85th Engineer Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 I'm interested in finding out what kind of markings are on the wood stocks of WWII Thompsons. My commando from Kahr had some original military wood underneath all that black paint Kahr uses. The forearm was marked with a 'P' and apparently was in the Brits hands at one time because the plugged holes where a sling swivel used to be was also visible on the left side of the forearm when I stripped that black paint. I've since removed that forearm and replaced it with one of Dan's oversized forearms since I had the barrel shortened. But to continue the military look of my Kahr I've added a 'P' in the same place as that on the original wood. Now to continue dressing up my Tommy, I'd like to know if any of you WWII Tommy owners would describe any further markings that might be on the wood of you guns. Any cartouches or (especially interested in) any inspector initials visible on yours? Did the military place the same kinds of markings on Tommys as you find on Garands and carbines? Obviously the 'P' on mine is common to garands & carbines. Anything else? I just want to finish putting the "trim" on my gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawksnest Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 My forearms are marked "S" for Savage. My buttstocks are marked "W" for Wild Fowler Decoy, Saybrook, Massachusetts and "B" for Milton Bradley,Springfield, Massachusetts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 In addition to the above, horizontal grips and rear grips had M for Strombeck-Becker of Moline IL and D for Dittenborn of Hartford CT Buttstock= V for Vulcan Corp of Effington IL. J for Jewell Bros Winston, CT. ULC for United Last of Lawrence, MASS. Bob D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
full auto 45 Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 My buttstock has "MR" stamped on it for Mt. Rainier Arsenal where it was reworked. The forearm has the "S" and I think that is it, but I'll hav to look. But it does have the marks where a barrel band had been on it at one time, so I got another and put it on. http://mikesmachineguns.com/files/M.R._buttstock.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85th Engineer Posted October 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Thanks for the info, and the pic was great for showing location. Looks like all are manf's marks. Did the stocks not have to pass some inspector and receive their initials like you find on garands? Are there references which identify the markings on Thompson wood? Sorry for all the questions. I'm a bit new to the details about the Tommy. If you could only have one book on the Thompson, what should it be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
full auto 45 Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 The best book to buy for the Thompson? Military guns and WWII info, no question. "American Thunder" by Frank Iannamico Colt Thompson's, "Thompson-An American Legend" by Tracie Hill Lots more information about the guns in Franks book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Ploughboy Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 M1A1 with cross-bolt buttstock stamped "P" (for proof testing post rebuild, I assume) and "AA" for Augusta Arsenal where rebuild took place. The "AA" is preceeded by what I assume are the initials of the Augusta inspector at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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