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Thompson Submachine Gun
The legendary Thompson Submachine Gun is an American SMG developed in the late 1910s by General John T Thompson. Initially envisioning an "auto rifle" to replace bolt-action rifles in American service while using an operating system less expensive than recoil or gas, Thompson acquired a patent issued to John Bell Blish for what turned out to be a friction-delayed blowback action. However, since the only cartridge in US military service that would work with the Blish action was the .45 ACP pistol round, Thompson changed his goal to a "one-man, hand-held machine gun," imagining it being used as a "trench broom."
The earliest design from 1917 was a bizarre belt-fed weapon called the "Persuader." This morphed into the magazine-fed "Annihilator" in 1918-1919, which boasted a staggering fire rate of up to 1,500 RPM, rendering the weapon virtually uncontrollable in fullauto. A pattern gun with no stock or sights was presented to Colt later on in 1919 to be redesigned for production. This became the M1921 and was marketed as a "submachine gun:" while not the first weapon of the type, it was the first to actually use the name.
The Thompson is inescapably associated with gangsters during America's prohibition era as "the gun that made the twenties roar," though this is largely a media myth: the gun was far too expensive for an average thug (costing $200 with a single 20-round magazine, equivalent to about $2,800 in modern money) as well as heavy and hard to conceal, and the most common weapons for such criminals were revolvers or sawed-off shotguns. The Thompson's infamy instead stems from a few high-profile users such as John Dillinger, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and especially Al Capone. Ironically, it was originally only intended for military and police use only and was marketed as "The gun that safeguards the innocent!", and providing a level of firepower that would send cowardly criminals running for cover. Considering that a fully automatic weapon with a good amount of recoil isn't exactly the safest way to ensure no innocent bystanders are hurt, it didn't take off in this role and eventually hit the civilian market.
Note: The M1921 Thompson and the M1928 Thompson are nearly identical from a distance. The M1921 has a very fine high blued polish finish and has a very fast rate of fire (faster than an Uzi but slower than a MAC-10). The M1928 has a more matte blued finish (or a black paint finish) and it has a much slower rate of fire (like an M3 Grease Gun). Since sound effects are so often 'foleyed' after the fact and since sound engineers can place the wrong sound effect for a gun, one can never be 100% sure of the fire rate of a weapon. However, if the rate of fire seems fast or the gun is obviously a high polished blued finish, then the weapon should go into the M1921 Category, not the M1928.
The Thompson submachine gun, or "Tommy Gun", has appeared in the following films, television series, anime, and video games used by the following actors:
Specifications
M1919 prototypes: (1919 - 1920)
Serial production: (1921 - Present)
Type: Submachine gun
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 20, 30 round straight box magazine, 50, 100 round drum magazine (not compatible with M1 or M1A1), belt feed ("Persuader" prototype)
Fire Modes: Semi-auto / full-auto (600-725 RPM, 1,500 RPM on "Annihilator I" prototype and 800 on "Annihilator II")
M1919 Thompson
The M1919 is a family of various Thompson submachine gun prototypes, all slightly different from each other. Around 40 prototypes were believed to have been made, and only 11 exist today. The earliest M1919 Thompsons (after the "Persuader" prototype) are also known as "Annihilators". The earliest Annihilator I needed an adaptor to use straight magazines.
The SMGs appear in various configurations, with different attachments, and some lacking sights and buttstocks.
Contrary to popular myth, the "Annihilators" were never intended to be shipped to WWI-time Europe, because there was only one example of the Annihilator in 1918, and was still testing its magazine feed system at the time. With a few exceptions, Auto-Ordnance only began attempting to market their weapons later in 1920, to the Polish and anti-Bolshevik forces at war at the time, but intense hostilities will interrupt these plans. The "WWI-myth" itself stems from the 1921 confiscation of a M1921 batch destined for the RIA from the New York docks.
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Note | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
The Godfather | "Dillinger" | 2006 | |
Deadfall Adventures | "Thompson" | "Annihilator I", Hybrid with M1928, w/ 50-rd drum | 2013 |
Battlefield 1 | "Annihilator" and "M1919 SMG" | Added in 2018. | 2016 |
M1921 Thompson
The M1921 is the original production version of the Thompson Submachine Gun, as manufactured by Colt Firearms in 1921 under contract from Auto-Ordnance. The M1921 is of the highest quality, fit, and along with a high polish blued finish, more like high a grade sporting arm, than a military weapon. Standard features of the M1921 are the finned barrels, some sent with Cutts compensators, knurled lightweight bolt handles, Lyman Model 55B adjustable rear sights, push button detachable butt stocks, vertical fore grips and checkered fire control levers.
Film
Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Little Caesar | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 1931 | ||
Pardon Us | Stan Laurel | Stan | scoped | 1931 |
Oliver Hardy | Ollie | |||
Walter Long | The Tiger | |||
Scarface | Police and gangsters | 1934 | ||
G Men | James Cagney | Brick Davis | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1935 |
Robert Armstrong | Jeff McCord | |||
China Seas | Willie Fung | Ah Sing | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1935 |
Bullets or Ballots | Police Officers | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 1936 | |
The Petrified Forest | Arizona lawman | 1936 | ||
They Gave Him a Gun | Prison guards and Police officers | 1937 | ||
San Quentin | Prison Guard | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1937 | |
Angels With Dirty Faces | Police officers | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 1938 | |
Each Dawn I Die | Prison Guard | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1939 | |
High Sierra | Humphrey Bogart | Roy "Mad Dog" Earle | 1941 | |
Went the Day Well? | Frank Lawton | Tom Sturry | With 50-round drum magazine | 1942 |
Norman Pierce | Jim Sturry | |||
Johnnie Schofield | Joe Garbett | |||
Elizabeth Allan | Peggy | |||
German Paratroopers | ||||
Somewhere in France | Gordon Jackson | Alastair "Jock" MacFarlan | With 50-round drum magazine & rare muzzle brake | 1942 |
Tommy Trinder | Tommy Hoskins | |||
Young Partisans (Yunye partizani) | Pyotr Galadzhev | A German soldier | 1942 | |
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror | British soldiers | With 50-round drum magazines; some with Cutts compensators | 1942 | |
Bataan | U.S. forces | 1943 | ||
Hangmen Also Die! | German Schutzstaffel (SS) | Mocked as MP40 | 1943 | |
Sahara | Humphrey Bogart | Sgt. Joe Gunn | 1943 | |
Rex Ingram | Sgt. Major Tambul | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | ||
Bruce Bennett | Waco Hoyt | |||
The Story of G.I. Joe | Freddie Steele | Sgt. Steve Warnicki | 1945 | |
They Were Expendable | With 1928 Forend | 1945 | ||
Back to Bataan | Anthony Quinn | Captain Bonifacio | 1945 | |
John Wayne | Col. John Madden | |||
Appointment with Danger | Police officers | M1921AC with 30-round magazine | 1950 | |
Blowing Wild | Seen in El Gavilan's camp | 1953 | ||
Paratrooper | British paratroopers | 1953 | ||
The Desperate Hours | Various | Police | 1955 | |
The Bonnie Parker Story | Dorothy Provine | Bonnie Parker | M1921AC, 50-round drum magazines | 1958 |
Jack Hogan | Guy Darrow | |||
