Microsoft Close Combat manual Thompson Submachine Gun, MP40 Machine Pistol

Chapter 5 Weapons 93

Thompson Submachine Gun

Operation Selective fire (fully and semiautomatic)

Caliber .45 (11.4 mm)

Muzzle velocity 280 mps (920 fps) Capacity 50-round drum

20- and 30-round detachable box magazine

Weight 4.9 kg (11 lbs)

Overall length 85.6 cm (33.7 in.)

Rate of fire 600 to 725 rounds per minute Effective range 50 m (55 yds)

John T. Thompson, who helped develop the M1903 Springfield rifle and M1911 .45 caliber pistol, began work on a “trench broom” for close quarters combat shortly after his retirement from the Army in 1918.

He recognized that the .45-caliber slug used in the M1911 pistol would be devastating when used in a fully automatic weapon. By the spring of 1920, Thompson’s company (Auto-Ordnance) produced a prototype capable of firing 800 rounds per minute. Despite its excellent test performance, the Thompson was not adopted for use by either the U.S. Army or Marine Corps. Still, Thompson contracted with Colt for the manufacture of 15,000 guns, designated “Thompson Submachine Gun, Model of 1921.” The 15,000 guns manufactured by Colt lasted until the eve of World War II. In 1940, the U.S. Army ordered 20,000 Thompson submachine guns; in 1941 the Army ordered an additional 319,000. One of the main assets of the Thompson submachine gun was reliability; it performed better than most submachine guns when exposed to dirt, mud, and rain. The main complaints against the Thompson were its weight (over ten pounds), its inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards, and its lack of penetrating power (a common complaint with all submachine guns).

MP40 Machine Pistol

Operation Fully automatic Caliber 9 mm (.354 in.)

Muzzle velocity 380 mps (1,247 fps) Capacity 32-round magazine Weight 3.97 kg (8.7 lbs)

Overall length 83.2 cm (32.75 in. with stock extended)

Rate of fire 500 rounds per minute Effective range 100 m (110 yds)

The MP40 machine pistol was based on the prewar MP38, modifying the earlier design to make it more suitable for mass production; more than a million were produced during the war. Its folding metal stock made it compact and easy to carry, even in cramped circumstances; its startling staccato bursts of fire shattered the silence in many a Norman hedgerow. The MP40 won the admiration of Allied soldiers, who often referred to the MP40 as the “Schmeisser,” despite the fact that firearms engineer Hugo Schmeisser, designer of the Bergmann MP18 submachine gun in 1918, was not involved in the design of either the MP38 or the MP40.