Thompson: The Iconic SMG’s Strange Legacy - Loadout

[@IrregularDave]

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Loadout as we take a deep dive into one of the most historic SMGs. We at GameSpot want to thank you for your support on the show, and wish you all the happiest of holidays. Make sure to like, subscribe, and let us know what other episodes you'd like to see in the future, and of course come back next week for another episode! (Where we may or may not be discussing one of Jonathan's favourite weapons...)

[@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401]

The Tommy Gun BAY! BAY!

[@supremecai5857]

Happy holidays to the crew! Loving the new stuff and cant wait for what the new year brings

[@pyeitme508]

Wow

[@Cats-TM]

The MP5?

[@Cats-TM]

You should do a video on the Steyr AUG. Both because I think it is just a neat weapon and, well, bullpup. Do not know why I sent two replies, could have just edited the first.

[@Ididitlikethis2079]

*”Part sinner and part saint, a gun that spits unbelievable tales and the thing is they’re all true.”* - Ahoy on the Thompson Submachine gun

[@dizzygunner]

Ahoy has an incredible ability to come up with cool lines, that perfectly encapsulate a weapon's sprit.

[@stevenbobbybills]

Exactly what I thought of when Dave started to summarise it.

[@LaNoLaCola]

The only thing Jonathan was missing was a fedora and sharp suit to complete the Gangster look

[@thomasmolyneaux3700]

And being an American

[@minedgravy380]

cus Mafia members where known for the US ties right? @@thomasmolyneaux3700

[@amartolo8782]

He's a peaky blinder

[@SpencerShirey1998]

Pin Stripe*

[@TheSpookiestSkeleton]

Jon would be a very handsome gangster

[@tomsmith2209]

The picture of Churchill in his pinstripe suit smoking a cigar and holding a tommy gun has to be one of the most iconic ever.

[@spartanseth7392]

Here’s hoping they do an episode on body armor. I know it’s not a “gun”, but it still fits with the whole “loadout” theme - especially since grenades & attachments were already covered.

[@screamingcactus1753]

They touched on their submachine gun video that pistol caliber firearms have fallen out of favor as primary weapons in recent years thanks to body armor, so it'd be interesting to see how body armor has improved over the years and what affect that's had on the design of guns around it.

[@sartorialdriver6528]

It'd also be interesting to hear their insight into how armor is depicted in games versus how it's used in real life.

[@PeninsulaCity2024]

Fun Fact: The Thompson was used alongside the M2 Browning to demonstrate the then-new concept of noise-canceling headphones in a vintage, 1967 BBC video. It seems that those prototype headphones had worked.

[@cyn6440]

Should be worth noting that New Vegas doesn't just feature the Thompson-inspired Laser RCW, but features an M1A1 Thompson as well in the Honest Hearts DLC as the ".45 Auto Submachine Gun", starring alongside the M1911 and BAR (from Dead Money) as well as the M1 Garand from the Gun Runners DLC

[@jokersandrogues9821]

Am I the only one irked that the M1 Carbine section for the chart at 10:22 has an M14 for its symbol?

[@Esau2507]

No

[@kencampbell1750]

Nope. Caught that too.

[@TheLoraxshadenough]

Little bit

[@sartorialdriver6528]

Paused the video as soon as I saw that to look for someone mentioning it

[@CobraDBlade]

Nope. I was about to point it out but checked the comments first to see if someone else had already spotted it.

[@edwardvincentbriones5062]

“Part Sinner, Part Saint, All True and Cool”

[@madmachanicest9955]

Blending that the Thompson was originally designed for world War 1 trench warfare really makes the design make even more. A heavy stupidly high capacity hard hitting submachine gun it's not as much of a problem in trench warfare as it would be in.

[@screamingcactus1753]

The unreliability would be a huge problem though. If it's prone to jamming under ideal circumstances, I doubt it would handle getting covered in mud very well.

[@reganator5000]

@@screamingcactus1753 I suspect that if it had seen deployment that issue would have been discovered quickly. Making a heavy, high capacity SMG makes sense for trench warfare, but as automatic infantry weapons were in their infancy at the time, they probably hadn't realised the practical problems with drum mags yet. After all, the issue is that drum mags were not a successful idea as a whole, not that there's a specific reason why they aren't on the Thompson.