Sinners of Paris (Rafles sur la ville) | Charles Vanel | Le Fondu | M1921AC | 1958 |
Michel Piccoli | Inspector Paul Vardier | |||
François Guérin | Inspector Gilbert Barot | |||
Police | ||||
Al Capone | Lewis Charles | Earl "Hymie" Weiss | buttstock removed | 1959 |
Murvyn Vye | George "Bugs" Moran | |||
The FBI Story | Jimmy Stewart | Agent "Chip" Hardesty | w/ 50-rd drum and 30-rd box magazines | 1959 |
Murray Hamilton | Agent Sam Crandall | |||
Jane Crowley | Ma Barker | |||
Alan Craig | Fred Barker | |||
Gangsters and FBI agents | ||||
Inside the Mafia | Mafia gunmen | w/ box magazines, buttstocks removed | 1959 | |
Follow That Dream | Elvis Presley | Toby Kwimper | 1962 | |
(uncredited) | Pete | |||
OSS 117 (OSS 117 se déchaîne) | Pierre Moncorbier | The guardian of cave | 1963 | |
The 10th Victim (La decima vittima) | The man at shooting range | 1965 | ||
Up to His Ears (Les tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine) | Chinese triads | 1965 | ||
OSS 117: Mission for a Killer (Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117) | Frederick Stafford | Hubert Bonnisseur | 1965 | |
The Nazis and Indians | ||||
Modesty Blaise | Fothergill´s men | 1966 | ||
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | Jason Robards | Al Capone | 1967 | |
George Segal | Pete Gusenberg | |||
The Sicilian Clan (Le clan des Siciliens) | Mobsters | 1969 | ||
Che! | Jack Palance | Fidel Castro | 1969 | |
Woody Strode | Guillermo | |||
You Can't Win 'Em All | Leo Gordon | Bolek | 1970 | |
Rum Runners (Boulevard du Rhum) | Policemen | 1971 | ||
The Valachi Papers | Mobsters | 1972 | ||
Dillinger | Harry Dean Stanton | Homer Van Meter | 1973 | |
Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy | Kunie Tanaka | Daisuke Jigen | with 30-round magazine | 1974 |
Prison guards | ||||
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | Gig Young | Johnny Quill | Minus rifle stock. | 1974 |
Savage Sisters | Gloria Hendry | Lynn Jackson | 1974 | |
Sid Haig | Malavael | |||
Guerillas | ||||
Big Bad Mama | Tom Skerritt | Fred Diller | 1974 | |
Dick Miller | Agent William Bonney | |||
Tom Signorelli | Agent Dodds | |||
Foxy Brown | vigilante | 1974 | ||
Capone | Ben Gazzara | Capone | 1975 | |
Farewell, My Lovely | gangster | 1975 | ||
The Con Artists | Gangsters and prison guards | With and without Cutts compensators, with 50-rd drums | 1976 | |
Weapons of Death (Napoli spara!) | Santoro's henchmen | 1977 | ||
Stuntwoman (L'animal) | Raquel Welch | Jane Gardner | 1977 | |
Dawn of the Dead | Larry Vaira | Biker | w/ 50-rd drum and 30-rd box magazines | 1978 |
The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (La vengeance du serpent à plumes) | Mexican prison guards and soldiers | 1984 | ||
Romancing the Stone | Ira's man | 1984 | ||
Jungle Warriors | Alex Cord | Nick Spilotro | 1984 | |
Mastranga's men | ||||
The Untouchables | Sean Connery | Jim Malone | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1987 |
Andy Garcia | George Stone | |||
Billy Drago | Frank Nitti | |||
Valentino Cimo | Bodyguard | |||
Joe Greco | Bodyguard | |||
Moonwalker | Michael Jackson | 1988 | ||
Dick Tracy | Warren Beatty | Dick Tracy | 1990 | |
Seymour Cassel | Sam Catchem | |||
William Forsythe | Flattop Jones | |||
Ed O'Ross | Itchy Oliver | |||
Henry Silva | Influence | |||
R.G. Armstrong | Pruneface | |||
Colm Meaney | Cop at Tess' | |||
Mobsters | Nicholas Sadler | Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 1991 |
Christian Slater | Lucky Luciano | |||
Richard Grieco | Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel | |||
Hit the Dutchman | Gangster at brewery | w/ 20-rd box magazine | 1992 | |
Mad Dog Coll | Dutch's gangsters | w/ 20-rd box magazines | 1993 | |
Legends of the Fall | Police officers | 1994 | ||
The Quest | Riggi's mobsters | 1996 | ||
The Phantom | Dane Farwell | Breen | 1996 | |
Jo Phillips | Female pilot | |||
Michael Collins | I.R.A. gunmen | 1996 | ||
Road to Perdition | Tom Hanks | Michael Sullivan, Sr. | 2002 | |
O Brother, Where Art Thou? | Michael Badalucco | Baby Face Nelson | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 2000 |
Smart Philip | Miroslav Táborský | Adolfo | 2003 | |
Mobsters | ||||
Dogville | Mobsters | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 2003 | |
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | Police Officers | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 2004 | |
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Ray Winstone | Mac | w/ M1928 Forend | 2008 |
Watchmen | Unknown | Bank Robber | M1921AC w/ 50-rd drum | 2009 |
Public Enemies | Johnny Depp | John Dillinger | w/ 50-rd drum and 20-rd box magazines | 2009 |
Inglourious Basterds | American soldier | 2009 | ||
Gangster Squad | Gangsters | 2012 | ||
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | New York City Police Officers | 2016 | ||
Live by Night | gangsters and police | 2016 | ||
Live by Night | Chris Messina | Dion Bartolo | 2016 | |
The Highwaymen | police officers | 2019 |
Television
Show Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Air Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Untouchables | 1959 - 1963 | |||
Stawka wieksza niz zycie | British and American soldiers | 18/ "Poszukiwany gruppenfuhrer Wolf" | 1966 - 1968 | |
Dad's Army | 1968 - 1977 | |||
Reilly: Ace of Spies | Sam Neill | Reilly | 1983 | |
The Untouchables | 1993 - 1994 | |||
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | Todd Stashwick | Myron Stark / T-888 | 2008 - 2009 | |
Guns | 2008 | |||
Mob City | L.A.P.D. and mobsters | 2013 | ||
Endeavour - Season 5 | Ames' henchman | With 50-round drum; (S05E06) | 2018 | |
Legion | Jeremie Harris | Ptonomy Wallace | M1921AC | 2017-2019 |
Anime
Title | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Soul Eater | Al-Capone mafia | 2008-2009 | |
Soul Eater Not! | Mobster | "This is a Real Fight!" (E06) | 2014 |
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Medal of Honor: Airborne | "Upgrade" from M1928 Thompson, with 50-rd drum | 2007 | |
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth | 2005 | ||
Contract J.A.C.K. | .45 SMG | M1921AC | 2003 |
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way | M1921-A1 | With 50-round drum magazine | 2002 |
The Godfather | "Dillinger" or "Lvl 3 Tommy Gun" | "Upgrade" from M1A1 Thompson with 50-round drum magazine | 2006 |
Cross Fire | "Thompson" | 2007 | |
Company of Heroes | Thompson SMG Upgrade | 2008 | |
Bioshock 2 | "Machine Gun" | fires .50 Cal rounds | 2010 |
Days Gone | "Chicago Chopper" | 2019 | |
Enlisted | Thompson M1921AC with 30 round magazine | 2021 | |
Thompson M1921AC with 50 round magazine |
M1928/M1928A1 Thompson
The Model 1928 was more of an modified version rather than an upgrade. They are visually the same as the M1921 except they were outfitted with heavy actuators and smaller less powerful recoil springs to reduce the rate of fire. The earliest of these were converted M1921 Thompson receivers that were merely re-stamped with an "8" over the last "1" in the original markings (hence the terminology "overstamp").
The M1928A1 was the military contract version of this weapon from 1938. It had a more crude military grade blued finish, a heavier actuator and the vertical foregrip was replaced with a horizontal handguard. Military buttstocks often received a reinforcing bolt. The British often moved the sling swivel to the top of the stock. Late wartime M1928A1s also received a number of simplifications, such as non-adjustable "L"-style sights, smooth barrels, and the absence of compensators (these features can be found in different combinations), before production switched to an even more simplified M1, which borrowed these peculiarities.
The M1928 is the variant most commonly associated with twenties gangsters, made famous through countless classic gangster movies. Nicknames such as "Tommy Gun" or "Chicago typewriter" were created as a result of the weapon's fame.
