Tommy Gun: Gangsters' Favorite Weapon During Prohibition - Historical Curiosities - See U in History

[@rogueraven1333]

The Tommy gun was extremely rare for criminals to use. It was extremely expensive for the time. The few criminals that did use them got them from raiding police stations.

[@thesasquatch303]

Lol you assume they paid for them and no they were not rare for the time literally a majority of famous gangsters in that era used it from dillinger to bonnie and clyde even babyface nelson

[@usurp795]

Criminals have all sorts of ways of obtaining these and even buying them as a criminal wouldn't really cost you much just like now a days on the streets

[@9mmthroatpunch211]

@@thesasquatch303 yes it was rare only one of the people you named used it a lot most of the famous criminals anyway used the B.A.R and a lot of those were cut down

[@Brahkolee]

A Thompson submachine gun cost half as much as a brand new Ford in 1928. So if you could get a new car, or two Tommy guns. Tough choice.

[@thesasquatch303]

@@9mmthroatpunch211 well your just wrong unfortunately the tommy gun 38 snub and auto 5 was Bonnie's favorite guns to use clyde preferred the bar but Dillinger and baby face Nelson both robbed banks using tommy guns their is no denying that gangsters didnt use the gun that literally has the nick name of the gangster gun

[@TAFla.]

And also known as the "Chicago Typewriter"

[@Tornadoblue947]

That's what I like calling it

[@runeplate123]

Chicago sweeper

[@CosmicAndromedan]

Chicago 🎹 piano

[@bryancate4916]

It does sound like an old typewriter

[@bryancate4916]

@@runeplate123 I don't believe I've ever heard that one before but it makes perfect sense

[@sinclair.valentine_2047]

this gun will allways have a place in my heart for its iconic look and the sound

[@lamagra7922]

same, but I could not find video to watch it firing, how it sounds. can you give me some sources?

[@sinclair.valentine_2047]

@@lamagra7922 i have no idea every video i find has a different sound

[@thegalaxyofadventuresstudios]

the bullet or the gun

[@sinclair.valentine_2047]

@@thegalaxyofadventuresstudios both are iconic in their own ways but the gun is usually what is most iconic

[@micanopykracker902]

Could be bought out of a sears catalog. Ohhh the days

[@HaydenLau.]

I don't think those were the best times to live

[@ericschulze5641]

​@HaydenLau. Far more violent criminals "Gansters" now than then

[@jaspervalentine6612]

Actually the old school mobsters preferred the BAR but the tommy gun looked better on film.

[@thesasquatch303]

Both were used the bar the tommy gun the 1911 and the remington model 11 were favorites of gangsters you find those at most prohibition museums

[@johnmosesbrowningsrightnut8642]

@@thesasquatch303 I just bought a model 11, now it's on to the BAR

[@MA-wq2ih]

Tommy guns had to be purchased...while there were shady arms vendors who would sell them (a sporting goods dealer on Chicago's north side was well known for selling them to the underworld), they were quite expensive, roughly the equivalent of $3000 today. BARs, on the other hand, could be had (along with M1911 .45 pistols) by raiding the many small-town National Guard armories that were used to store all the overstock of weapons from the Great War, that were attended only during weekend drills, and were about as secure as the local schoolhouse.

[@WaffIe-House]

Imagine being a gangster using a tommy gun then you get drafted and your using the same thing

[@Brahkolee]

The Thompson wasn’t “improved” for the war. It was simplified. The domestic production M1928 Thompson guns were extremely high quality and had elaborate features like a long-range flip-up ladder rear sight and cooling fins on the barrel.

[@nipplecream3099]

i think you mean 1921. the 1928 was the first iteration of the gun being simplified for military use

[@Idkwhattoput151]

It also want the main smg, as it was expensive and the grese gun exists

[@Grass-toucher]

It is also very effective to immobilize a vampire. More effective if you know how to use Hamon.

[@justaguywithamask6505]

Stands are also proved to be effictive against vampires

[@hopahopa3148]

Large amounts of masculinity have also been proven effective.

[@justaguywithamask6505]

@@hopahopa3148 being homophobic is also proven to be effictive

[@terrydean4375]

@@justaguywithamask6505 you

[@justaguywithamask6505]

@@terrydean4375 YES, I AM!!!