[@rimanahbvee]

​@@reganator5000 this tbh

[@justalurker3489]

​@reganator5000 With the notable exception of the PPSH, which actually was issued by the Soviets in WW2 with a 71-round drum, I believe it was only stopped a a cost-saving measure

[@Theycallmeyoshi1]

@@justalurker3489 I believe the PPSh had similar issues with reliability of the magazines as well. I know that common practice with a PPSh was to find a magazine that 'fit' with your gun and would shoot reliably and then hold onto it for dear life. because apparently finding a magazine that fit in your PPSh's magazine well was an issue they had. IIRC, the PPSh was also copied almost verbatim from the Finnish Suomi SMG after Russia's disastrous conquest of Finland.

[@kikomaster1]

15:58 Something that wasn't mentioned is that in COD:AW you can unlock variants for a gun. One of the variants for the ASM1 is named the "Speakeasy," which comes with a permanent drum magazine and permanent rate of fire increase over the base variant, all references to the original Thompson and its prohibition history.

[@smorrison906]

3:24 Jonathan is amazing, but the Thompson’s use in Ireland predates the existence of the Provisional IRA by around 50 years, and was used mostly during the Irish Civil War fought between split factions of the original IRA following the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

[@MysteriousGir]

6:03 The Gusenberg Sweeper is named so due to coming out during the GTA Online valentines update that also included a matching vehicle.

[@Punisher6791]

A truly iconic weapon.

[@Voucher765]

Same, M1928s were also used in WWII, I saw pics of guys in Normandy using them and even those in the PTO with drum mags

[@cool248dj]

small tad bits that were left out is that depending on the variant of the Thompson model, there’s different rates of fire and it also depends on the box mag or drum mag to determine the rate of fire, forgotten weapons did a whole video about this a while back for a experiment

[@Ididitlikethis2079]

Another bonus of the Thompson sub machine-gun, is that it also looks great with a fedora and a striped suit.

[@charlestownsend9280]

The drum magazine makes it heavy. Timesplitters: I'm going to duel wield these!

[@BoostedMonkey05]

_Part Sinner, Part Saint_ _Known by a hundred names_ _An incredible gun that spits unbelievable tales_ _But the most amazing thing_ _Is that they are all true_ _The Thompson_ *Annihilator* *Chicago Typewriter* *Tommy Gun* -Ahoy 2016

[@ianray8823]

Tom Hanks absolutely put in work when handling his Thompson in SPR

[@kevburke]

10:15 Time travelling M14 alert!

[@DouglasParkinson]

I'm glad you addressed Fallout 4. The Silver Shroud is a fictional character of the setting, a noir detective vigilante who uses a unique model of what I would assume was supposed to be the 1928 version. It's fun going around in the costume, though I tend to cheat and swap out the "Silver Shooter" for the 'explodes on impact' Pray N Spray legendary version. Timesplitters 2 and Future Perfect are also very close to my heart, and hark back to an era of shooters that just don't see much life nowadays.

[@ianyoder2537]

Isn't it fascinating how changing just one thing can completely shift something's vibe? Thompson SMG with a drum mag: 1920's gangster. Thompson with a stick mag: WWII American solder.

[@weldonwin]

5:40 That's not simply a "Stylish Pose" it's also a reference to the Michael Jackson music video for the song Smooth Criminal

[@AhmadSattout97]

For RE4, the original one had a much better reference As on a usual outfit, the Tommy Gun has the 30 round. But when you wear the mafia outfit, it has the 100 (or maybe 50) rounds mag

[@polyblanka_]

"Merry Christmas ya' filthy animal!"

[@MrMekakoopa]

This has turned into one of the most informative gun channels on KZbin. I love GunSpot

[@Nailgun26]

I was binging old episodes the other day and thought it would be great for yall to cover the Tommy gun, and here it is! great vid! It would be really cool to get a complete operation segment of these videos though where we could watch Jonathan fully operate the weapon.