Film
Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sundown | Bruce Cabot | William Crawford | M1928 | 1941 |
Carl Esmond | Jan Kuypens | |||
Tribal fighter | ||||
Air Force | United States Marines | M1928A1 | 1943 | |
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | British Infantrymen | M1928A1 | 1943 | |
Went the Day Well? | German Paratroopers | M1928A1 | 1943 | |
Guadalcanal Diary | Marines and Japanese | M1928A1 | 1943 | |
Richard Conte | Captain Davis | |||
Gung Ho! | Marine Raiders | M1928A1 | 1943 | |
The Fighting Seabees | Japanese soldiers | M1928A1 | 1944 | |
The Story of G.I. Joe | Robert Mitchum | Lt. Bill Walker | M1928A1 | 1945 |
Freddie Steele | Sgt. Steve Warniki | |||
Out of the Past | Police Officer | M1928A1 | 1947 | |
A Walk In The Sun | Soldiers | M1A1 / M1928A1 | 1948 | |
He Walked By Night | Police | M1928A1 | 1948 | |
All the King's Men | police officers | 1949 | ||
Tokyo Joe | US Army soldiers | M1928A1 | 1949 | |
White Heat | L.A.P.D. | M1928A1 | 1949 | |
Battleground | James Whitmore | Sgt Kinnie | M1928A1 | 1949 |
Breakthrough | Frank Lovejoy | Sgt. Pete Bell | M1928A1 | 1950 |
Matt Willis | Pvt. Jimbo Hollis | |||
U.S. soldiers | ||||
Gun Crazy | Police Officers | M1928A1 | 1950 | |
Conspiracy of the Doomed (Zagovor obrechyonnykh) | Oleg Zhakov | Kurtov | M1928A1 | 1950 |
The Steel Helmet | Gene Evans | Sgt. Zack | 1951 | |
Richard Loo | Sgt. Tanaka | |||
The Enforcer | 1951 | |||
From Here to Eternity | U.S. Army sentry | 1953 | ||
Paratrooper | British paratroopers | M1928A1 | 1953 | |
The Desert Rats | Richard Burton | Capt. 'Tammy' MacRoberts | smooth barreled version | 1953 |
Australian commandos, German Troops | ||||
The Most Wanted Man (L'Ennemi public No 1) | Police | 1953 | ||
Outpost in the Mountains (Zastava v gorakh) | Brigands | M1928A1 | 1953 | |
Suddenly | State Police | M1928A1 | 1954 | |
Them! | James Whitmore | Sergeant Peterson | 1954 | |
James Arness | F.B.I. Special Agent Robert Graham | |||
Soldiers | ||||
To Hell and Back | Audie Murphy | Himself | M1928A1 | 1955 |
Soldier of Fortune | Chinese sailors | M1928A1 | 1955 | |
Between Heaven and Hell | National Guards | M1928A1 | 1956 | |
Jet Pilot | U.S. Air Force personnel | M1928A1 | 1957 | |
The Steel Bayonet | Leo Genn | Maj. Alan Gerrard | M1928A1 | 1957 |
British soldiers | ||||
Bridge on the River Kwai, The | Japanese guards | M1928A1 | 1957 | |
The Mask of the Gorilla (Le Gorille vous salue bien) | Jean-Marie Rivière | Valério | M1928 | 1958 |
Darby's Rangers | Peter Brown | Cpl. Rollo Burns | 1958 | |
When Hell Broke Loose | US Army soldier | 1958 | ||
Machine-Gun Kelly | Charles Bronson | George "Machine Gun" Kelly | M1928 | 1958 |
Susan Cabot | Florence "Flo" Becker | |||
Yesterday's Enemy | British officers and sergeants | w/ 20-rd magazines. some w/ vertical foregrips | 1959 | |
Never So Few | Frank Sinatra | Cpt. Tom Reynolds | M1928A1 | 1959 |
Steve McQueen | Bill Ringa | |||
Charles Bronson | Sgt. John Danforth | |||
Philip Ahn | Nautaung | |||
U. S. troops | ||||
Everybody Go Home! (Tutti a casa) | Fascist militia | M1928A1 Thompson | 1960 | |
Peace to Him Who Enters (Mir vkhodyashchemu) | Nikolay Grinko | An American soldier | M1928A1 | 1961 |
Merrill's Marauders | Claude Akins | Plt. Sgt. Kolowicz | 1962 | |
The Black Seagull (Chyornaya chayka) | A Cuban seaman | With drum magazine | 1962 | |
Escape from Zahrain | Yul Brynner | Sharif | M1928A1 with drum magazine | 1962 |
Jack Warden | Huston | |||
Sal Mineo | Ahmed | |||
Anthony Caruso | Tahar | |||
Police | ||||
I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) | Cuban police and guerrillas | 1964 | ||
The Heroes of Telemark | Richard Harris | Knut Straud | 1965 | |
Cast a Giant Shadow | Kirk Douglas | "Mickey" Marcus | 1966 | |
So Darling So Deadly | A henchwoman | With foregrip and stick magazine | 1966 | |
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? | James Coburn | Lt. Christian | 1928A1, no cooling fins on barrel | 1966 |
Aldo Ray | Sgt. Rizzo | |||
William Bryant | Minow | |||
US Army soldiers | ||||
How I Won the War | British (Canadian) soldiers | Only a picture on a bubble gum/cigarette card | 1967 | |
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | David Canary | Frank Gusenberg | 1967 | |
Rico Cattani | Albert Anselmi | |||
Bonnie and Clyde | Warren Beatty | Clyde Barrow | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1967 |
Faye Dunaway | Bonnie Parker | |||
Denver Pyle | Frank Hamer | Colt | ||
The Devil's Brigade | William Holden | Col. Robert T. Frederick | M1928A1 | 1968 |
Jack Watson | Cpl. Peacock | |||
Cliff Robertson | Maj. Alan Crown | |||
Jeremy Slate | Sgt. Patrick O'Neill | |||
US and Canadian army soldiers | ||||
The Olsen Gang in a Fix | Mozerella's trenchcoat thugs | 1969 | ||
The Bridge at Remagen | M1928A1 | 1969 | ||
The Brain | Eli Wallach | Frankie Scannapieco | M1928A1 with M1928-style foregrip and 50-round drum magazine | 1969 |
MP personnel and The Brain's henchmen | M1928A1 with stick magazines | |||
Treasures of the Flaming Cliffs (Sokrovishcha pylayushchikh skal) | Nikolay Zaseev-Rudenko | Chief mercenary | Mocked up as Halcon-series SMGs | 1969 |
Mercenaries | ||||
The Night of the Following Day | Richard Boone | Leer | M1928A1 | 1969 |
Cotton Comes to Harlem | Henchman | 1970 | ||
Too Late the Hero | Michael Caine | Pvt. Tosh Hearne | M1928A1 | 1970 |
Ian Bannen | Pvt. Jock Thornton | |||
Patton | U.S. Army soldiers | M1928A1 | 1970 | |
Bloody Mama | Shelley Winters | Kate "Ma" Barker | 1970 | |
Don Stroud | Herman Barker | |||
FBI Agents | ||||
Deadlock | Marquard Bohm | Kid | M1928A1 without Cutts compensator | 1970 |
Mario Adorf | Charles Dump | |||
Anthony Dawson | Anthony Sunshine | |||
Black Sun (Chyornoye solntse) | Mercenaries and guerilla fighters | M1928A1 with drum magazine | 1970 | |
Shaft | Christopher St. John | Ben Buford | 1971 | |
Marcy's kidnappers, police | ||||
The Burglars (Le casse) | Athenian policemen | 1971 | ||
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Texas lawmen | 1972 | ||
The Godfather | Barzini hitmen | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 1972 | |
State of Siege (État de Siège) | Police | 1972 | ||
The Assassination of Trotsky | Luigi Vannucchi | Ruiz | Without Cutts compensators | 1972 |
Jack Betts | Lou | |||
Ruiz' men | ||||
The Battle After the Victory (Boy posle pobedy) | US Army soldiers and MPs | 1972 | ||
The Day of the Jackal | OAS operative | 1973 | ||
Cleopatra Jones | Thugs | M1928 and M1928A1 | 1973 | |
The Laughing Policeman | S.F.P.D. SWAT | 1973 | ||
Battle for the Planet of the Apes | Claude Akins | Aldo | 1973 | |
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | Gig Young | Johnny Quill | rifle stock removed | 1974 |
Melvin Purvis G-MAN | Dale Robertson | Melvin Purvis | both nickel-plated and blued finishes | 1974 |
Steve Kanaly | Sam Cowley | |||
Harris Yulin | Machine Gun Kelly | |||
Margaret Blye | Kate Kelly | |||
Dick Sargent | Thatcher Covington | |||
John Karlen | Tony Redecci | |||
FBI agents | ||||
Only the Wind Knows the Answer (Die Antwort kennt nur der Wind) | Assassin | 1974 | ||
Borsalino and Co. | Alain Delon | Roch Siffredi | M1928 w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1974 |
Lionel Vitrant | Fernand | M1928A1 w/ 50-rd drum magazine | ||
