I was reading on the early Commando Independent Companies and discovered that since the only British submachine gun was the Lanchaster, the mayor of Chicago in 1940 supplied the Commando’s with 80 thompsons captured from the Mafia over the Prohibition period of the 30’s.
We’d been buying large quantities of Thompsons from the US from the start of the war. I’ve never heard about this “gift” though.
Didn’t most gangsters use teh 50/100 round drums?
These weren’t used by the commandos because they rattled too much. They used the 20/30 round mags instead.
Just thought I’d bring that in to this topic. 
Didn’t the Home Guard get a supply of drum fed Thompsons, I’m sure I have seen pictures (other than Pike) of HG armed with Tommy guns.
And one of a certain politician resplendent in homberg & cigar…
100 round drums!!! i thought it was 50
100 round drums!!! i thought it was 50[/quote]
Don’t think, it’s dangerous. Research.
Ok, I got the hat wrong.
Yes the largest magazine was a 50 round drum. The Commado’s discovered THROUGH use of the drum that it rattled. The 50 drum was dropped by the Commandos in 1942 totally. In the begining the Bit’s took what they could get. The 20 box mag would become available by the time America entered the war.
The largest magazine availible for the Thompson was a 100 round “C” Drum.
that drum must’ve made an already very heavy gun even heavier!
AFAIK, the first batch of Tommy guns for the British Army was a shipment of Model 1928 SMGs destined for the French government in 1940. The only problem was that by the time the shipment was ready to leave the US France had fallen. As a result the shipment was sent to Britain instead.
Up to 1940 did the British Army refuse to consider SMGs as “real” weapons. For them they were just good for gangsters, all a soldier would need was his SMLE to shot at long distances (thinking WW1 trenches again), plus a LMG on section level.
For close distances, the soldiers were either supposed to use their bayonets or, for officers, their service revolver.
The Royal Navy considered SMGs somewhat usefull for boarding parties, thus they bought the Lanchester SMG with the huge and unwirldly 50 round magazine.
The change in thinking came after the BEF saw German soldiers in action using their MP 38 / 40s in close combat.
Jan
Edit: Typos
Jan, I would agree with your last comments as my grand father who was serving as an infantry CSM in 1940 said that the soldiers returning from France had lost faith in the rifle and wanted SMGs. He disagreed as he had been taught to shoot by Boar war veterans and thought the rifle was king.
I would say that’s an accurate assesment as well. But the British Comandos were supplied with most of them since the they were a creation of Churchill. The army thought the Commandos a waste of manpower, time and equipment.
Is it me or is Churchill fitting a 100 round drum to his gun?
Any way, tommy guns were quite hard to sell initially, they were advertised as good for huniting etc. There was even a plane fitted with a load of tommy guns for air to air combat.
Yup, that’s a hundred rounder.
Met a chap that was present when the picture was taken, he had a few interesting tales to tell.
The Thompson was 13 lbs with the 20 round stick mag ,That thompson with the 100 drum must have been heavy.Not a very accurate weapon on full auto but it had the stopping power ,It was called spray and pray in full auto .