[@emmanuelperez8094]

The Thompson Did see action during the Vietnam War, And in Rising Storm 2 Vietnam the Thompson can be used in the ARVN faction

[@rodolfohernandez2702]

My all time WWII favorite SMG, but specifically the Thompson M1A1 with the 30 round magazine.

[@worldbiggestfan1]

you may be questioning that why does the Thompson has weird sight on the end its because if you open it you have a rectangle circle sight to aim

[@mulrich]

It's funny that you show Ronald Speirs from "Band of Brothers" at 8:44, because in the show, he carries an M1A1 - likely because it was easier to get those for filming - while in real life, he carried an M1928A1.

[@Voucher765]

True in fact M1928 Thompsons were still very common in the Army even during D Day despite M1/M1A1s being adopted in 1942

[@rullercute]

i love this series, its great to learn about guns

[@yorkiesa]

Got to shoot one of the WW2 variants this year in Vegas. Wow, does the Thompson have serious muzzle climb. I'm sure soldiers who trained on it learned how to compensate for that, but could only shoot it in short bursts.

[@TheFirstCurse1]

My first exposure to the Thompson was in WATCH_DOGS the the Untouchables DLC pack. It gave you an outfit with a fedora and a 1921/28 Tommy Gun. It was so overpowered and fun to use. Probably my favorite iteration of it in any game. On the multiple playthroughs I've done I'll always bust it out here and there to feel like a gangster.

[@walksinthedarkness]

Great to see Kelly's Heroes getting some love!

[@kencampbell1750]

I like the takeaway. It’s a tool. Inherently it’s neither good nor bad. It’s whoever that’s using it and for what purpose what makes determines that.

[@Crazycoyote-we7ey]

In Girls Frontline Thompson Submachine gun she talks about her rowdy days in the 20s and 30s

[@Skaypegote]

I don't often watch spin-off shows from a channel's mainline series, but this is amazing. A combination of my fascination with history and video games. Well done. w

[@Voucher765]

My VFW member August Caccavone had one when he was fighting in Southern France and later Germany, Thompsons were the weapon of choice for NCOs and squad leaders during WWII alongside paratroopers and tankers

[@awesomehpt8938]

On your chart displaying the numbers of guns manufactured for ww2 you used the silhouette of the m14 rifle where you said m1 carbines.

[@erikasan3299]

My favourite smg of all time! Love each and every varient!

[@YoungIroh]

King kong and resident evil 4 made me love Thompson's. When i was a kid at the fair you could have a old Western saloon style photo and i begged my mom to let me hold the Thompson for the photo

[@blueninja8094]

I was literally thinking last night ‘huh I think a loadout episode on the Tommy gun would be cool’ my Christmas wish came true I guess!

[@thomasmolyneaux3700]

One of my favorite books is Tommy the gun that changed America This gun was so much more influential than I thought it lead to a lot of gun laws and of course helped win ww2

[@fisk0]

I will say, that without the distinctive drum magazine, many probably don't even realize it's essentially the same gun seen in both Gangster and WW2 settings, to most people that distinctive silhouette would be what distinguishes between the hero and villain weapon. Not sure if there are any other guns out there with such a defining difference between its uses, though I suppose we see some differences in the accessorization between hero and villain arms today as well.

[@edm240b9]

One thing about American usage of the Thompson, TO&Es don’t always show what the guy actually has in his hands. In movies and shows like Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, both the Rangers and Airborne were allotted more submachine guns than the regular infantry. These guns are usually left in the battalion weapon pool to be used on missions that are required for them. Another thing to mention is that contrary to what Jonathan said, there were many Marine units that didn’t utilize the Thompson. The 28th Marines (iirc) weren’t even issued the weapon in their TO&E, but you’ll see Thompsons pop up on Iwo Jima, likely requisitioned from other units like tankers or they were veterans of older battles and were transferred, but kept their weapon with them. Marines in the Pacific would usually prefer either the M1 Carbine for it’s lightweight handiness or the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle to punch through the dense foliage.

[@TheRedWon]

As much as I love Firearms Expert Reacts, Loadout is just next level content. Grade A effort guys!