Siffredi henchmen | M1928 and M1928A1 | |||
The Last Four Days | Giacomo Rossi-Stuart | Capt. Jack Donati | 1974 | |
OSS operatives | ||||
Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy | Kunie Tanaka | Daisuke Jigen | 50-round drum magazine | 1974 |
Mafia | ||||
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze | Paul Wexler | Captain Seas | 1975 | |
Seas' henchmen | ||||
Breakout | Mexican prison guards | Early M1928A1 | 1975 | |
Syndicate Sadists | Adolfo Lastretti | Ciccio Paterno | 1975 | |
Paterno's and Conti's henchmen | ||||
Dolemite | guard, hit man | possible replica | 1975 | |
Midway | Tom Selleck | Aide to Capt. Cyril Simard | 1976 | |
Larry Pennell | Capt. Cyril Simard | |||
The Con Artists | Prison guards | With 50-rd drums | 1976 | |
The Mad Dog Killer (La belva col mitra) | Nello Pazzafini | Pietro Caporali | 1977 | |
Night Over Chile (Noch nad Chili) | Chilean soldiers | M1928A1; Visually modified as SIG SG 510-4 | 1977 | |
Midnight Express | . | Turkish soldiers | . | 1978 |
Good Guys Wear Black | The Black Tigers | 1978 | ||
Go Tell the Spartans | Joe Unger | 2LT Raymond Hamilton | 1978 | |
South Vietnamese troops | ||||
The Inglorious Bastards | Bo Svenson | Lt. Robert Yeager | 1978 | |
Fred Williamson | Private Fred Canfield | |||
Peter Hooten | Tony | |||
Michael Pergolani | Nick | |||
Jackie Basehart | Berle | |||
Raimund Harmstorf | Adolf | |||
Joshua Sinclair | The Sergeant | |||
. | American troops | |||
Death Force | Carmen Argenziano | Morelli | 1978 | |
Gangsters, Soldiers | ||||
1941 | U.S. Army soldiers | 1979 | ||
From Hell to Victory | George Peppard | Brett Rosson | 1979 | |
George Hamilton | Maurice Bernard | |||
US Army soldiers, OSS personnel | ||||
The Hijacking of Savoy (Pokhishchenie Savoi) | Aleksandr Mikhajlov | Gido Torstensen | Converted to 7.62x25 blanks with MP40 magazine | 1979 |
Antoni Jurasz | Prof. Stanislaw Werzanski | |||
Mikhail Gluzsky | Heinrich Scharf | |||
Scharf's henchmen, Brazilian police | ||||
Pirates of the XXth Century (Piraty XX veka) | Nikolai Yeryomenko, Jr. | Sergey Sergeevich | Converted to 7.62x25 blanks with MP40 magazine | 1979 |
Talgat Nigmatulin | Salekh | |||
Georgiy Martirosyan | Klyuev | |||
Pirates | ||||
The Big Red One | M1928A1 | 1980 | ||
The Outsider | IRA Gunmen | 1980 | ||
Airplane! | 50-round drum magazine | 1980 | ||
Santa Esperansa | Chilean soldiers | M1928A1; many converted to 7.62x25 blanks with MP40 magazine | 1980 | |
Per Aspera Ad Astra (Cherez ternii k zvyozdam) | Guards on Dessa | 1981 | ||
Teheran 43 | Armen Dzhigarkhanyan | Max Richard | 1981 | |
German agents (1943), hijackers (1980) | ||||
Choice of Arms | M1928A1; Seen in Jean's armoury | 1981 | ||
Across the Gobi and the Khingan (Govi Khyangand tulaldsan ni) | USA soldiers | 1981 | ||
The Fall of the Condor (Padeniye kondora) | In Maria's house; converted to 7.62x25 blanks with MP40 magazine | 1982 | ||
Uncommon Valor | Harold Sylvester | Johnson | 1983 | |
Reb Brown | Blaster | |||
Tim Thomerson | Charts | |||
Fred Ward | Wilkes | |||
Johnny Dangerously | Richard Dimitri | Roman Troy Moroni | 1984 | |
Michael Keaton | Johnny Kelly/Johnny Dangerously | |||
Once Upon A Time In America | James Woods | Max Bercovicz | 1984 | |
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Ric Young | Kao Kan | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1984 |
Copper Angel (Medny angel) | Gangsters | 1984 | ||
One Hundred Days in Palermo | Seen in mafia armorer workshop | 1984 | ||
The Stuff | Various | Militia | 1985 | |
Commando Leopard | Rebels | With box magazine | 1985 | |
Big Trouble in Little China | Wing Kong member | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1986 | |
Secrets of Madame Wong (Tayny madam Vong) | Serik Kanakbayev | Bulat | 1986 | |
Gangsters | ||||
The Jaguar (Yaguar) | Chilean military school cadets | 1987 | ||
The Red Spectacles | noodle-stand guard | 1987 | ||
The Untouchables | Mobsters, police, Federal agents | 1987 | ||
Deja Vu | Vladimir Golovin | Mikita Nechyporuk | 1988 | |
Nikolai Karachentsov | Mishka Yaponchik | |||
Jerzy Stuhr | Johnny Pollack | |||
Harlem Nights | Arsenio Hall | Small's Brother | 1989 | |
Farewell To The King | Gerry Lopez | Gwai | 1989 | |
Frank McRae | Sgt. Tenga | |||
Home Alone | Ralph Foody | Johnny | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1990 |
Miller's Crossing | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 1990 | ||
The Rocketeer | FBI Special Agents and gangsters | 1991 | ||
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah | American troops | Replica | 1991 | |
Kill the "Jackal" (Ubit "Shakala") | one of the Jackal's gangsters | 1991 | ||
Hit the Dutchman | Bruce Nozick | Dutch Schultz | M1928A1 | 1992 |
Gangsters | ||||
Sheriff's Star (Zvezda sherifa) | Police officer | M1928A1 w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1992 | |
Rapid Fire | Carl Ciarfalio | Mobster | M1928A1 | 1992 |
Hold-Up (Nalyot) | A criminal | M1928A1 | 1993 | |
Good Luck, Gentlemen (Udachi vam, gospoda) | Criminals | 1993 | ||
Mad Dog Coll | Christopher Bradley | Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll | M1928A1 | 1993 |
Gangsters | ||||
The plane flies to Russia (Samolyot letit v Rossiyu) | Guards | M1928A1s w/ 20-rd box and 100-rd drum magazines | 1994 | |
Forrest Gump | Gary Sinise | One of Lt. Dan Taylor's ancestors | M1928A1 w/ 30-rd box magazine and without Cutts compensator | 1994 |
Blown Away | IRA terrorists | M1928A1 | 1994 | |
The Shadow | Tim Curry | Farley Claymore | M1928A1 | 1994 |
The Shawshank Redemption | Shawshank Prison guard | 1994 | ||
Mulholland Falls | U.S. Army soldiers | 1996 | ||
Last Man Standing | Christopher Walken | Hickey | 1996 | |
Star Trek: First Contact | Patrick Stewart | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 1996 |
The Thin Red Line | Sean Penn | 1Sgt. Welsh | 1998 | |
John C. Reilly | Sgt. Storm | |||
Arie Verveen | Pvt. Dale | |||
The Avengers | Eileen Atkins | Alice | 1998 | |
Half a Chance | Alain Delon | Julien | 1998 | |
The Mummy Returns | Oded Fehr | Ardeth Bay | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 2001 |
Pearl Harbor | U.S. military personnel | w/ 50-rd drum and 30-rd box magazines | 2001 | |
Windtalkers | Nicolas Cage | Sergeant Joe Enders | 2002 | |
Christian Slater | Sergeant Henderson | |||
Hart's War | Christian Kahrmann | German Commando | 2002 | |
Road to Perdition | Tom Hanks | Michael Sullivan | 2002 | |
Mobsters | ||||
El Alamein - The Line of Fire | British soldiers | 2002 | ||
The Quiet American | Gen. The's soldiers | 2002 | ||
The Matrix Reloaded | Henchman | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 2003 | |
Kung Fu Hustle | Various | Axe Gang members | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 2004 |
Hellboy | Various | U.S. soldiers | 2004 | |
Assault on Precinct 13 | Brian Dennehy | Jasper | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | 2005 |
Aisha Hinds | Anna | |||
The Lost City | Cuban rebels and troops | 2005 | ||
King Kong | S.S. Venture crew | w/ 50-rd drum magazines | 2005 | |
Jack Black | Carl Denham | |||
Kyle Chandler | Bruce Baxter | |||
Thomas Kretschmann | Captain Englehorn | |||
Evan Parke | Ben Hayes | |||
Days of Glory | Samy Naceri | Yassir | 2006 | |
Kokoda | Luke Ford | Burke | w/ 20-rd box magazines | 2006 |
