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Govt. Program Supplying Thompsons to LE Agencies in 50's/60's


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Do any of the board member have knowledge of the U.S. Government program that supplied Thompson Submachine Guns to Law Enforcement agencies in the late 1950's and 1960's?

 

I am interested in trying to learn and document the history of the late 1950's and 1960's in regards to the Army or other US Government agency providing Thompsons to Law Enforcement agencies before the first hand knowledge of the program is gone. I see references to this type of program occurring in descriptions of Thompson Submachine Guns that come up for sale that an Law Enforcement agency received it from the Army in the 1950's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not the late 50's but in 1946, my M1 Thompson was given/sold to the B&O railroad police from the US Army. The chief then took it with him in 1966 to be Chief of Police at a small town in West Virginia whom I got it from. I do not have the FoIA papers, but a letter from the PD telling me this.

Added Note: My M1 was originally a M1A1 and the A1 XXX'd out when sold to the B&O and the M1 bolt installed. The gun was arsenal reworked during WWII at Mt. Rainer Arsenal. The "MR" is stamped on the buttstock.

Edited by full auto 45
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My department acquired a Reising from the govt mid/late 1950's. I had to do the research about 6 years ago because there was no documentation for this gun.

 

We eventually got it on a Form 10 (originally ATF refused to provide any assistance in documenting this MG) and it's just locked away in the arsenal.

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Recommend you contact the Defense Logistics Agency. They are under US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). They may be able to tell you what existed at that time and where the records / archives are stored.

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Our Colt US Model of 1928A1 overstamp, Transferred to a PD from the US Government in 1958. Transferred out to a C3 in the 1970s. Information from our FOIA request.

 

Looks like many Post war Thompsons that made it back, took this route...

Edited by fifthmdec
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Anybody left that had spoken to an agency or retired LEO on specifics on how they acquired their Thompson in the 1950's or 1960's?

 

My LEO agency acquired 200 M14's that were dropped shipped and left on a State of MN loading dock in several large heavy duty cardboard shipping boxes with a signature. My agency had to pay $35 per rifle shipping and administration cost. M14's ranged from a 4 digit Springfield Armory to the last serial number block of H&R's. Every rifle had been through an Anniston Arsenal overhaul and were electro penciled ANAD on the right receiver leg with a month and year date. My rifle was a TRW 1512512X. MY agency turned them back in to the Government and now uses an AR-15 type rifle. The difference I see if the M14 program was a loan program and the 1950's program was a transfer program. 1911's were also available but our agency never acquired any pistols.

 

I told my Government M14 program story, anyone with a 50's or 60's Thompson Law Enforcement agency program story?

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My M1A1 came from a decent sized Florida agency in the late 1980's. One of these days, I'll get off my duff and do a FOIA. When I started at a small agency in 1982, we had a black painted, Brit proofed M3 GG and the paperwork could not be located. ATF sent a Form 10 to fill out, but a month or so later found and sent the 1963 transfer form from InterArmCo (or whatever they were back then). Edited by Waffen Und Bier
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Buzz, have you done a FOIA on your M1A1 and if you have what ATF Form did your Thompson enter the NFRTR on? If you'll prefer a private message reply I am ok with that.

I received my FOIA on my Savage M1A1 and it entered the NFRTR on a Form 5 along with three other Thompson Submachine Guns. It went to a Chief of Police. My FOIA turn around was under two months.

Buzz, my M1A1 went through a RIA overhaul and is the receiver is stamped with RIA FK and a small ordnance bomb. I know you have mentioned your M1A1 also is a RIA marked Thompson. The buttstock has an AA E August Arsenal stamp and the forearm had a P stamp on the nose, The metal is for sure Rock Island Arsenal overhauled, the reinforced buttstock may have been changed or swapped with one of it three other Thompson that the police department received.

Edited by Bridgeport28A1
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I used to have a San Antonio Arsenal (SAA stamp on the stock) rebuilt, AOC upper, Savage lower, M1 to M1A1 that, per the '68 amnesty registration (which was the oldest document in the FOIA response), was acquired by the police department in 1950. I bought the gun from a small Class 3 Dealer who had bought the gun directly from the police department.

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In my dealings with Florida Law Enforcement agencies beginning in the mid 1980s I encountered lots of military small arms in their possession. Quite a number of these weapons were offered to local police in the 1950s and 60s following military base closings around the state. Apparently, lists of surplus small arms were provided to the agencies and they were able to request what they wanted. This included machine guns including a lot of M1/M1A1 Thompsons, M3 grease guns and a horde of M1/M2 carbines. My guess would be this was

done through the DOD or some entity created for the purpose.

Edited by 1921A
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Bought my M1A1 from a dealer. It had an electric pencil engraving of the name of a police department. Wrote the police department a FOI and they sent copies of their records which reveled they acquired it from another police department. Wrote that department and they replied their records didn't go back that far.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Is Interarms still around or is there some way for their records to be searched? I have a 28 TSMG that was sold to a PD in 1954. I got a copy of the transfer by FOIA but is redacted and can not read the dealers name.

 

 

 

My M1A1 was sold to a police department by interarms in 1963.

 

Interarms was a notorious international arms dealer at the time and ran ads for police Thompsons in magazines.

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I have a M1A1 that came out of the Marquette, MI police department. It was originally given to them in 1968 through a LE assistance program. In my files I have a copy of the inventory sheet showing the serial number listed with others in the crate it was removed from when in military storage. Sheet was part of a FOIA request I submitted some years ago.

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Back in the 1950's and 1960's Interarms had full page ads in The American Rifleman

for WW1 and WW2 rifles and pistols This was back before the assasinations when you

could buy rifles direct through the mail. After the 1968 Gun Control act they switched

over to wholesaleing. They also sold machine guns and Dewats. If I recall correctly by the 1980's

they were pretty much done. They drifted into manufacture - I have a Walther PPK that

was made by Interarms. But now even this is over 30 years ago. This was also all before

computers so everything would have been on paper. I doubt if any of it has survived.

Gun records are not something businesses like to keep around, especially if they are

out of business. Record books would have gone to the ATFand paper invoices and

similar sales records would by now be destroyed or lost.

The ATF Is changing all paper records to digital. When i had my last compliance

check, yet again, the agent came in with an incorrect inventory of my machine guns.

I told the agent - hey every year you come in with different and wrong info, why don't

you just go back and look at my file. The agent said they could not look at my file because

everything is being digitized. Unfortunately they now have a built in excuse for not

"finding" records and claim there is nothing thing they can do.....

 

Bob

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I contacted the current incarnation of interarms and they do not have any records.

 

The original interarms was literally an international arms dealer, they say a lot of small wars in africa and other places would not have taken place without interarms dealing all kinds of surplus weapons from WWII.

Edited by buzz
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