[@abirdhasnoname.5376]

Went on a “gangster tour” of the Twin Cities and the host had a tommy gun. I thought it was fake until I asked her if I could hold it and it was heavy af. I couldn’t believe she’d been holding it up by her head for almost the whole tour.

[@HyperNebula]

Why you think it was fake?

[@abirdhasnoname.5376]

@@HyperNebula Idk I guess I just assumed it would have been some kind of replica.

[@MrSadSmileyFace]

@Altschauerberger Opferkult-Spiritist good. adds to the authenticity. don’t care

[@johnynoway9127]

@@MrSadSmileyFace would care if you were full of holes lol

[@sub-brotherhood8990]

@Altschauerberger Opferkult-Spiritist or it's non firing just because it heavy doesn't mean it shoots

[@LensJunior]

"Last but not least my favorite... A TOMMY GUN!" 😂 IYKYK

[@aidan_357]

Someone who actually got historical guns accurate a delight for me and fellow gun nuts

[@blendingsentinel4797]

The M1A1 would also be lackluster to the cheaper M3 Greaser as the Tommy was far too expensive to mass-produce. More Tommy's in Europe but in the Pacific it was a rarity.

[@sifilore9462]

We'll never c these guns anywhere but on tv in the movies or shows that takes place in the 1920's-40's.

[@RAZ0RGAM1NG]

You can buy semi autos newly made from auto ordinance

[@micanopykracker902]

Why they can be bought...ive shot one. What a chopper indeed

[@oldsguy354]

M1927 Thompson in 45ACP for sale right now from Auto Ordnance.

[@spidermonk3uVvwy8-2]

@@RAZ0RGAM1NG you can also buy full auto ones but it would require, *important stuff* , and a ton of money

[@dark2023-1lovesoni]

I own one, it's a West Hurley reproduction. Proper NFA registered transferable full-auto. West Hurley Thompsons were made from 1975 to 1986 when the machine gun registery was closed. They're pretty expensive and require quite a lot of paper work, plus it's usually 9-12 months for the transfer to complete. But they CAN be owned.

[@killmimes]

You could buy them at hardware stores

[@mabrams8740]

I would love to have one in my collection.

[@noob_2637]

I love Tommy in games especially with the drum mag

[@SuperNormalMan]

Nothing like blowing away raiders and ferals (and the occasional super-mutant) with a good ol' tommy.

[@jimaco0312]

Agreed! It was especially fun to use in mafia 2. I’ve also fired the military version irl, i’m yet to try the 1921/28 version with the drum mags.

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

The best gun in Bioshock.

[@patrickforget5088]

I like the BAR the Browning automatic rifle personally

[@wyvernbravo]

The Tommy gun screams RATTELEM BOYS

[@xavierkay]

today gangsters use switches

[@kensmith8152]

Clyde Barrow liked to use a BAR

[@MA-wq2ih]

Bonnie and Clyde never had any Thompsons, despite what the 1967 movie depicted. They made a deposit on one with an Oklahoma underworld arms dealer, but he was apprehended by the Feds before it was delivered.

[@tianavance8500]

The way the bullet loads inside and has a special spin and sound and handle of the gun has a special grip

[@matthewk6731]

And then the army started using the very cheap yet effective Grease Gun.

[@JoeKurr5]

“Further improved” by lowering the cyclic rate, taking off the muzzle brake, removing the barrel fins, and putting the charging handle on the side? Does seem very improved to me, just cheaper.

[@nipplecream3099]

charging handle on the side is certainly and improvement, the rest aren’t improvements from an individual perspective but from an economic one, they are

[@vernongandy9026]

It was a prestigious arm for the British NCOs. They had strict orders to never let it be captured if the user was downed.

[@yes-qw6om]

no british clowns used this amazing piece

[@khabbad]

The Chicago Typewriter

[@PaTThRaX]

The "Chicago typewriter"

[@SunSheepOfLight]

The Mafias most favorite Weapon.

[@langbo9999]

Perfect to remove the competition.

[@SunSheepOfLight]

@@langbo9999 Indeed.