[@jacksomedaysoon]

"made the 20s roar" is a bar

[@jacksomedaysoon]

@@Voucher765 man I hope this is the hilarious joke I think it is and not an actual misunderstanding of what I meant by "is a bar"

[@Voucher765]

@@jacksomedaysoon I see

[@HQ_Default]

I feel like you could almost make a story about a guy with a history that parallels the Thompson. Like he was a gangster before becoming a soldier, and wound up using a Tommy Gun in both periods of his life.

[@badger297]

I love this series

[@enlightenerofcryptozoology8761]

Been waiting for this iconic submachine gun to make an appearance on loadout. 2 recognizable profiles in popular culture and entertainment. It was the gun that made the twenties roar with names like Al Capone, John Dillinger, Verne Miller, Baby face Nelson, and Jack Mcgurne. The Chicago police still have the actual Thompson submachine guns used in the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. Though sadly its creator and his son never would live to see it finally receive military purchases for the US military. It has a better niche in entertainment and video games I believe due to it having ties to the era of organized crime/motorized bandits and the US submachine gun for WW2 as opposed to other submachine guns like the German MP40 and British sten as they were more tied to WW2. But it is a very welcome sight to see in video games and movies when given the opportunity.

[@Blazuchan]

Learn a good number of things, so thank you!

[@xpendabull]

The reputation of the Thompson as a gun for good guys and gangsters is similar to today's views of the AR-15 in my opinion. I find it hard to picture a current American soldier without a trusty M4 or M16, but the civilian AR is also seen as a terror weapon by many "anti-gunners" today and is used to push gun legislation, much like the tommy gun and the NFA.

[@stamfordly6463]

The Thompson crops up in the oddest and most anachronistic places on film, most notably to me in 1970's "too Late the Hero" starring Michael Caine. It's a British force, found from a Scottish regiment (maybe London Scottish considering there's a cockney in it...) on a Pacific island (?) fighting the Japanese with the aid of an America (just the one mind) and with Tommy guns a couple of years after they'd been withdrawn in favour of the Sten. There's a clip somewhere of former Fusilier Micklewhite saying how heavy it was compared with the Sten he had in Korea.

[@Blvckguy]

My fave gun ever. If I was a collector getting this first

[@Footting1212]

Yes, the in m1921 Thompson, the Chicago typewriter. The symbol of the prohibition era.

[@BlondeManNoName]

My favorite submachine gun in videogames, I just love it. I love it in movies too.

[@CanadaFTW95]

Here's the number of M1 Carbines produced during the war: * Shows an M14 *

[@coffee0093]

Probably one of my favorite IRL weapons!

[@Kakki82]

Shoutout to Mafia 1 and 2, The Godfather movies, Scarface 1932, Public Enemies 2009, Road to Perdition, The Untouchables and the list goes on......

[@Voucher765]

Tom Hanks wielded in both Pvt Ryan and Road To Perdition

[@Hashiriya714]

Mad props to GameSpot for talking about and educating people about history of firearms and its impact on gaming pop culture. Unlike the people at IGN.

[@QuintusAntonious]

It'd be interesting (but perhaps beyond the scope of this channel, maybe better for Forgotten Weapons or the Armouries main channel) to talk about the impact the Tommy Gun had on American perceptions of guns and their gun laws.

[@FlyboyHelosim]

That front grip on the Model 1921 always looks like it's hanging on by just a thread.

[@aviatornic2839]

Jonathan is a total gangster bro haha

[@vXDeathX]

Now you gotta do a video on the MP40! Especially if you think the Thompson is over portrayed in media…

[@luckybadkid]

This made me think a video about the old Godfather games would be neat. Specifically the level 4 guns in the 360 remake.

[@gh0stzlla]

Your trench sweeping kit includes the Thompson, the M1897 Trench Gun, the M1 Flamethrower, and molotov's

[@zacharyhamel5811]

anyone else notice that they used an M-14 to represent the M1 Carbine in one of the graphs?

