USMC: Thompson vs. Reising SMG's

[Texas Star]

Paladin's recent thread about Reising SMG's reminded me that the Marines on Guadalcanal hated them partly because the parts weren't fully interchangeable and reliability suffered due to armorers not being aware of that and keeping parts separate with the gun from which they came. I don't know how bad they were, otherwise.


Does anyone here KNOW (not guess) whether the Marines also had any Thompson guns?


Now that I think of it, I've seen a pic of a M3 light tank crew with Tommies, but am not sure where it was taken, or the exact year. I THINK it was on Guadalcanal. I think the magazine was the old drum style.


What proportion of SMG's on Guadalcanal were Thompsons before the Army arrived? I don't think soldiers used Reisings at all, just Marines.

 

[da gimp]

I've read more than a few accounts by members of the US Army complaining about US marines lifting their Garands and Thompsons if they ever set them down & walked away to use the latrine/shower, chow line or while they slept...especially during the early part of the war in the Pacific theatre.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I've read more than a few accounts by members of the US Army complaining about US marines lifting their Garands and Thompsons if they ever set them down & walked away to use the latrine/shower, chow line or while they slept...especially during the early part of the war in the Pacific theatre.

That sounds a lot like the Marines in my family!

Ivan

 

[Drm50]

Marines had Thompsons clear back in Bannana Wars, but didn't
have them in the numbers to support numbers needed early in
war. I have a book that has all kinds of secondary issue weapons
purchased during WW2 as stop gap measures by allies when they
were caught short of issue weapons. Marines had some Johnson
LMGs that they prized. They weren't happy when they had to
turn them in.

 

[italiansport]

As someone who has maintained Thompson's. The parts are totally interchangeable within the two basic models. Field stripping and parts replacement are pretty easy and straight forward. IMO: It would take something like a bulged barrel or cracked receiver to require an armorer to do the repairs.
Jim

 

[Texas Star]

As someone who has maintained Thompson's. The parts are totally interchangeable within the two basic models models. Field stripping and parts replacement are pretty easy and straight forward. IMO: It would take something like a bulged barrel or cracked receiver to require an armorer to do the repairs.
Jim

You seem to have misread. It was the Reising, not the Thompson that had the parts issue.


Can someone post the photo of the Marine tank crew with a Thompson, referred to above? I'm sure that many of you have seen it.

 

[ordnanceguy]

Does anyone here KNOW (not guess) whether the Marines also had any Thompson guns?
Now that I think of it, I've seen a pic of a M3 light tank crew with Tommies, but am not sure where it was taken, or the exact year. I THINK it was on Guadalcanal. I think the magazine was the old drum style.
What proportion of SMG's on Guadalcanal were Thompsons before the Army arrived? I don't think soldiers used Reisings at all, just Marines.

Yes, Marines used Thompson SMGs on Guadalcanal before the arrival of the Army's 164th Infantry Regiment. How many they had as compared to the Reising guns is a figure that probably can never be determined with any accuracy. The best method would be to examine the Table of Organization and Equipment for the 1st Marine Division and the many other smaller Marine units as of August 1942.

Below is a well known photo of a Marine on Guadalcanal with his Thompson. His weapon has the drum magazine but the 5-cell web pouch at his feet carries 20-round magazines. Also seen is the M1919A4 Browning .30 machine gun.

 

[ordnanceguy]

Can someone post the photo of the Marine tank crew with a Thompson, referred to above? I'm sure that many of you have seen it.

This is probably the one you are referring to. The TSMG was part of the tankers' equipment and not scrounged elsewhere.

 

[Cyrano]

I remember reading several times that one of the reasons the Marines disliked the Reising was that it sounded just like the Japanese 6.5mm machine gun. Anyone else remember hearing this?

 

[Drm50]

I remember reading several times that one of the reasons the Marines disliked the Reising was that it sounded just like the Japanese 6.5mm machine gun. Anyone else remember hearing this?

I have herd that, or read it some where. Never herd either one
fire, so I don't know if true. I hear all kind of BS war stories from
RVn. Guys bragging they used a Ak47 because it was a better
gun than M16. Maybe SOPs guys did that to confuse the gooks.
Where I was at AK fire would draw fire. Every gun has its own
sound and rythme. The wrong one can get you shot, or worse.

 

[italiansport]

You seem to have misread. It was the Reising, not the Thompson that had the parts issue.


Can someone post the photo of the Marine tank crew with a Thompson, referred to above? I'm sure that many of you have seen it.

The thread is labeled Thompsons vs Reisings so what did I misread?
I am well aware of the Reising issues.
Jim

 

[Texas Star]

This is probably the one you are referring to. The TSMG was part of the tankers' equipment and not scrounged elsewhere.

Yes, that's it. Thanks!

 

[Texas Star]

The thread is labeled Thompsons vs Reisings so what did I misread?
I am well aware of the Reising issues.
Jim

Well, go read my OP again. I think it'll then be clear.
I covered the unpopularity of the Reising due in large measure to the lack of parts interchangeability. Only after this issue of the Reising did I ask whether the Marines there also had Thompsons, and to what degree.


At no point did I say that Thompsons had that parts problem.

 

[Muley Gil]

Marines guarded the US Mail on several occasions. The post office had Thompsons that the Marines used. It has been said that the Marines may have "forgotten" to return them when this duty was over.

 

[DWalt]

"Marines had some Johnson LMGs that they prized. They weren't happy when they had to turn them in. "

And also Johnson semiautomatic rifles. There was quite a bit of consternation in certain quarters over why the Garand was chosen over the Johnson, as many believed that the Johnson was a better combat rifle. I've never fired a Johnson in .30-'06 , nor even seen one. Those in 7mm, while not common, do show up at gun shows occasionally.

 

[Texas Star]

I know their rifles then were Springfields. When did M-1903-A3's appear? Were Remington M-1903's available then? The invasion was in August, 1942, I think.

 

[Drm50]

I was at a ammo dump, don't know the name of place near Red Beech.
They had my outfit there to beef up for pending attack, that never came.
Anyway we were exploring the dump and we found a conx full of
Thompson parts, no recievers. I hadn't seen that many Thompson parts
even back in the world. Thompsons in RVN were not scarce, but a little
hard to get your hands on. Had there been recievers, I would have been
a rich GI, from sales.

 

[Texas Star]

I was at a ammo dump, don't know the name of place near Red Beech.
They had my outfit there to beef up for pending attack, that never came.
Anyway we were exploring the dump and we found a conx full of
Thompson parts, no recievers. I hadn't seen that many Thompson parts
even back in the world. Thompsons in RVN were not scarce, but a little
hard to get your hands on. Had there been recievers, I would have been
a rich GI, from sales.

What's a "conx"?

 

[Drm50]

A conx was a corrugated steel container, similar to the shipping
containers they use now. They came in different sizes. They
dug these containers into a hill side for ammo storage. Built a
blast wall in front of doors so that a direct hit was only way to
take it out. The uses for these conx were many. Sometimes
they would be dug in and used for bunkers, firing ports cut out
with torch. In our outfit each platoon had a conx back at HQ
area. We were able to store and lock up stuff that we couldn't
carry with us. A conx was living hi on the hog, our usual quarters
was 1/2 of a culvert pipe, sandbagged in.

 

[Cyrano]

I've also seen is spelled 'conex'.