[@victoreem2]

All right, I believe you but my Tommy gun don't

[@swishatweek1841]

My cousin has one, hundred round drum mag and all

[@tianavance8500]

What was the weight on it

[@charliemcternan8190]

I love the history ist the best so crayz dramatic horror and interesting I love it

[@tomhenry897]

BARs and sawed offs popular also

[@nitricfox7895]

Very satisfying to use in VR

[@NotaJDmLovr]

The badass thing is that a prime ministers favorite weapon is the tommy Guess who the prime minister is

[@bagel5284]

Love mafia II remastered

[@ThfCypher]

Al Capone nick named it the chopper

[@boiransikos8631]

The tommy gun is also favorite by the mafias

[@johnqueen2754]

AR-15 is the modern day tommygun

[@KGoBang]

Only if it's chambered in .45acp

[@yes-qw6om]

tommygun has much more bullets

[@robertphillips6296]

You don't want to mix the .45 caliber Ammunition in the Drum, because it has been my experience that it will cause Jamming.

[@TheBowlerHatGuy-dm2gr]

It was unintentionally the most infamous firearm in America.

[@greenbroccolistudios1275]

I kindly like the tommy gun tho :D That was Vinnie's Fav Gun :) Edit:Mmm thats some good cannoli

[@SmokeyDayzz]

We weren’t interested in history until we met this guy

[@tianavance8500]

The gun was no joke especially in 1930 movies ,bit they did used in Harlem Nights movie😎😎

[@drazoric2275]

Imagine going to war and your squad mate is given one of these and you hear: *Hey ye schmuck! Where's my 100 drum? Also, how am I supposed to carry this without a violin case? 🎻 🔫*

[@theuberhunter9698]

As someone who has handled Tommy guns... the m1a1 isn't an improvement, it was intended to make it a little cheaper to produce. The Thompson was the most expensive SMG of ww2.

[@_El_Burro_]

Legend Thompson My Love ❤❤❤

[@bradleytroutman2636]

You know the trenches with Doug was swinging shovels and Tommy Gun barrels !..!

[@factsoftheconfederacy7151]

Imagine .45 inch 230 grain projectiles at 900+ Feet per second (I’m accounting for the longer Thompson barrel on the 1921 models) averaging 850-900+ Rounds per minute screaming at you. Keep in mind, the classic 1911 handgun with 7 +1 rounds of .45 ACP 230 grain at 830+ FPS was considered a powerhouse. It would’ve been absolutely horrific, keep in mind AK and AR rifles were not a thing in this time period.

[@The.Original.Potatocakes]

Weren’t those drug magazines notorious for jamming? That’s why the army always had extended stick magazines. I think they came in 30 rounds and 10 rounds.

[@RhodesianSAS-gn4qp]

You're confusing Thompson for the Soviet PPSH 41

[@chriszepeda5104]

I want one

[@RetroRetrieverSurplus]

Oh sick, I just posted a full Auto Thompson too haha!

[@richrock8960]

Used to be able to buy one from the Sears catalogue or order it direct by regular citizens, if they could afford it. The criminals who did use them got them mostly by raiding police stations because they were so expensive and they weren't as prevelant as pop culture portrays. And it wasn't "improved" to the M1A1, it was made easier and less expensive to manufacture as the M1A1 and 20 and 30 round box magazines were used almost exclusively because of the issues of jamming and failure to feed with the drum magazines. They were also more difficult and time consuming to reload.

[@raimondspadaro8211]

No such thing as Great criminals.

[@Louis12342]

Tommy gun is a legend in US Army

[@xmm-ud1dj]

11x33 mm but depending on who you are talking to , 11x31 !!!

[@michaelsmyth3935]

The round, or jamomatic, magazine.

[@KeloTheWolfy]

“Back me up Vito”

[@owlking195]

Love Tommys but I kinda prefer the m1a1 model over the “typewriter” tbh

[@alvanouko3678]

Nice voice

[@johnwhick7419]

It’s also that a tommy with a drum just looks so cool. When you put the straight clip on it meh…

[@alancranford3398]

My impression was that the tommy gun became the favorite weapon of MOVIE gangsters--only 15,000 were produced between 1922 and 1940 and the last 10,000 were sold just prior to WW2 before production was resumed. At most, a couple hundred wound up in criminal hands. The Browning Automatic Rifle was more common in both criminal and law enforcement hands, with 107,000 produced by 1919. Bonnie and Clyde used the BAR, not the tommy gun. Around 1.75 million Thompsons were produced by the end of WW2 and total production of the BAR was 0.3 million but prior to 1940 there were more than seven BARs for every tommy gun. Raiding National Guard armories for BARs put more of those Army-issue automatic rifles in criminal hands.

