I recently had the chance to acquire at an auction a WWII Savage built Thompson 1928 A1, most likely manufactured very late 1941 or early 1942.

I bought it at an auction, cost 2200 Swiss francs (abt the same in US$). The modern semi auto only version is sold for 2700 here, so it was an easy decision for me.

















It also came with two stick mags, 20 and 30 rounds

Markings



















Magazine







Field strip

Sweet. Does it work?

I don't know Swiss gun laws. In England you could buy it, but it would have to be deactivated - thus my "does it work" wonder.

2200. Wow. You say it came with a XX and a XXX stick. Does that mean that the L drum in the top pix did not come with it? That drum, by the way, here would easily be five hundred to a thousand dollars, just by itself.

The Savage 28s, while not as desirable as the Colt 21s, are extremely good guns. And the finned barrel is a plus. The later Savages had smooth barrels.

One came in the shop a few years ago. It had been part of shipment on its way to Cuba, and was found by our Sheriff in '61. He told his deputies that, if anybody wanted something, just take it. The deputy that took it registered it in our last amnesty. The man that owned it a few years ago was a city official that had been indited for taking bribes (and a few other things). His son brought it in. "Daddy is going to jail. I know it, he knows it, everyone knows it. So he won't be able to own guns, so we need to sell this." He wanted ten grand, but unfortunately I did not have it. So I convinced myself I did not need that Savage, since I already had a West Hurley.

__________________
I always take precautions

Don't know if you are aware or not. Notice the drum says WIND 9 OR 11 CLICKS?

That's because the 21 and the 28 have different cyclic rates. The faster 21 needs the spring wound 11 clicks, so the magazine feed can keep up. With your 28, only wind it 9.

__________________
I always take precautions

Awesome!!!!!!

Yea, that 28 would cost almost 10 times that amount ($) here in the U.S. plus about an 8 month wait for the paperwork to clear the ATF so you could take custody. I left lots of drool on my keyboard. Wow!

__________________
Randy
Provenance nerd

So let's see...No wait,no paperwork and 1/10 the price? Switzerland here I come!

Congratulations.
You got the real deal.
There's nothing like the feel and sound of a Thompson.

Use only FMJ ammo though.
A friend had been shooting RN lead through his M1 Thompson fine.
When he shot it through the 28, the lube clogged the Cutts compensator.

Had a friend that was in Canton Bern and he brought me to a gunshop near Lucern, On the way to the store he explained Swiss gun laws which are kind of like American gun laws prior to the GCA of 1968, Suppressors, full auto , SBR all right there on the racks.

On the way my wife said, "You know most Swiss men are in the army and bring their military assault rifles home keeping them in the closet right ?"

they sure did.

Yeah was thinking the same thing. Too bad I don't speak Swiss. Or French. Or Swiss French. Or know anything about banking. Sigh...

I just read that You have to get a $150 permit EACH time You want to fire the Gun Full Auto.The Permit is only good for One Day at a certain Time,I knew there was a catch....

My envy meter is pegged. Great purchase.

__________________
Wayne
Torn & Frayed

It WILL work. Unfortunately there are a few pieces missing which I discovered when I field stripped it: hammer, hammer pin, recoil spring and firing pin spring. The seller (auction house) is checking with the original owner. Otherwise they will procure those parts and send them to me.

It came with the three mags, the 50 rds L drum and both stick mags (they came in a seperate package with some UZI mags I bought).

Switzerland is a gun country, with a militia army and a solid tradition of shooting, with service rifles being kept at home, and available to soldiers when they finish their service for a very modest fee (full autos being converted to semi auto only).

Swiss attics are full of K11 & 31, Sig 510 & 550, as well as the whole array of Swiss issue handguns. A guy at the local range just bought a Sig P 210 army for 500.-

As to full auto weapons, unlike the US (1986 act?), they are all legal to own under certain circumstances (sizeable collection, serious security and safe storage) but very difficult to shoot. You have to ask for a special permit for a specific date (cost 150.-) and a range that agrees. Not easy.