Intimate Enemies | Marc Barbé | Cpt. Berthaut | w/ 30-rd box magazines | 2007 |
Lounès Tazairt | Said | |||
Changeling | Los Angeles Police Department | 2008 | ||
Crossfire (Les Insoumis) | In the warehouse; M1928A1 or M1921AC | 2008 | ||
The Bridge | M1928A1 | 2008 | ||
Che Part One: Argentine | Santiago Cabrera | Camilo Cienfuegos | 2008 | |
Max Manus: Man of War | Knut Joner | Gunnar Sønsteby | 2008 | |
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | M1928A1 | 2008 | |
Miracle at St. Anna | Derek Luke | Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps | M1928A1 | 2008 |
Michael Ealy | Sgt. Bishop Cummings | |||
Laz Alonso | Cpl. Hector Negron | |||
US Army soldiers | ||||
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Brendan Fraser | Rick O'Connell | w/ 20-rd box and 50-rd drum magazines | 2008 |
Red and White (Merah Putih) | Lukman Sardi | Amir | M1928A1 | 2009 |
Black Dynamite | Henchmen | 2009 | ||
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Mobsters | 2009 | ||
Public Enemies | M1928A1 | 2009 | ||
Kokoda | Australian Soldiers | 2010 | ||
Elephant White | Kevin Bacon | Jimmy | M1928 | 2010 |
Nude Nuns with Big Guns | Asun Ortega | Sister Sarah | M1928 | 2010 |
Captain America: The First Avenger | Derek Luke | Gabe Jones | 2011 | |
Hayley Atwell | Peggy Carter | |||
My Way | US soldiers | 2011 | ||
J. Edgar | Armie Hammer | Clyde Tolson | 2011 | |
Suicides (Samoubiytsy) | Gosha Kutsenko | Mitus | w/ vertical foregrip and 50-rd drum magazine | 2012 |
Mitus' thug | ||||
FDR: American Badass | Barry Bostwick | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | with 50 round drum | 2012 |
The Bullet Vanishes | Kai Chi Liu | Boss Ding | without Cutts compensators and with smooth barrels | 2012 |
Boss Ding's mobs | ||||
Gangster Squad | Sean Penn | Mickey Cohen | 2012 | |
Troy Garity | Wrevock | |||
The Last Stand | Luis Guzman | Deputy Figuerola | 2013 | |
Banklady | Charly Hübner | Hermann Wittorf | 2013 | |
Nadeshda Brennicke | Gisela Werler | |||
22 Minutes (22 minuty) | Makar Zaporozhskiy | Sanya Yezhov | M1928A1 with custom folding stock | 2014 |
Somali Pirate | ||||
City 44 | A Polish soldier | 2014 | ||
White Soldier | Abraham Belaga | Sergeant Robert Tual | 2014 | |
Emile Berling | André Cariou | |||
French troops and commandos | ||||
The Imitation Game | A British MP | 2014 | ||
Mack the Knife - Brecht's Threepenny Film | British Police Officers | 2018 |
Television
Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Andy Griffith Show | Don Knotts | Deputy Barney Fife | "A Black Day for Mayberry" (S04E07) | 1963 |
Andy Griffith | Sheriff Andy Taylor | |||
Combat! | U.S. Army soldiers | M1928A1 | 1962 - 1967 | |
McHale's Navy | Jesse Pearson | Harley Hatfield | M1928A1 simplified rear sight / "The Rage of Taratupa" (S2E30) | 1964 |
Tim Conway | Ensign Charles Parker | M1928A1 / "The McHale Mob" (S2E32) | 1964 | |
Carl Ballantine | Lester Gruber | |||
John Wright | Willy Moss | |||
Gavin MacLeod | Happy | |||
Syl Lamont | Smitty | |||
Joe Flynn | Capt. Binghamton | M1928 / "Fountain of Youth" (S3E10) | 1964 | |
M1928A1 / "A Da-Da For Christy" (S2E36) | 1964 | |||
Bob Hastings | Lt. Elroy Carpenter | M1928A1 / "A Da-Da For Christy" (S2E36) | 1964 | |
Will J. Wright | Army Sergeant | M1928A1 / "Wally For Congress" (S4E30) | 1966 | |
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | various characters | 1964-1968 | ||
Gilligan's Island | Russell Johnson | The Professor | 30-rd magazine / "Forward March" (S02E22) | 1966 |
Jim Backus | Mr. Howell | |||
Mission: Impossible | Guards | "Pilot" (S01E01) | 1966 | |
Guards | "Memory" (S01E02) | |||
Peter Lupus | Willy Armitage | slung, "The Trial" (S01E18) | 1967 | |
Star Trek | William Shatner | Captain James T. Kirk | w/ 50-rd drum magazines / "A Piece of the Action" (S02E17) | 1968 |
Leonard Nimoy | Lt. Cmdr Spock | |||
DeForest Kelley | Dr. Leonard H. McCoy | |||
Sigma Iotia II natives | ||||
Dad's Army | Arthur Lowe | Captain George Mainwaring | M1928A1 w/ 30-rd and 50-rd magazine | 1968-1977 |
John Le Mesurier | Sergeant Arthur Wilson | |||
Ian Lavender | Private Frank Pike | |||
Father Brown | Security guards | M1928 (or M1921AC) w/ 50-rd magazine; "The Arrow of Heaven" (Ep.12) | 1974 | |
Rafferty | Armen Dzhigarkhanyan | Tommy Farrichetty | 1980 | |
Star Trek: The Next Generation | Holographic gangster | Manhunt | 1987 - 1994 | |
State Border: Film 8, The | U.S. commandos | M1928 and M1928A1 | 1988 | |
Campion | Savanake's henchmen | M1928 (or M1921AC) with drum magazines; "Sweet Danger: Part 2" (S02E02) | 1990 | |
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Rumrunners | 1992-1993 | ||
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Gangsters | w/ 50-rd drum magazine / That Old Gang of Mine | 1993 - 1997 | |
Sahara (1995) | James Belushi | Master Sgt. Joe Gunn | 1995 | |
Alan David Lee | Bates | |||
Star Trek: Voyager | Tim Russ | Tuvok | M1928A1 / The Killing Game | 1995 - 2001 |
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin | Aleksey Barabash | Morton Schane | Ep.1 | 2002 |
Foyle's War - Season 2 | Home Guard soldiers | "Fifty Ships" (S2E1) | 2003 | |
Foyle's War - Season 3 | Murray McArthur | Home Guard soldier | "The French Drop" (S3E1) | 2004 |
The Pacific | Henry Nixon | Lt. Hugh Corrigan | 2010 | |
Jon Bernthal | Sgt. Manuel 'Manny' Rodriguez | |||
Boardwalk Empire | Steve Buscemi | Thompson | . | 2010-Present |
The Promise | Irgun fighters | M1928, with L-shaped sights and stick magazines | 2011 | |
Sanctuary | Peter Wingfield | James Watson | M1928A1 w/ 30-rd magazine / Normandy | 2011 |
US Soldiers | ||||
Supernatural | Jensen Ackles | Dean Winchester | With drum magazine / "Time After Time" (S07E12) | 2012 |
Foyle's War - Season 8 | US MPs | "The Eternity Ring" (S8E1) | 2013 | |
Bonnie and Clyde (2013) | Holliday Grainger | Bonnie Parker | 2013 | |
Emile Hirsch | Clyde Barrow | |||
Lane Garrison | Marvin "Buck" Barrow | |||
Spies (Razvedchitsy) | A US Army soldier | Supposedly Denix M1928A1 replica | 2013 | |
Parer's War | Toby Wallace | Lt. Ron "Judy" Garland | M1928A1 | 2014 |
Australian Commandos, US Marines | M1928, M1928A1 | |||
The Spoils of Babylon | Tobey Maguire | Devon Morehouse | "The War Within" (E2) | 2014 |
Bobby Nish | Japanese Soldier #1 | |||
Agent Carter | Hayley Atwell | Peggy Carter | 2015 | |
Agent Carter - Season 2 | assassin | "A View in the Dark" (S2E02) | 2016 | |
SS-GB | Trevor White | Daniel Hopkiss | 2017 | |
The Man in the High Castle | American Resistance Fighters | 2019 | ||
The Man in the High Castle | Jason O'Mara | Wyatt Price | 2019 | |
Babylon Berlin - Season 3 | Misel Maticevic | Edgar Kasabian | Ep. 28 | 2020 |
Ronald Zehrfeld | Walter Weintraub | |||
The Defeated | American, British and French soldiers | with 30-round magazine | 2020 |
Anime
Title | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Mad Bull 34 | Maury Edward's henchmen | 1990 | |
Seven Cities Story: Arctic Front | Agents | 1994 | |
Case Closed: Countdown to Heaven | A gangster | 2001 | |
Desert Punk | 2004 | ||
Zipang | U.S. Marines | 2004 - 2005 | |
Baccano! | 2007 | ||
Batman: Gotham Knight | Maroni's thugs | 2008 | |
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | Joseph Joestar | M1928; S1E11, "The Game Master" | 2012 |
Amagi Brilliant Park | A Mobster | 2014 | |
