577.
Unfortunately it's de-activated but that's how it is with the law overhere in many western European countries.
Myself I like it a lot though I'm not an expert on these at all so all comments, both good and bad, are welcome!

Thanks for looking!

Marcel















Not all pics are of a good enough quality and I'm sorry for that. Unfortunately it's the best I can do with this cheap small cam.

[ValhallaMilitaria]

Lovely gun, get a 30 round magazine for it...to me they just look better.

[captainhoot]

It does not get any better than that, my friend !!
All the military inspector acceptance marks, nice kerr sling
in great condition, nice furniture (wood pieces, that is ).
Finish is as nice as you are likely to find, barr-none.
Sweet !!
Nice piece of candy !! Me likes !!!

~ Captainhoot

[Marcel Banziger]

Thanks for both your comments! And very glad with the approval, especially since it was almost a bargain for such a gun

Is it perhaps possible to date this one with use of the serial number?

[james m]

Marcel:
I'd recommend that you post your Thompson on this forum:

http://www.machinegunboards.com/foru...lter=all&st=25

The guys on that forum are very knowledgeable and the individual that wrote the book on WW II military Thompsons , Frank Iannamico, often posts there.
Jim

[Marcel Banziger]

Thanks for the link Jim, I'll sign up on that forum. They for sure must be able to help me any further. Thanks!

[jh-ss44]

I agree on being a very nice piece to own. great condition , matching numbers, ect.
very nice.
jeff

[Marcel Banziger]

Thanks Jeff!

Btw, signed up at www.machinegunboards.com now, awaiting approval to post on the forum now.

[Douglas Jr.]

Nice Thompson!
If I'm not mistaken "S" stands for Savage, the major manufacturer during the WWII.

Douglas

[james m]

"S" does in fact stand for Savage. The other producer was Auto Ordnance. Savage was not only the largest producer but the designer of the M1/M1A1 series. It had become clear to all during the war the the M1928 was too costly and time consuming to continue to produce. The Savage engineers turned the Blish Lock Model 1928 into a straight blowback in the M1. Other steps taken were to eliminate the Lyman adjustible rear sight,the Cutts Compensator,the removable butt stock feature and the elimination of the slots for use of a drum magazine. This simplified production,reduced the number of parts,reduced the cost and IMO resulted in a more reliable weapon. If I had to take one or the other into battle I'd go with the M1A1 everytime.
Jim

[DennyB]

Lovely gun, get a 30 round magazine for it...to me they just look better.

When did the 30 round mags become readily available? During a trivia discussion about the movie "Saving Private Ryan" a guy said that the 30 round mags were not available circa D-Day so Tom Hanks' character should have been carrying a Thompson with 20 round mags.
He seemed to be quite knowledgable on the Thompsons and he owned 2 or 3 of them. He said the 30 rounders became available to the Pacific Theater personnel before arriving in the ETO, how he knew this, I have no idea.

[Marcel Banziger]

If I had to take one or the other into battle I'd go with the M1A1 everytime.
Jim

The only disadvantage I guess is the weight since it's rather heavy.

[james m]

The only disadvantage I guess is the weight since it's rather heavy.

Yes they're heavy and also well built to last. We have both 28 and M1A1 Thompsons at my club that are rentals. Both of them have over 1,000,000 rounds thru them. Each is on it's 3rd barrel and both have had internal parts replaced but the receivers are original.
To contrast this the sheet metal guns like the H&K MP5s or UZI's will be worn out at around 100,000 rounds due to metal fatigue with the receivers.
I regularly maintain these subguns so I'm familiar with what goes wrong with them.
Jim