[@captainzac24]

Thompson is basically a gangsta squad support weapon

[@SWATforce1]

Nice to see snippet from TimeSplitters 2 in there

[@SLDFSpectreSix]

In Destiny 2, there's a weapon I've come to appreciate more during the Solar-centric seasons - Tommy's Matchbook. It's pretty much a Tommy Gun that fires Destiny's "solar" energy. The fire rate goes up the more it fires, and damages you, but if you build your Guardian right, you can stand in a burst of healing and tank the damage, while dishing it out. It also has an alternate skin that says it uses .45 ACP Solar ammunition. All in all, it's a neat little package that tells the Hive they can keep the change. 😎

[@mooneyes2k478]

Most games also do not insert the drum magazine properly. It's meant to slide in from the side, not up from the bottom like a stick magazine does, but in nearly every depiction, it's popped in from underneath. Even the ones that do do the side-insertion does so without any fiddle or issue, something that is VERY much not the case in reality. Of course, this is a question of time and balance. Spending 4-5 seconds getting your magazine in the proper way would never fly with the players.

[@simongraf9133]

Small mistake at 10:18 where a m14 is used as the graphic for the m1 carbine

[@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401]

The Tommy Gun Bay! Bay!

[@jasecarr8572]

Beautiful weapon.

[@erdendenizergus6068]

fun fact: During the Cyprus peace operation Turkey send decommisiond Thompsons to the Turks in island to protect themselfs via Turkish Resistance Organisation and some parts of Turkish Army but they wouldn't send the whole weapon so they took some parts out and sent like that. Parts that have been taken out produced in island and some Canadian peacekeepers forces bought this Cypristic version of this weapon from locals after the operation ended and island divaded

[@raysofsunshine5812]

Love it!

[@IQsveen]

Dave and Jonathan gets payed to do this. Let that sink in.

[@ZOMBYMARIO]

this gun is literally the "i have 2 sides"-meme

[@Nverinder716]

Thanks Gamespot, now I gotta spend Christmas watching BoB and Boardwalk Empire!

[@TheSpookiestSkeleton]

I mean I'm sure you can make sense of the drum on A1 models in games where you can customize it because I'm sure some time with a saw and some tools you could brute force it to accept drums. Although you may as well just make it belt fed at that point. That'd be fun to see, a belt fed Thompson

[@USSEnterpriseA1701]

The mag catch itself is the same, but it would take significant work and precise measuring to make the slots that allow the drum to slide in from the side. Not impossible, but exceptionally difficult and if you get it wrong, it won't work.

[@hummel6364]

From one group of gangsters to another. The Thompson is Gangster-coded throughout.

[@cole4537]

10:16 Cmon guys, that’s no m1 carbine…

[@atompunk5575]

Those 100 round drums are wacky and very heavy

[@Eri76]

Is it me, or the silhouette of the M1 carbine at 10:16 is am M14, not an M1?

[@Voucher765]

Yes but it's the wrong symbol

[@StormChaserJeremy]

Another futuristic version of the Thompson is Tommy's Matchbook in Destiny 2

[@Gunny426HemiPlymouth]

Maybe I'm off my hinges, but I believe you.

[@90lancaster]

There is something about these Loadout videos that often feels like they are finished 2/3rd of the way through and then you look at the timer and see there is still 30% left. Must be that he covers the essentials and then kinda tacks on an after thought to the scripts that makes it feels like that to me.

[@johnwilliams9179]

Little fun fact,the $200 tax stamp on NFA items is because legislators couldn't outright ban it and because the Thompson was so popular.

[@Tom_-]

>sneaky beaky ayyyyy, a 40k fan

[@jacobcotton6614]

Please do one on the BAR

[@aetius7139]

"Rattle 'em boys"~ bones malone

[@MMMMM...dumber]

I really enjoy the video, but at 10:18 that's an M14, no M1 carbine

[@Max_Flashheart]

Merry Xmas

[@Frozen_Thorn]

The milled receiver makes this thing obnoxiously heavy for what it is.

[@daemonspudguy]

Serious Sam Classic had a Tommygun as the light-automatic gun. It's great.

[@Crazymanbos]

I love the Tommy Gun

[@ukaszwalczak1154]

Could yall make a video on the Mars Pistol? It's not exactly a good pistol, but i'd like to hear yall talk about it.

[@mahmoodrezamaboodi599]

I'm really disappointed 😞 that you guys didn't even mention Peter Jackson's King Kong 2005

[@joshuaradick5679]

From my experience at ranges, the Thompson M1 is fairly controllable.