[@Ciankemu91]

Tommy Gun ❤

[@claiborneeastjr4129]

Any citizen could order one through the mail. I think the price was around $250 - a heckuva lot for the time!

[@tonydoherty2190]

I would have said the ak47 widowmaker haven't over 100million been made since 1947

[@rickysaucedo5002]

Such a beautiful sub

[@amarilittle9567]

Can you talk about the nodachi

[@theoutlawking9123]

Still would rather have this Pearl of History than a modern contemporary like the KRISS Vector. Also, the military variant of the Thompson, known as the M1a1 was actually a Downgrade to the M1921/28 models. As the M1a1 models could only use 20 & 30 rd mags, not the 50/100 drums and the rof was also cut in half and reduced to 600 rpm. It's quite possibly the ONLY gun in history where the civilian model was miles ahead of the military one.

[@perceptionofreality3074]

Ahhhh yes..the "Tommy-gun"..known in warfare as a/the.."trench-broom". The Thompson machine gun..WAS what MADE..them, "the Roaring Twenties".

[@JaneDoeTF2]

"A TOMMYGUN!" -the mask

[@Willchannel90]

Mafias and retire ones: Our greater best friend! ;)

[@สะใภ้มาเล-ช5ค]

And also Michael Jackson

[@claramckenzie9140]

A gun nuts wet dream; would not mind a B A R either.

[@eribertoacedo9505]

It was a mandolin case they carried this firearms, used to own one!

[@Blobbbbb]

I wouldn’t exactly call the M1A1 “improved”. It was cheaper, and had a slower fire rate.

[@attika3145]

Sorta. During the Second World War the Grease Gun was more common as it was MUCH cheaper to produce. Tommy’s were horribly expensive.

[@Amir_H7]

Was watching this video and my 10 year old cousin came up to me and said ”wow that’s the drum gun from Fortnite” i want to slap that kid so bad rn.

[@fw420]

My favorite gun

[@tianavance8500]

Yes the gun is 🔥🔥🔥🔥 love how used them back in the days

[@phillipblunk]

The Tommy gun was The gangsters favorite gun only in movies.

[@thunderkatz4219]

So it’s technically a ww1 weapon

[@joshuagraham1926]

It makes me wanna play Mafia definitive edition.

[@redzmaja1805]

Tommy Shelby

[@antbonyziemiak208]

So…..the standard drum magazine could hold 50 or 100 rounds? I thought there was a separate drum magazine for the 100 round magazine. Thanks for clearing that up.

[@aplakusattakharyab]

Mp40 be like : aah my stepbrother

[@Remix2366]

Bro used the MAFIA thumbnail 💀

[@Mobboss-x8y]

Fun fact u could either buy two tommy guns or a new car it's obvious that people bought a car than a tommy gun

[@AWOLsSoldier]

Chicago typewriter 1

[@Lawna-v4f]

square bullets, small and larger

[@mebagelnub]

Ingame Recoil Is So easy to control

[@Rob-Bee.]

Rattle em boys

[@truthspreader1996]

But why is it called a "Tommy Gun"?

[@micanopykracker902]

The brits adopted it

[@truthspreader1996]

@@micanopykracker902 Elaborate, please.

[@micanopykracker902]

@@truthspreader1996 actually it was because it was invented by General Jonathan T Thompson

[@truthspreader1996]

@@micanopykracker902 AH!!!

[@KGoBang]

It's a Thompson Submachine Gun.

[@adamryan4184]

Peaky blinders time

[@tylermead8589]

Pretty *bizarre* design

[@sanguiniusonvacation1803]

I wanna get me a piece of The Action

[@JeffHenry-cq3is]

Used sawed offs and pistols more

[@airington01]

I always wanted one

[@SteveCogno]

gangsters also like the bar. I mean who wouldn't, pretty much anything they can steal from the police or army supply.

[@Tyky97isbeast]

You say improve I say downgrade

[@htg989]

He's the only one saying improve.

[@EnlightnMe48]

I rather the splurge gun myself

[@lorenzcidro]

I've used one of those 😮

[@markrowland1366]

Are there really levels of iconic?

[@trevorwall87]

"Further improved" no! simplified for mass production and honestly made worse