Thompson.

everybody loves a good story whether it's tales of Heroes set once upon a time or villainous drama downfall and redemption we'll get comfy because this comes full of it the Thompson a classic SMG evocative of an entire era favorite are both gangster and GI alike so who exactly was the Thompson designed for why was it co-opted by a rather nefarious lot and how did it shed its criminal image the early 20th century is defined by great invention and by war new technology changed the battlefield and in the case of the First World War brought a stalemate unlike any other John Tolliver Thompson officer of the US Army and small armed specialist recognized the need for a new type of weapon earlier emplaced automatic weapons such as the gallon gun and Maxim machine gun had already proven their worth as a force multiplier and Thompson envisioned a scaled-down version a one-man trench broom capable of making a clean sweep of muddy standoff codenamed the Annihilator its primary attribute was man portable automatic fire feeding from either a 20 round box magazine or a 50 round drum it's firing mechanism was based on an existing patent called the Blish lock a mechanically simple action that relies on friction rather than any more complex means of siphoning cartridge power this did limit the weapon to lower pressure ammunition in fact the only service cartridge suitable was that used in the m1911 handgun 45 ACP still 45 caliber is far from anemic especially not when served up at 700 rounds per minute if Colt was the equalizer Thompson would tilt the odds unfortunately his design was finalized just as the war came to a close its planned to profit from European conflict foiled by armistice the Annihilator had to find a new market and a more fitting name something less vulgar it's still evocative of its firepower Thompson called it a submachine gun it was the first weapon to bear such a moniker but it wasn't the first to fit the definition there were numerous attempts at a handheld automatic weapon during World War 1 with the most successful being the Bergman mp18 it was used by German troops but it came too late to make an appreciable difference and so this new class of weapon remained unproven at least for now the 1920s were a particularly dynamic decade an economic and cultural boom jazz flappers an art deco let the good times roll spirits were dampened slightly by prohibition but in the name of free enterprise plenty of rum runners stepped up to fill America's glass with no trenches left to clear the Thompson was marketed as an anti bandit gun an escalation of power over typical police weapons and a sure deterrent against organized crime the trouble was nothing stopped the gangsters from getting their own America had an odd sort of Liberty you couldn't legally buy a drink but an automatic weapon no problem and so far from being associated with justice the Thompson became a weapon of terror 50 rounds on tap and small enough to be concealed in a vial in case it was a favored tool of the Mafia at least for those who could afford it and one that came to be associated with criminals like Al Capone and John Dillinger the distant chatter of its fire earned it a new nickname the Chicago typewriter and its deadly report file frequent feature in the news most famously in the send Valentine's Day Massacre seven killed in a herald of 70 shots truly it was the gun that made the 20s roar such tales of crime made it to the cinema and no gangster film was complete without a shootout the Thompson with drum magazine fast became an essential fixture with its recognizable profile and stubby length a perfect fit for a cinematic frame wielded by cigar-chomping anti-heroes the Thompsons appearances on screen were far more glamorous than the gruesome trail of bodies it left in the morgue the feel-good decade had come to a close and the Great Depression lay ahead prohibition ended in 1933 after all it was a largely ineffective measure and the moralists had bigger fish to fry a year later the National Firearms Act passed making it more difficult for criminals to get their hands on weapons like the Thompson it imposed heavy taxes on their purchase doubling the already expensive price and helped pave the way for future gun control also enforced from the same year the motion picture production code laid out self regulating guidelines for Hollywood no longer would crime be romanticized nor would violent shootings be standard fair the action-packed gangster films of the 1930s were snuffed out this code would endure until the late 60s with the more liberal attitude of the era encouraging a new wave of American cinema including a revival of crime films such as Bonnie and Clyde and the particularly influential but Godfather The Godfather success spawned two sequels and similar films such as Scarface and Goodfellas and all of these together provide a key source of inspiration for the rise of crime themed video games that happened in the wake of Grand Theft Auto the well-dressed Mafia were heroes once more and their tools of the trade back in action for those story set in the authentic era the Thompson's automatic fire and drum magazine remain an essential feature the Thompson has an indelible cultural link with early 20th century crime any movie any television show any game whether a gangsters the Thompson isn't far behind however to tell tales of a Thompson in crime is to only tell half the story after the roaring 20s and slightly more somber 30s the Thompson was to reinvent itself and a rather different role once again the world was at war Europe in turmoil and the rise of Nazi Germany Thomson himself died in 1940 just prior to America's involvement in the war sparked by Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941 however his weapon had finally managed to fulfill its original purpose as a war fighting machine and as the US Army mobilized they placed massive orders it was issued to corporals sergeant Scouts tank crews and patrol leaders with over 1.5 million units manufactured during the war initially the Thompsons prior association with unsavory characters hadn't been forgotten some anti-us propaganda attempted to paint America as a bunch of gun-toting criminals clearly they didn't account for America's romantic view of the villain and besides it didn't take long for the Thompson to forge a more valiant identity wartime pressure led to a few changes to the Thompson design eventually leading to the m1 and m1a1 revisions easing manufacture and improving suitability for field use which in turn give it a new silhouette the iconic drum magazines were spurned by the military they were heavy less reliable tougher to load and they rattled somewhat when on the move so instead 30-round box magazines were used the front grip was replaced with a simpler horizontal handguard in most military models less fragile and more compatible with a sling its rear sight was swapped for a snag free design that needed less machining and could withstand a few knocks it also turned out that the bullish lock was entirely unnecessary and with a little re-engineering the m1 Thompson worked just fine as a straightforward blowback weapon and so as America went to war the Thompson went along scene in the hands of the Allies across the Pacific European and North African theatres its design was mature and problems rare altogether the Thompson was a well liked capable SMG a little heavy and ineffective at longer ranges but it worked and it looked pretty good doing it as cameras became both more commonplace and more compact photography was now an important factor in the documentation of world war ii key moments were captured and given widespread distribution via newspaper and often seen in the hands of allied soldiers was the Thompson it was these images that inspired the retelling of war stories in both literature and film while the memory was still fresh most media intended for popular consumption softened the depiction of war taking a more virtuous tack the flattered the victors making heroes of Allied soldiers the Bleak death and destruction were muted instead replaced with plucky defiance and tales of camaraderie it wasn't really until 50 years after the end of the war they're more realistic depictions found success at the box office Saving Private Ryan and a grittier more tragic outlook an injection of grisly realism into the technical heroism of your it's famous Normandy Beach landing scene was particularly effective a soldier's perspective of the events bullets zipping overhead and camera shaking explosions carving craters in the sand the first-person portrayal of war in film was married perfectly to the emerging FPS genre in games and a complement of realistic firearms were brought to replace the generic pistols and rocket launchers seen before the Thompson was amongst them of course and with its large magazine and fully automatic fire it makes a desirable choice and a satisfying spray and lack of necessary precision makes it one particularly suited to beginners given that most games put the player in the boots of an American soldier the Thompson is a very common starter weapon and extensively used at least until it's dropped in favor of a more exotic enemy weapon in the years that followed the American aspect of the Second World War was milked dry every front every battle over and over and found in the hands of every sergeant and in the cover of every game the Thompson a totem of a new era of unimaginative box art with a glut of similar games a certain weariness set in forcing publishers to seek the next big thing leaving World War 2 fans by association the Thompson in the past truthfully the Thompson was obsolescent even before World War two began so its hopes of surviving another bout of post-war peace were slim America largely replaced the Thompson with the m3 grease gun a weapon add none of the elegance or style of the Thompson but all of the functionality at a fraction of the cost as wartime orders dried up manufacturing ceased and assets were sold the Thompson's time as a Hellraiser was over and so the SMG retired but you can't really keep a good thing down and the Thompson isn't afraid to be seen outside of its conventional roles wherever it goes it paints a vivid image by its presence alone sometimes it's just a throwback a cultural nod to its era or acknowledgement of a games World War two roots sometimes it's a transplant thrust into unexpected time or an alternate history an anachronism in action whether it's gangsters in space or a post-apocalyptic film noir no other firearm evokes an era quite like it parts inner parts ain't known by a hundred names an incredible gun that spits unbelievable tales are the most amazing thing is that they're all true the thompson annihilator Chicago typewriter tommy gun thank you very much for watching and until next time farewell