Sirius the Jaeger | Vampires and Jaegers | M1928, M1928A1; Ep. 01, 05, 11, 12 | 2018 |
Bungo Stray Dogs | Port Mafia | Ep. 04, Ep. 06, Ep. 09, Ep. 11 | 2016 |
Bungo Stray Dogs | Port Mafia | Ep. 13, 16, 17, 20 | 2016 |
Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple | Port Mafia | 2018 |
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Blood | 1997 | ||
Fallout 2 | Tommy Gun | 1998 | |
Fallout Tactics | Tommy Gun | 2001 | |
Serious Sam video game series | M1-A2 | With drum magazine, No reloading required | 2001 |
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven | With 50-round drum magazine | 2002 | |
Forgotten Hope | 2003 | ||
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb | 2003 | ||
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | "Thompson" | 2003 | |
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | With 30-round box and 50-round drum magazine | 2004 | |
Call of Duty: United Offensive | M1928A1, box art only | 2004 | |
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | Tommy gun | With 50-round drum and apparently formed out of bees | 2004 |
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie | With 50-round drum magazine | 2005 | |
Medal of Honor: Vanguard | "M1928 Thompson" (Nintendo Wii version) | M1928A1, with a 30-round box or 50-round drum magazine | 2007 |
"M1 Thompson" (PlayStation 2 version) | |||
Forgotten Hope 2 | M1928(A1) w/ 20 (M1928), 30 (M1928A1) or 50-round (both) magazines | 2007 | |
Call of Duty: World at War | M1928A1, box art only | 2008 | |
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway | 2008 | ||
The Royal Marines Commando | Thompson | With drum magazine | 2008 |
7.62 High Calibre | 2008 | ||
UberSoldier II | "Thompson М1" | M1928A1 w/ 30-round magazine | 2008 |
Death to Spies: Moment of Truth | 2009 | ||
Godfather II, The (VG) | 2009 | ||
Counter-Strike Online | Thompson Chaiago | Gold finish | 2010 |
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | 2010 | ||
Mafia II | With 50-round drum | 2010 | |
World War II Online: Battleground Europe | With 30-round stick mag | 2010 | |
Serious Sam Double D | Tommy Gun | With 50-round drum, no butt-stock | 2011 |
7554 | Thompson M1928 | With 30-round magazine | 2011 |
Hitman: Absolution | 2012 | ||
Grand Theft Auto V | Gusemberg Sweeper | With incorrectly 30-rounds drum magazine | 2013 |
Project Reality: Normandy | Thompson | M1928A1, with Cutts compensator removed | 2013 |
Deadfall Adventures | Thompson | M1928, with 50-round drum | 2013 |
Payday 2 | Chicago Typewriter | M1928, with 50-round drum | 2013 |
Bioshock Infinite | "Tommy Gun" | M1928A1, with 50-round drum, smooth barrel, and early 'simplified' rear sight | 2013 |
Warface | 2013 | ||
Watch_Dogs | M1, Gangster | M1928, with 50-round drum | 2014 |
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly | Thompson M1928A1 | another handguard, 3 types of sights and 20 and 50-rounded mags | 2014 |
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | M1928 Thompson | M1928 | 2016 |
Thompson Carbine | M1928A1 Prototype in .30 Carbine | ||
Day of Infamy | Thompson M1928A1 | M1928A1, "Foregrip" upgrade converts M1928A1 to M1928 | 2017 |
Post Scriptum | M1928 variant with 50-round drum magazines | 2018 | |
Land of War: The Beginning | Wz. 28 Thompson. Polish variant of the Thompson gun. | 2021 | |
Enlisted | Thompson M1928A1 with 30 round mag | 2021 | |
Thompson M1928A1 with 50 round mag | |||
Thompson M1928A1 with 100 round mag |
Animation
Film/TV Show | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Who Framed Roger Rabbit | June Foray | Wheezy | 1988 |
M1 Thompson
The M1/M1A1 were versions of the M1928A1 Thompson that were streamlined and simplified for manufacture during World War 2, first adopted in April 1942. Features include a non-finned barrel, simple fixed "L" style sights, no Cutts Compensators, and elimination of the knurling on actuators and fire select levers in later models. The bolt and receiver were simplified to eliminate the Blish lock "H" piece. The bolt actuator was also moved from the top to the right side of the receiver. Also there are examples that were parkerized rather than blued that ended up in the hands of U.S. Soldiers.
The older style M1 Thompson had a more complex bolt design with a separate firing pin later simplified in the M1A1 Thompson which had the firing pin machined into the face of the bolt. The early M1 model rear "L type" sight was prone to bend if the weapon was dropped or dig into the soldier when in cramped conditions, so later models added triangular "ears" to protect it. The M1/M1A1 Thompson's could not accept the 50/100 round drum magazines used on the M1921/M1928(A1) models so were limited to 20-round and 30-round box magazines, because the cutouts for drum installation were removed during the simplification, since the military in practice were disappointed with them (while gun can still be modified to load with drums, as seen in a number of post-war French and Italian films).
Film
Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mothra | Scientists | 1961 | ||
The Longest Day | Allied soldiers | 1963 | ||
Pierrot Goes Wild (Pierrot le Fou) | OAS members | 1965 | ||
Kelly's Heroes | Clint Eastwood | Pvt. Kelly | 1970 | |
Telly Savalas | Master Sgt. Big Joe | |||
Don Rickles | Staff Sgt. Crapgame | |||
Jeff Morris | Cowboy | |||
Joe | Peter Boyle | Joe Curran | 1970 | |
Cleopatra Jones | Thug | 1973 | ||
Magnum Force | Thug | 1973 | ||
Caboblanco | Jason Robards | Gunther Beckdorff | With additional foregrip | 1980 |
Jungle Warriors | Dominic Barto | Thomas Tucci | 1984 | |
Angela Robinson-Witherspoon | Monique Rogers | |||
Paramilitary men | ||||
Volunteers | Clyde Kusatsu | Souvanna | vertical foregrip, no sights | 1985 |
People's Army soldier | ||||
Reign of Fire | British Refugee | 2002 | ||
Days of Glory | Samy Naceri | Yassir | 2006 | |
Hot Fuzz | Seen in evidence room | 2007 | ||
John Rabe | U.S. Navy sailors | with drum magazines and muzzle brakes | 2009 | |
Djinns (Stranded) | Cyril Raffaelli | Pvt. Louvier | 2010 | |
Matthias Van Khache | Pvt. Malovitch | |||
Oba: The Last Samurai | US Marine | 2010 | ||
War Pigs | Luke Goss | Captain Jack Wosick | 2015 | |
Operation Chromite | Korean intelligence agents and Marines | 2016 | ||
Hacksaw Ridge | US Army soldiers | 2016 | ||
Suspiria | on the photo | 2018 | ||
Overlord | Wyatt Russell | Cpl. Lewis Ford | 2018 |
Television
Show Title | Actor | Character | Note/ Episode | Air Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sanctuary | Amanda Tapping | Dr. Helen Magnus | w/ 30-rd magazine / "Normandy" | 2011 |
Peter Wingfield | James Watson | |||
Erin Lacourciere | Jeanette Anaise | |||
Robin Dunne | Captain Jack Zimmerman | |||
US Soldiers |
Anime
Title | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Girls und Panzer | Movie Characters | Movie appears to be Kelly's Heroes | 2012 |
Suisei no Gargantia | Sailor | 2013 |
Video Games
Game Title | Mods | Passwords | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
WWII G.I. | With 20-round magazine | 1999 | |
Day of Infamy | Thompson M1A1 | Equipping "Iron Sights" upgrade converts M1A1 to M1 | 2017 |
Battlefield 2042 | 2021 | ||
Enlisted | 2021 |
M1A1 Thompson
Basically the same as the M1 but with a few more improvements such as the noted rear sight guard.
