The submachine-gun
is a compact automatic weapon firing pistol ammunition, designed for
short-range assault and close-quarter fighting and was first used
by the German Army in 1917.
Inspired
by the sub-machine guns used by the Germans in the First
World War General John T. Thompson
designed what became known as the Tommygun. The gun was not ready
in time for the war but was used in the 1920s by American gangsters.
The US
Marines began using the Tommygun in 1928 and so did the British
Army in the early stages of the Second World
War. The United States Army also began
to use them and by August 1941, had ordered 318,900 of these guns.
Although heavier than other submachine-guns, it was considered the
most reliable available.
Winston
Churchill with a
Thompson submachine-gun.
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