Channel: Ahoy

Views: 2,449,080

Rating: 4.9648886 out of 5

Keywords: xboxahoy, thompson, thompson smg, iconic arms, smg, submachine gun, tommy gun, chicago typewriter, guns in games, video games, video game guns, guns in culture, gangsters, violin case, world war 2, prohibition, gangster movies, trench broom

Id: FBiIWuQNQHU

Length: 14min 34sec (874 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 16 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

14 minute long Video. Uploaded 43 seconds ago. Already Posted.

Damn.

[u/JacobMH1]

I was introduced to him with his FAL video, I have since watched dozens of his videos. They are all great.

[u/notsoriginal]

The graphics in his videos are always so clean

[u/confirmedzach]

AHOY!

His videos are amazing and so quality. Feels like something on the History Channel.

[u/hard_boiled_rooster]

he went almost the entire episode without calling it the Tommy gun.

[u/MafiamanJ15]

I own a civilian legal semi-auto version of the Thompson M1A1 manufactured by Auto-Ordnance and it is an extraordinarily heavy gun. Unloaded it's about 11 pounds, most of that weight comes from the heavy steel receiver and the large blocky bolt assembly. Because of it's weight the recoil is very manageable, I can imagine how it would feel firing a fully-automatic Thompson, and that weight would probably help a lot with controllability. It is a very cool firearm, but it's very antiquated by today's standards.

[u/Ophannin]

All that video game footage, but not a single Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm clip. It's got perhaps the best and most realistic version of the Thompson at war in gaming.

[u/Alluring_Spaghetto]

Ahoy could make an ordinary fork sound like a sub machine gun.

[u/AskACapperDOTcom]

Be sure to stop by his sub Reddit.In this day and age of throwaway trash youtubers Focus on money/views over content, Stu has been on point the whole time. He's just a genuinely good guy in my opinion.

https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxAhoy