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New - Colt Thompson in French Service


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Morning everyone, first time posting and thought I introduce myself.

Im beyond green when it comes to Thompsons, but have grownup hunting and shooting. I have a few collectible firearms mostly from my grandfather, he served in WW2 and managed to acquire a few military guns. When he passed away the collection went to my father who was not interested in firearms. They ended up sitting in a safe for a LONG time. They only came out once in a while. Well it took 15 months but I just got the pearl registration transfered to my family. It is an Auto Ordnance model 1921 SN 10374.

I would love to try and find more history on the gun so if you guys have any information about it or how to get more please sounds off! From what we know he bought it new and has been in my family ever since.

Ill try and get some photos up soon.

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Welcome to the forum. Post pictures of everything including the internals. Others will chime in with books that should show some history and will point you in the right direction.
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The term pearl confused me a little. The SN could be a Colt gun. Is the left side of the gun marked Colt? Does the barrel have a Cutts compensator on it? There is such a thing as a Pearl Thompson.

 

Bob D

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Thanks for the information! Sorry for the confusion I meant the pearl or jewel of the collection. 20 years ago when my farther took possession the FFL and historian we worked with said that the military never issued the vertical grip, so we assumed it was bought new. He was in Germany up until I believe 52 or 53, they brought back a TON of stuff so that makes sense to me. The gun really hasnt been out of the safe for twenty years, I was allowed to clean it every few years that was about it.

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Welcome to the boards, great place to learn about your new heirloom. The gun is a little worn, but still looks really nice. Right away notice it does not have the usual US markings, no that it would, but the vertical grip and sling looks like it would have been through someone from the UK, but the stock sling placement was normally on top as well as the 1921 wood didnt have sling points. Either way if only this gun could talk!

Edited by Speeddemon02
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Thanks for the information! Sorry for the confusion I meant the pearl or jewel of the collection. 20 years ago when my farther took possession the FFL and historian we worked with said that the military never issued the vertical grip, so we assumed it was bought new. He was in Germany up until I believe 52 or 53, they brought back a TON of stuff so that makes sense to me. The gun really hasnt been out of the safe for twenty years, I was allowed to clean it every few years that was about it.

As board member villafuego pointed out about the French connection to your Colt 1921, you might be interested in this thread:

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18154&hl=%2Bfrench+%2Bswivels&do=findComment&comment=154606

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Thanks for the information! Sorry for the confusion I meant the pearl or jewel of the collection. 20 years ago when my farther took possession the FFL and historian we worked with said that the military never issued the vertical grip, so we assumed it was bought new. He was in Germany up until I believe 52 or 53, they brought back a TON of stuff so that makes sense to me. The gun really hasnt been out of the safe for twenty years, I was allowed to clean it every few years that was about it.

 

Thank you. I was wrong. That's not a pearl, it's a Diamond. Wonderful gun.

 

Bob D

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Welcome to the board, and Thank You for sharing this history. Definitely a Diamond!

 

The observation about it being one of the Colt guns bought by France is due to the sling hardware and its placement. Everything that I see is exactly correct for a French modified Colt gun.

 

What a unique find. Congrats to your family for preserving it and making sure it was registered in the amnesty.

 

I agree that you should locate a set of WWII intervals and swap them out before shooting, especially the actuator, which has a tendency to break sometimes. Dont try to disassemble the trigger frame unless you have the proper tools and knowledge.

 

Again, Thank You for sharing!

 

Roger

Edited by TSMG28
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That's going to be a great shooter! It does look like an MP40 sling. Get those Colt parts out of that receiver before you shoot it. They are damn near impossible to replace if broken.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

 

So you replace the original internals with replicas? Never thought about that. I did a quick google search and didn’t really find much on where to get internals you guys must have a go to place.

 

Wow if this is a French surviver that would be incredible!! I can’t even imagine the places it would have been. How would I go about finding the SN numbers that where sent to France, and is that even possible?!?! Looking at this forum others have mentioned a book that lists all the SN, would that have that information.

 

Thanks again for the welcome

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