Film
Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
A Walk in the Sun | . | U.S. Army soldiers | 1945 | |
He Walked By Night | police officers | 1948 | ||
The Most Wanted Man (L'Ennemi public No 1) | Fallone's henchmen and police detectives | Standard and with foregrip | 1953 | |
Grisbi (Touchez pas au grisbi) | Jean Gabin | Max | With foregrip | 1954 |
Michel Jourdan | Marco | |||
Paul Frankeur | Pierrot | With foregrip and standard | ||
René Dary | Riton | |||
Razzia (Razzia sur la chnouf) | Lino Ventura | Roger le Catalan | 1955 | |
A police detective | ||||
Speaking of Murder (Le rouge est mis) | Lino Ventura | Pepito "The Gypsy" | 1957 | |
The Young Lions | U.S. Army soldiers | 1958 | ||
Sinners of Paris (Rafles sur la ville) | Alain Reynaud | Inspector Lebouvier | 1958 | |
Michel Piccoli | Inspector Paul Vardier | |||
The Tiger Attacks (Le Fauve est lâché) | Policemen, Donald's bodyguard | 1959 | ||
Five Branded Women | Harry Guardino | Branco | 1960 | |
Alex Nicol | Svenko | |||
Pretty Boy Floyd | John Ericson | "Pretty Boy" Floyd | w/ vertical foregrip & fake Cutts compensator | 1960 |
Barry Newman | Al Riccardo | With fake Cutts compensators | ||
A lawman | ||||
Everybody Go Home! (Tutti a casa) | German soldiers | 1960 | ||
Lonely Are the Brave | Police Officers | 1962 | ||
I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) | Cuban police and guerrillas | Some with vertical foregrip | 1964 | |
The Monocle Laughs (Le Monocle rit jaune) | Robert Dalban | Poussin | With Cutts compensator | 1964 |
Marcel Dalio | Elie Mayerfitsky | |||
A cultist | ||||
008: Operation Exterminate | Thugs | 1965 | ||
Fantômas se déchaîne | Bodyguard of Fantômas | With vertical foregrip and Cutts compensator | 1965 | |
Poppies Are Also Flowers | Colonel Salem's men | 1966 | ||
Let's Not Get Angry (Ne nous fâchons pas) | The Colonel's henchmen | With stick and drum magazines, some with foregrip | 1966 | |
Is Paris Burning? | Free French Forces soldiers | 1966 | ||
The Last Adventure | Mercenaries | 1967 | ||
Fantômas contre Scotland Yard | British policemen | 1967 | ||
Action Man (Le soleil des voyous) | US Army soldiers | 1967 | ||
The Biggest Bundle of Them All | Robert Wagner | Harry Price | 1968 | |
Godfrey Cambridge | Benny Brownstead | |||
Davy Kaye | Davey Collins | |||
Francesco Mulè | Antonio Tozzi | |||
The Violent Four (Banditi a Milano) | Gian Maria Volonté | Pietro 'Piero' Cavallero | 1968 | |
Tomas Milian | Commissioner Basevi | |||
Diabolik | Various | Police officers | 1968 | |
Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese | Charles' henchman | With drum magazine | 1968 | |
The Vulture (Le Rapace) | Xavier Marc | Chico | With 50-round drum and foregrip | 1968 |
Augusto Benedico | Calvez | |||
Mr. Freedom | John Abbey | Mr. Freedom | 1969 | |
Five for Hell | Gianni Garko | Lt. Hoffmann | 1969 | |
Kill Rommel! | Anton Diffring | Capt. Richard Howell | 1969 | |
Carl Parker | Lt. George Morris | |||
Kelly's Heroes | Clint Eastwood | Pvt. Kelly | 1970 | |
Telly Savalas | Master Sgt. Big Joe | |||
Don Rickles | Staff Sgt. Crapgame | |||
Borsalino | Jean-Paul Belmondo | François Capella | With foregrip | 1970 |
Alain Delon | Roch Siffredi | |||
Lionel Vitrant | Fernand | |||
Pierre Koulak | Spada | |||
Various criminals | ||||
Diamonds Are Forever | CIA Agents | 1971 | ||
The Omega Man | Paul Koslo | Dutch | 1971 | |
Angel's Leap (Le Saut de l'ange) | Vietnamese henchman | 1971 | ||
Newman's Law | George Peppard | Vince Newman | 1974 | |
Street Law | Romano Puppo | The gang leader | 1974 | |
Syndicate Sadists | Antonio Casale | Duval | 1975 | |
Conti's henchmen | ||||
The Muthers | Jeannie Bell | Kelly | 1976 | |
Rocco Montalban | Rocco | |||
Pirates | ||||
The Big Racket | Fabio Testi | Inspector Nico Palmieri | 1976 | |
Ruggero Diella | Piccio | |||
Romano Puppo | Doringo | |||
Rudy's henchmen | ||||
The Con Artists | Capucine | Belle Duke | With 50-rd drum | 1976 |
Gangsters and prison guards | ||||
The Good and the Bad (Le bon et les méchants) | Seen on the base of the Resistance | 1976 | ||
The Iron Commissioner (Il commissario di ferro) | Sergio's father | 1978 | ||
Deadly Chase (Il commissario Verrazzano) | "Hold" by the mannequin on the shooting range | 1978 | ||
From Hell to Victory | Ray Lovelock | Jim Rosson | 1979 | |
US Army soldiers, OSS personnel | ||||
Jupiter's Thigh (On a volé la cuisse de Jupiter) | Greece police | 1980 | ||
Code Name: Wild Geese | Lewis Collins | Captain Robin Wesley | 1984 | |
Bruce Baron | Kowalski | |||
Frank Glaubrecht | Stone | With additional front grip | ||
Rene Abadeza | Kim | |||
Lee Van Cleef | Archie "China" Travers | With additional front grip | ||
Mimsy Farmer | Kathy | |||
Aliens | Mocked up as M41A Pulse Rifle | 1986 | ||
Equalizer 2000 | Rebels | 1987 | ||
Cat Chaser | rebel soldier | 1989 | ||
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah | American troops | Replica; with Cutts compensator | 1991 | |
KGB Agents Also Fall in Love (Agenty KGB tozhe vlyublyayutsya) | Seen in the evidence warehouse | 1991 | ||
Alien³ | Mocked up as M41A Pulse Rifle | 1992 | ||
The Warrior's Heart | Seen among hidden guns | 1992 | ||
Saving Private Ryan | Tom Hanks | Captain John H. Miller | 1998 | |
Ted Danson | Captain Fred Hamill | |||
When Trumpets Fade | Ron Eldard | Pvt.Manning | 1998 | |
Black Book | Thom Hoffman | Hans Akkermans | 2006 | |
Days of Glory | Samy Naceri | Yassir | 2006 | |
Assaad Bouab | Larbi | |||
The Second Wind (Le Deuxième Souffle) | Jean-Paul Bonnaire | Théo | 2007 | |
Blood Brothers | gangsters | 2007 | ||
Mirage | Jamal's man | 2008 | ||
Red and White (Merah Putih) | Lukman Sardi | Amir | 2009 | |
Indonesian recruits | ||||
Kokoda | Australian soldiers | 2010 | ||
New Kids Turbo | Ruud Matthijssen | Henk Snackbar | 2010 | |
Oba: The Last Samurai | Toshiaki Karasawa | Horiuchi | 2010 | |
Mao Inoue | Chieko Aono | |||
Japanese guerrillas | ||||
Harlan Glenn | Sergeant Munroe | |||
US Marines | ||||
Outside the Law | FLN Guerrillas | 2010 | ||
Miracle at St. Anna | US Army soldiers | 2011 | ||
There Be Dragons | Rodrigo Santoro | Oriol | 2011 | |
A Gang Story (Les Lyonnais) | Gangsters | 2011 | ||
Day of the Falcon (Or noir) | Nasib's soldiers, Auda´s men | 2011 | ||
Memorial Day | John Cromwell | Lt. Bud Vogel | 2011 | |
My Way | US soldiers | 2011 | ||
Gangster Squad | Anthony Mackie | Det. Coleman Harris | 2012 | |
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed | US soldiers | 2012 | ||
Cockneys vs. Zombies | Seen in Mental's lockup | 2012 | ||
Emperor | US Army soldiers | 2013 | ||
Diplomacy | US Army soldiers | 2014 | ||
Far from Men | French soldiers | 2014 | ||
Fury | U.S. Soldiers | 2014 | ||
War Pigs | Luke Goss | Captain Jack Wosick | 2015 | |
Hacksaw Ridge | Milo Gibson | Lucky Ford | 2016 | |
US Army soldiers | ||||
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood | Leonardo DiCaprio | Rick Dalton | 2019 | |
Persian Lessons | US Army soldiers | 2020 |
Television
Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
McHale's Navy | Joe Flynn | Capt. Binghamton | "La Dolce 73" (S4E20) | 1966 |
John Wright | Willy Moss | |||
Gary Vinson | George Christopher | |||
Band of Brothers | . | U.S. Army soldiers | . | 2001 |
Mail Call | Re-enactor | 2003-2007 | ||
My Name is Earl | John Amos | Joe | 2008 | |
The Pacific | Joseph Mazzello | Eugene Sledge | . | 2010 |
The Pacific | James Badge Dale | Robert Leckie | . | 2010 |
The Pacific | Gary Sweet | Gunnery Sgt. Elmo Haney | . | 2010 |
The Pacific | Toby Leonard Moore | Sgt. Stone | . | 2010 |
The Pacific | Rami Malek | PFC Merriell 'Snafu' Shelton | . | 2010 |
The Pacific | Brendan Fletcher | Bill Leyden | . | 2010 |
Foyle's War - Season 7 | US Army soldiers | "Killing Time" (S7E2) | 2010 | |
Sanctuary / Normandy | Robin Dunne | Captain Jack Zimmerman | w/ 30-rd magazine | 2011 |
Foyle's War - Season 8 | US Army soldiers | "Sunflower" (S8E3) | 2013 | |
The Man in the High Castle | American Resistance fighters | 2015 | ||