So there is a good supply of all kinds of full auto weapons, old and new (M16, AK 47, HK G33 & MP5, Glock 18, Sten, UZI, modern SIGs etc) at reasonable prices (typically 2 to 3 grands).

Cool story, expecially with the Cuba connection (I just contributed to a post on Cuba Thompsons on machinegunboards).

In hindsight I guess you should have sold the West Hurley and bought the Savage.

I was not aware, and I wondered why 9 OR 11 clicks, so thanks for that valuable info (still have to learn how to grease the thing).

The majority of gun fanciers in this country will never have a chance to fire something like that, much less own one and keep it in their home.

It is beautiful, scratches, dings and all. Congratulations on your purchase.

Soooooooooo jealous! The Thompson is my dream firearm, and in my opinion, the perfect home defense weapon.

I've been fortunate enough to fire one on a couple occasions during range trips in Las Vegas. Our local range might have one to shoot now also. But it's expensive to shoot here.

Owning one is just not practical as they tend to run $25,000+ here in the states. . . assuming you live in a state where its allowed at all.

Congrats on your purchase! $150 to shoot it does suck. But at least you have the option.

There is a catch indeed. This easy to get / hard to use has discouraged me from buying flocks of full auto weapons. You can find full auto Kalashnikov (700.- to 1500.-), M16 (2-2500.-), HK MP5 (3-8'000.-) or G33 (2200.-), Glock 18 (2000.-), Galil (2000.-), Sig 551 or 751 (2200-3200) etc ... But you can hardly use them.

And I like to use my toys, not really into safe queens.

Still need a permit to acquire a full-auto, but it is fairly easy and takes abt. 2 months.

Yeah, I've thought that on occasion. His, however, had the smooth barrel and the L-rear sight. At least my WH has the Lyman sight and the Cutts.

Don't forget to keep the felts oily. It runs better that way.

By that I mean the felt pads on this thing. It's called a "breech oiler".

Attached Images

TSMG Breech Oiler.JPG (5.8 KB, 43 views)

__________________
I always take precautions

Do you need one to "fire full auto" or to fire EACH full auto?

If you wanted to take your Thompson and your Beretta 93 to the range, on the same trip, and shoot them both, would it take TWO 150 franc permits?

__________________
I always take precautions

Congrats!

I'm only GREEN with envy.

Bummer about the permit to shoot it though. Guess you have to make it count.

These are a blast(literally) to shoot so cough up the $150 and take it to the range. I used to help maintain the 30+ full auto rentals our local gun club has and the Thompson's were at the top of the rental desirability list.
One point: Make sure you use top quality ammo in it because one bad round could result in a bulged(or worse) barrel.
Jim

Too bad it can't come home.

Nice catch on that 1928. You'll have to let us know how it shoots once you get the parts.
This was my retirement gift to myself. M-1 made in 1943. It was a dewatt that was registered and rewatted. Run's like a Swiss watch.

Attached Images

	Thompson M1a1 005.JPG (175.5 KB, 82 views)
	Thompson M1a1 009.JPG (182.8 KB, 68 views)
	Thompson M1a1 006.JPG (200.1 KB, 66 views)
	Thompson M1a1 010.JPG (214.3 KB, 67 views)

You are very fortunate indeed! I've fired a lot of full auto guns. The Thompson is one of my favorites. My buddy has one and I get to shoot it now and again.

That is absolutely beautiful! I could only dream at having one of those!

Oh my.

Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) uses one exclusively on the TV show "Combat". The series is airing daily on the H&I (Heroes & Icons) channel.
His piece has a shorter barrel however.

Thanks. I am not so sure about "the perfect home defense weapon". I am not a specialist, and it's pretty safe around here. But the weight, bulk, shooting bursts of FMJ ammo .

