The first model was built and ready for battle by 1921. A prototype belt-fed version of the Thompson submachine gun was worked on, but the belt’s bolt feed rate was too fast, and frequent ...

45 ACP cartridges from a cloth ammunition belt. That system ... is the oldest American-made submachine gun in private hands, today. This Thompson was not designed to have either front or rear ...

Submachine guns offered troops and squads a portable source of firepower. Their small size allowed them to lay down suppressive fire alongside larger, heavier weapons like belt-fed machine guns ...

At least three UD submachine guns are visible in this photo ... is known to exist for the UD, though a wide belt pouch designed to hold UD double magazines was produced and issued.

From the iconic Thompson submachine “Tommy gun” to the versatile M1 Carbine, soldiers were equipped with new weapons that changed the face of warfare forever. (These are the most important ...

Except for Al Capone, Gen. John Thompson would be forgotten by all but serious devotees of military history. The two never met, being cut from different cloth. Thompson, a khaki-clad military man ...