Man in the High Castle, The - Season 3 | American Resistance fighters | 2018 | ||
Agent Carter | Hayley Atwell | Peggy Carter | 2015 | |
Agent Carter | Chad Michael Murray | Agent Jack Thompson | 2015 | |
The Crown | U.S. Army | episode: "Vergangenheit" (S2E06) | 2017 |
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Medal of Honor | 20 round magazine | 1999 | ||
Return to Castle Wolfenstein | 2001 | |||
Battlefield: 1942 | 2002 | |||
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault | 2002 | |||
Medal of Honor: Frontline | 2002 | |||
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin | Seen on cover | 2003 | ||
Forgotten Hope | 2003 | |||
Call of Duty | 2003 | |||
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | 2003 | |||
Hidden & Dangerous 2 | 2003 | |||
Karma Online | 2003 | |||
Vietcong | 2003 | |||
Call of Duty: United Offensive | 2004 | |||
Call of Duty: Finest Hour | "Thompson" | 2004 | ||
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood | 2005 | |||
Call of Duty 2 | "Thompson" | 2005 | ||
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One | "Thompson" | 2005 | ||
Resident Evil 4 | Chicago Typewriter | w/ 50-rd drum magazine | Mafia costume required | 2005 |
Vietcong 2 | 2005 | |||
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 | 2005, 2008 | |||
Call of Duty 3 | 2006 | |||
Commandos: Strike Force | 2006 | |||
The Godfather | "Tommy Gun" / "Modified Tommy Gun" | Foregrip modeled too big, drum mag modeled too small | 2006 | |
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 | With 20-round magazine | 2006 | ||
Eternal Damnation | Unusable | 2006 | ||
Alliance of Valiant Arms | 2007 | |||
Forgotten Hope 2 | "M1A1 Thompson" | With 20 or 30-round magazines | 2007 | |
Hour of Victory | 2007 | |||
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway | 2008 | |||
Call of Duty: World at War | Aperture Sight, Suppressor, 40-round Drum Magazine | 2008 | ||
7.62 High Calibre | w/ various attachments | 2008 | ||
Grand Theft Auto IV | Unusable | 2008 | ||
Battlefield Heroes | M1/Chicago Typewriter | 2009 | ||
Death to Spies: Moment of Truth | 2009 | |||
The Saboteur | Tommy-MG | Incorrectly shown with drum magazine | 2009 | |
Mafia II | With 20-round box magazine | 2010 | ||
Call of Duty: Black Ops | 2010 | |||
World War II Online: Battleground Europe | Released with 1.34 update | 2011 | ||
7554 | Thompson M1A1 | 2011 | ||
Jagged Alliance: Back in Action | Johnson M1A1 | 2011 | ||
Sniper Elite V2 | 2012 | |||
State of Decay | "M1A1" | modern replica | 2013 | |
Company of Heroes 2 | Added with Western Front Armies add-on | 2013 | ||
Enemy Front | THOMPSON M1 | 2014 | ||
Sniper Elite III | 2014 | |||
Battlefield Hardline | M1A1 | M1921 / M1928 foregrip or standard handguard, and 30-round stick or 50-round drum magazine | Added in 1.04 patch | 2015 |
Alekhine's Gun | 2016 | |||
Mafia III | 2016 | |||
Heroes & Generals | Thompson M1A1 | 2016 | ||
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | 2016 | |||
Escape from Tarkov | Unusable; seen on "Military History Beyond Fear" book | 2016 | ||
Sniper Elite 4 | Thompson | 2017 | ||
Day of Infamy | Thompson M1A1 | 2017 | ||
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam | added in the 1.08 ARVN Update | 2017 | ||
Post Scriptum | 2018 | |||
Vigor | Thompson | 2018 | ||
State of Decay 2 | 2018 | |||
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan | Incorrectly shown with a curved magazine | 2019 | ||
Battlefield 2042 | 2021 | |||
Enlisted | 2021 |
Anime
Title | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Mad Bull 34 | Don Enrico's thugs, N.Y.P.D. S.W.A.T. officers | 1990 | |
Lupin III: Voyage to Danger | U.S. soldiers | 1993 | |
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | Hijackers | Without handguards; S1E10, "New York's JoJo" | 2012 |
Stella Women's Academy, High School Division Class C³ | Tournament Competitor | Airsoft | 2013 |
Animation
Title | Voice Actor | Characters | Notation | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
What If...? - Season 1 | Hayley Atwell | Peggy Carter/Captain Carter | "What If... Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?" (S1E01) | 2021 |
Sebastian Stan | Bucky Barnes | |||
None | Gabe Jones | |||
None | James Montgomery Falsworth | |||
None | Jacques Dernier | |||
Neal McDonough | Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan | |||
None | Jim Morita |
Auto Ordnance M1927 Thompson
The modern 1927 model was introduced by Auto Ordnance in the 1970s, capitalizing on the popularity of the submachine gun and satisfying the desire for a legal version by implementing a semi-automatic version with a longer barrel but the general appearance of the full-automatic versions. (Not to be confused with the original Model 1927 Thompsons which were made from Model 1921 with the selector disabled.)
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Notes | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Batman: Arkham Asylum | not usable | 2009 | |
Saints Row IV | Scoped | 2013 |
BSA Thompson
In 1925 Auto-Ordnance Company signed a license agreement with British gun manufacturer Birmingham Small Arms (BSA). BSA Model 1926 was chambered in 9x19mm and used the standard Thompson mechanism including the Blish lock combined with a traditional rifle stock. The tests of the submachine gun were not successful, so some changes were made, resulting in the Model 1929. This version has ribbed barrel and was fitted with Cutts compensator and Lyman rear sight. Model 1929 was made in 9x23mm Bergmann, 9x19mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, and 7.63x25mm Mauser. As with Model 1926, Model 1929 also did not arouse interest among potential users. It is estimated that only 10-15 BSA Thompsons were made in total.
Specifications
(1926-1929)
- Type: Submachine Gun
- Caliber: 9×19 Parabellum / 9x23mm Bergmann / 7.63x25mm Mauser / .45 ACP
- Feed System: 20 / 30-round box magazine
- Rate of Fire: 1200rpm
The BSA Thompson and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Enlisted | Model 1929 | 2021 |
Lookalikes
Due to the popularity and iconic nature of the Thompson, there were a large number of "lookalike" weapons made by various companies. These have the general outline of a Thompson, but are completely different weapons usually of inferior quality and intended for civilian sale. They are normally chambered in .45 ACP to emulate the original, but some models can be found chambered in 9x19mm.
- The Ingram Model 6 was a low cost alternative of the Thompson intended for law enforcement use. It can most easily be distinguished from the the Thompson by the design of the trigger group and the design of the wooden stock, and that overall it looks like an M3 Grease Gun with Thompson furniture haphazardly grafted onto it.
- The Spitfire Carbine is a civilian semi-automatic carbine which emulates the look of the Thompson and is one in a line of very similar weapons made by different manufacturers all based on one another. Although it has a 16" barrel as standard it can be found with a shortened barrel and converted to full-automatic. Note the tubular receiver and the fact that the "cooling fins" on the barrel are purely cosmetic and are part of the forward grip rather than the barrel itself.
- The original Volunteer Carbine was essentially a clone of the Spitfire but fitted with a straight wood handguard rather than a vertical grip. However, Volunteer Enterprises soon produced a version known as the Commando Mark III was a much closer match for the Thompson in that it had a more correct square receiver. The most obvious distinguishing features of the Commando Mark II from a genuine Thompson are the magazine well, the fact that the charging handle is on the left side of the gun, and the shape of the rear sight wings. It can be found with both a straight wood handguard or a vertical grip.
See Also
- Colt's Manufacturing Company - A list of all firearms manufactured by Colt.