Also I've read that with the open bolt mechanism, the only safe way to carry it is without a magazine inserted.

Just one permit for whatever full autos you have and bring. But I think it's restricted to the owner, no friends tagging along.

That range wasn't SGC, Scottsdale Gun Club by chance ? I was there in February with a friend, the 1st thing I asked for was the Thompson. Unfortunately it was in maintenance. So I settled for these :



M16A2 and HK MP5k

Tons of fun

For my Thompson I'll only shoot manufatured ammo, currently have a batch of Federal American Eagle.

Don't worry I'll give it a good home here. I think it might have been in the UK during the war, the lanyard loop on the front grip is characteristic.

Nice gun too, thanks for sharing.

I don't use the safety, either on the 1928 or my MP40. When I stop firing, I pull the magazine. Simpler to do than to put the safety on, and there is no way to have an AD.

But if I was going to CARRY IT, with a magazine inserted, I would first run the bolt forward, THEN insert the magazine. If I needed to shoot, just pull the actuator back. But with the bolt closed on an empty chamber, again, no worries about an AD.

Although, I have heard that the bolt is so smooth on the MP40 that if you drop it, it is possible for the bolt to bounce back far enough to pick up a round and then fire it, which is why the Germans invented that "safety notch" in the bolt-handle track.

Home defense? Maybe not INSIDE the home. But for a gang of mutant zombie bikers in the front yard. Or rustlers.

__________________
I always take precautions

Yep those old ads are neat



But can they be trusted ???

World's Record Grizzly Bear, killed in 1953, by an Indian girl with a 22 Long (not long rifle, long) single-shot rifle. Held the record for many years.

http://www.angelfire.com/on2/LandOwn.../Grizley1.html Last paragraph.

__________________
I always take precautions

"Not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of fight in the dog" comes to mind

__________________
Halfway and one more step

Sweet Toy you have got for yourself! Interesting to learn of your gun laws there. May I ask if you read English? If I may recommend some books on the TSMG., I only know of them to be in English, so this is why I ask.
You may try to order these on Amazon...
1) The Thompson Submachine Gun, by Roger Cox
2)The Gun That Made the Twenties Roar, by William Helmer
3) Army Service Forces Catalog Technical Reference TM 9-215

Hope you enjoy that toy
Check with IMA International Military Antiques in New Jersey,(USA) for resalable priced breech oilers and small parts.

Kyle

One last comment I'll make is that my buddy's Thompson will shoot any kind of ammo; from 200 grain SWC lead reloads to factory hardball. Nary a hiccup.

"It's The safest Gun to shoot in City Streets" That may be stretching things just a bit!

Congratulations on your purchase of the real McCoy for sure.

__________________
James
On the Llano Estacado

Excellent book. With much history of the gun and General Thompson.

__________________
I always take precautions

That would be the one I would want. Nothing like the real deal !! I got to fire a fully auto Thompson one time, then later on a semi-auto version. I'm sorry but there was no comparison what so ever. I found the Thompson to be a real, high quality, beautiful and I could even say "practical" weapon. Everybody should own one !!!!!

__________________
and everything Kentucky !!

Just found where that can be downloaded.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/...s/TM9-1215.pdf

__________________
I always take precautions

My buddy's Dad swears when he was bear hunting years ago he came across an old Indian that was bear hunting too and he had a .22LR bolt action single shot with the bolt broke off. Indian told him he carried a pair of pliers to open the bolt.

Covet, covet, covet, covet..................................

A Thompson can be safely carried with an inserted magazine and the bolt in the closed(forward position) with an empty chamber. To activate the gun you pull back on the bolt and it's good to go.
A Thompson could be carried with the bolt back,magazine inserted and the safety on if you're the type that trusts safeties. I'm NOT that type.
Jim

Ole Vic wasn't nearly as tough as the sergeant he portrayed. They had a wood replica made for the tv show because the real deal was too heavy for him to carry around all the time.