Auto Ordnance
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Auto-Ordnance was a U.S. arms development firm founded by retired Colonel
John T. Thompson John Taliaferro () (anglicized to "Tolliver"http://www.nfatoys.com/tsmg/web/genthomp.htm John T. Thompson; A Brief History) Thompson (December 31, 1860 – June 21, 1940) was a United States Army officer best remembered as the inventor of the Th ...
of the
United States Army Ordnance Department The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army comb ...
in 1916. Auto-Ordnance is best known for the
Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...
, used as a military weapon by the Allied forces in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and also notorious as a gangster weapon used during the
Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...
.


Founding

Auto-Ordnance Corporation was created by
John T. Thompson John Taliaferro () (anglicized to "Tolliver"http://www.nfatoys.com/tsmg/web/genthomp.htm John T. Thompson; A Brief History) Thompson (December 31, 1860 – June 21, 1940) was a United States Army officer best remembered as the inventor of the Th ...
in August 1916 with the backing of investor Thomas Ryan. In 1915 Thompson had found the
Blish Lock The Blish lock is a breech locking mechanism designed by John Bell Blish based upon his assumption that under extreme pressures, certain dissimilar metals would resist movement with a force greater than friction laws would predict. In modern en ...
patent of Commander John Blish, which was the operating principle of the first prototypes of the
Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...
and the
Thompson Autorifle The Thompson Autorifle was a semi-automatic rifle that used a Blish Lock to delay the action of the weapon. It was chambered in .30-06, with the 1923 model in 7.62×54mmR Russian rifle rounds. Several prototypes of the Autorifle were submitted ...
. In exchange for shares of the newly founded company Blish agreed to give Thompson his patent. Thompson hired two design engineers Theodore H. Eickoff and Oscar V. Payne. The engineers learned that the Blish lock design, which was a
delayed blowback Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist wi ...
action, was ineffective with the .30-06 rifle cartridge but very effective with the
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
pistol round. The birth of the Thompson submachine gun took place when Thompson had the idea of a "trench sweeper" or "trench broom". The first short run production model was 1919, too late for use in World War I. Thompson first showed the submachine gun design to the US government, but it became a gun for law enforcement before it was put to use in the military. The initial production of the Model 1921 was by Colt. After the Thompson submachine gun received the nickname "Tommy Gun" in the popular press, Thompson went to the trademark office to protect the nickname. A small run of M1928 and M1928A1 made by Savage Arms were stamped "TOMMY GUN".


Prototypes

Auto-Ordnance produced different prototypes for military rifle trials in the 1920s and for the
.30 carbine The .30 Carbine (7.62×33mm) is a rimless carbine/rifle cartridge used in the M1 carbine introduced in the 1940s. It is a light rifle round designed to be fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch (458 mm) barrel. History Shortly before World W ...
trials in the early 1940sLarry Ruth, ''M1 Carbine: Design, Development & Production'', The Gun Room Press, 1979, . but these were not adopted by the military. Later during World War II, Auto-Ordnance established its own production plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and produced the M1928A1, M1 and M1A1 Thompsons to augment production by Savage Arms for the military. Auto-Ordnance also made parts for other military firearms as a subcontractor for other manufacturers in World War II. The Thompson M1A1 was typically issued to tankers and others affiliated with vehicles, due to the weapon's heavy weight and short effective range. Later, it became popular for use in urban environments due to its short barrel making it easier to bring to target in a confined space than the
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...
, and in jungle warfare due to its volume of fire and stopping power.


Owners

During the 1950s, the assets of the original Auto-Ordnance Corporation were acquired and operated by Numrich Arms Corporation (NAC, no relation to the original 1916 AOC). Numrich Arms Auto-Ordnance assembled limited numbers of Thompson submachine guns primarily for law enforcement from existing receivers found in the crates purchased in 1951, including M1928A1 and M1A1 models. Numrich also supplied parts for Thompson guns to law enforcement and gun collectors. In 1974, the Numrich incarnation of Auto-Ordnance made a few full auto Thompson submachine guns and numerous semi-automatic only replicas of the Thompson gun for the collectors' market, including
.22 LR The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...
caliber. Auto-Ordnance Corporation was bought out in 1999 by Saelio Enterprises Inc., parent company of
Kahr Arms Kahr () is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Kahr, executive * Claudia Kahr (b 1955), Austrian judge * Gustav Ritter von Kahr (1862–1934), German politician See also

* KAHR, radio station * Kahr Arms, manufa ...
. Numrich Arms continued as Gun Parts Corporation. Kahr continues to make semi-automatic-only "Thompson Carbines" in .45 ACP. Although they appear identical to their selective-fire (full-auto) predecessors, unlike those the new production Thompsons fire from a closed bolt rather than the open bolt of the original Thompson design. Dimensional changes prevent installation of full-auto bolts and fire control groups in the semi-auto frames or receivers. Variations include the "Chicago Typewriter" 1927A-1 which resembles the Model 1921AC of the gangster era; the 1927A-1 "Commando" which resembles the early World War II Model 1928A1 Thompson with the Cutts Compensator; the TM1 which resembles the later World War II M1 Thompson with the side-mounted bolt handle; and a "Thompson pistol" that essentially is an M1928 without provision for mounting a buttstock. Kahr Auto-Ordnance also manufactures replicas of the U.S. World War II
M1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
and
M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Kahr Arms Auto-Ordnance website.
Firearm manufacturers of the United States Firearms manufacturers in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1916