This is a sneak peek at another forthcoming article. As always, comments welcome.
John
The Model of 1927A5 Thompson pistol
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Auto Ordnance Corporation was chartered as a New York corporation in 1916 by John T. Thompson and later substantially funded and joined by Thomas Fortune Ryan, a wealthy financier. The company developed the Thompson submachine gun and outsourced the production of 15,000 of them to Colt. These first guns became the Models of 1921.
In 1927, responding to requests from some members of the public, the management of the Auto Ordnance Corporation decided to offer a semiautomatic version of their Model 1921. Since the Colt-made guns already existed in inventory, it was a relatively easy job to modify the mechanisms of some of them so they would operate in semiautomatic mode only. Thus they could only fire one shot for each pull of the trigger. This modified gun became known as the Model of 1927. It was never as popular as the selective-fire guns, but this model satisfied those who were uncomfortable with full-automatic guns.
Both full-automatic and semiautomatic Thompsons could be owned in an unrestricted manner in those days. But in response to the widely-publicized use of Thompsons in crime, The National Firearms Act of 1934 was enacted by Congress, using its authority to tax. The act imposed a $200 tax on the making or transfer of NFA-designated items. This act also included the requirement to register full-automatic arms, and this certainly affected owners of Thompson firearms, including the Model 1927. Even though the ’27 was semiautomatic only, it could be easily converted back to full-automatic configuration – thus making it subject to the NFA. In concept, any full-auto converted to semiauto would always be an NFA-subject firearm. The rule was “once a machine gun, always a machine gun.”
In the 1950s, Auto Ordnance Corporation became owned and operated by Numrich Arms Corporation, a gun parts purveyor, in West Hurley, New York. Numerous Thompson submachine gun receivers became Numrich property, and in 1974, Auto Ordnance began to turn out a number of new M1928A1 and M1A1 full-auto guns using those receivers. Also conceived and then manufactured beginning in 1975 were some semiautomatic Thompsons. In order to avoid being subject to the NFA, these guns, designated as Models of 1927A1, had some significant changes. First, the internal mechanisms were altered so that there was little or no interchangeability with full-auto parts. The guns fired from closed bolts rather than open bolts. Also, unlike the original submachine guns and the Model 1927 that had 10 ½ inch barrels, these newer guns had 16.5-inch barrels. This was in order to observe the minimum 16-inch length that exists under the law for rifles. With a Cutts recoil compensator installed at the muzzle, the total barrel length grew to 18 inches. Nearly all were equipped with the original-style vertical forward grip. These have finned barrels designed for better air cooling as did the original 1921 and 1928 submachine guns. Another type that resembled the wartime M1A1 submachine guns was labeled as the M1 Semiautomatic Carbine. These guns had smooth barrels, operating knobs on the right side of their receivers, and had fixed sights with triangular “ears.” All of these semiautomatics had butt stocks that were screwed to the receiver in the manner of the M1 and M1A1 submachine guns.
Externally, the new semiauto Thompsons mimicked the original submachine guns in appearance, but the longer barrels were admittedly ungainly and spoiled the traditional look. What was needed was a shorter barrel, but the law required at least 16 inches. With the leadership of Ira Trast, Numrich Arms president, a solution that was finally approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms took shape.
The Model of 1927A5 was a “pistol” instead of a rifle or carbine. ATF rules stated that if a pistol measured at least 26 inches in overall length (not “readily concealable”), it could have a fairly short barrel combined with a vertical forward grip. The receiver of the Thompson measures about 13 inches, and thus the barrel could be around 13 inches. In actuality, the barrel would tape out at 13 1/2 inches, with the gun having an overall length of 26 1/8 inches. Unfortunately, a shoulder stock could not be affixed, as this would make it a short-barreled rifle, subject to the NFA, complete with registration and tax. So the new pistol was made, but with no provision for attaching a shoulder stock. The gun’s receiver was normally made of an aluminum alloy to save weight, although a few steel-receiver examples are known to exist.
The left side of the gun’s receiver was marked “MODEL OF 1927 A5” over the serial number, and farther back, “THOMPSON SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOL” over “CALIBER .45 AUTOMATIC CARTRIDGE.” A reported few were mistakenly marked “THOMPSON SEMI-AUTOMATIC CARBINE.” Production began in 1977, with 430 made in that first year.
In this picture dating back to the 1920s, John Thompson, the father of the Model 1921 submachine gun, is holding a stockless Model 1921 upward during a demonstration to police and the military. The similarity of that gun to the Model 1927A5 pistol is incredibly striking – the difference in barrel length of just a couple of inches is hardly noticed. The stockless pistol certainly succeeded in generally replicating the looks of the original submachine gun.
In 1994, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had a change of mind, disallowing a forward vertical grip on pistols of any sort. They served notice on Auto Ordnance that the Model 1927A5 could no longer be manufactured under the new ruling. The last 57 guns were made in 1995. In all, 3,346 were made. Serial numbers ran from 100P to 3359P. All of these were “grandfathered” by the BATF and are therefore are still legal to own and transfer. The gun pictured here was made in early 1978, and has an aluminum receiver. The on-top operating knob and the safety lever have been replaced with items that more closely resemble those on the original Thompson guns.
Although the Model 1927A5 pistols are certainly nostalgic in appearance, they have some nagging characteristics. First, it’s awkward to use them in sighted fire, as there is no stabilizing buttstock. Most folks seem to prefer shooting them from the hip, walking the rounds into the target. The trigger is mushy and heavy, resembling that of a double action type. Trigger recovery for follow-up shots is long and annoying. Some users report that in extensive firing, the aluminum feed ramp takes a beating that a steel receiver could shrug off. With all the modern-day Thompson semiautos, the adjustable rear sight is somewhat cheesy, in no way comparable with the precision sights on the originals. Some owners choose to replace these newer sights with originals made by the Lyman Gunsight Corporation in the early 1920s, which have become sought-after and expensive when found.
The Thompson pistols are able to accommodate 50- and 100-round drum magazines as used on the original submachine guns. GI stick magazines of 20- and 30- round capacity can be used, but the locking hole in the front of the magazine must be extended upward with a file or a Dremel-type tool. It’s cut-and-try, as each gun and magazine combination may be slightly different. This makes the hole appear oval and this makes a magazine no longer usable in Thompson submachine guns. Modifying the magazine release lever in order to use GI magazines is not recommended, as too much metal must be removed.
These Thompson pistols are the closest one can get to having a gun comparable in appearance to the original submachine guns, unless one wants to shorten the barrel legally. This would make the gun shorter than 26 inches, requiring the payment of a tax and registration. Auto Ordnance was bought in recent years by Kahr Arms in Worchester, Massachusetts. Kahr currently makes another form of “pistol” with a 10.5-inch barrel that uses a horizontal foregrip. It just doesn’t set the heart aflutter, though, like those grandfathered vertical grips. They also make some short-barreled semiautos, but they must be registered and a tax paid per the NFA. As a point of reference, no more full-auto Thompsons can be made; the only such guns that can be bought or transferred are now in existence and demand ever-spiraling prices.
Collectors of Thompson firearms really salivate when they find a nice condition Model 1927A5 like the one illustrated. I’ve seen asking prices in the $1,000 to $1,500 price range, and even one optimistic owner was asking $4,000 for an excellent one in the original box with papers.
These guns are still a lot of fun to admire and shoot, and they are quite nostalgic as near-replicas of the “Tommy guns” used during the roaring ‘20s!
(c) 2019 JLM
The Model of 1927A5 Thompson "pistol"...
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