TSMG28

Since they are designed for the semi guns, I would not expect them to work in a full-auto gun. Mag catch will be in the wrong place.

The labeling of “Laders” suggests a non-English language. My fuzzy brain wants to say Norwegian, but that may not be correct. Many original magazines have been butchered for use in semi-auto guns. A better solution for those guns is modifying the mag catch so that original mags can be used unaltered. Or you can buy a replacement mag catch, swap out the original, and modify the replacement accordingly. That way you can always switch back to original gun configuration if needed.

I should have specified that the 0.750x28tpi is for the Type II through Type V comps. The Type I uses 0.660x28tpi. Since you indicated a 1928 gun, that should be Type II or later.

Given the date, this backup supply may have been intended for the ARVN troops in Vietnam. They were the recipients of our Thompsons and M1 carbines. Some of our guys traded with the ARVN soldiers for these guns. i would be interested to know if these mounts include the original upward bend at the receiver end or are flat.

I do not have my books right now to confirm, but I believe it is 3/4-28. Not a common thread today.

It is interesting to note that the Westminster gun has the vertical foregrip and British-modified sling swivels, but the Southseas gun is an unmodified 28A1. Perhaps Cash-and-carry vs. Lend-Lease, or simply the examples the sculptors had to work from.

The answers are: Drum #1 is a first generation Kahr L drum cover and body, manufactured and sold immediately following the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban (late 2004), which had prevented the sale of so-called high-capacity magazines to the public. Kahr did sell an L drum during the ban, but it was leftover from the West Hurley production, and was marked EXPORT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ONLY on the back of the body. This differs from the marking that West Hurley put on these drums, which was FOR EXPORT ONLY. Kahr used a new manufacturer (Tempco) to begin making their X drums (two different generations) during the latter part of the 10-year ban, but this was the first L drum made by Tempco Manufacturing. Note the funky numbers on the winding instructions arc below the winding key. The 9 is actually an upside-down 6 from the the dies used on the second generation of the Kahr X drums. The 11 looks more like two vertical scribe lines. This particular drum has an updated (likely replaced) rotor assembly, as the original came with a solid hub, not a hollow hub. Drum #2 is a third generation Kahr L drum. This is the current version of the Kahr L drums, but this one shows evidence of the poor bluing job found on a number of the early gen 3 Kahr L drums. The third generation does have a hollow hub, so this rotor is likely original. Drum #3 is a first generation Worcester cover and body, but as Tom noted, does not have its original lacquered nickel rotor. Someone has replaced the rotor and, as Cincylance noted, the winding key is a modern version, not an original Worcester key. Drum #4 is a second generation Worcester drum that appears to be all original. The second gen Worcester drums switched from the nickel rotor to a blued rotor, so this rotor is likely correct/original, which also appears to apply to the winding key.

The United Specialties drum is 5th generation, and the other is a West Hurley L drum. Many of the West Hurley drums were out-of-spec and/or unreliable. That said, some worked fine. If you can prove it works, it may improve it’s value. I agree with Ldog’s valuation, though the WH will probably have the fewest buyers.

According to Frank in American Thunder III, nearly all of the M1’s and M1A1’s he has cataloged had the 1928 mag catches. I suspect there is no documented date when the production line changed over. I am wondering if most of the mag catches without the drum bump were produced during the extended Thompson production ahead of the M3 switchover, as well as for spare parts that AO continued to manufacture for awhile.

Tom (Hytec), There are no conversion kits available now, and there may not be for some time. There is a list of about 20 people ahead of you who want kits. I can add your name to the list, but as I shared above, I am not certain if or when more kits will be available. I am still trying, but no guarantees.

Inertord, I suspect the screw at the back of the grip mount may be related to the strange foregrip. It is reminiscent of the quick-change barrel modification used by some folks in the U.S. It may be necessary to retain the grip mount for whatever changes have been made to accommodate the vertical foregrip. FWIW...

Not only has the magazine catch been replaced, several other parts also appear to be replaced, including the safety and all of the wood. The buttstock has the typical British mods (swivel relocation and reinforcing screws), and I think I can see an anchor on the front under the slide, which would mean it is a Colt stock. Closer inspection would need to confirm this. The rear grip has either been significantly sanded, and/or is of a very different vintage from the gun. The vertical foregrip is wrong in several aspects, including: the squared-off back, additionally notched for some reason (placed too far back on the grip mount); the front profile, which is severely altered; and the overall appearance. It looks like this may be what we call the slab-side grip common on WH and Kahr guns. Again, closer examination would be required to fully understand what is going on with the foregrip. The overall finish on the magazine catch and safety suggest that they may have been with this gun for awhile, so who knows when or why they were changed.

Since the label on ppgcowboy’s case was printed by IH, I suspect that is why they listed their own halftrack. The key number is the military code of D50268, which connects back to the drawings of this case, and would be the same no matter what vehicle it was listed for. My two cents…

It is unlikely that any of the drums have been “updated”. Potential problems are many: weak and/or short springs in the C drums; faceplates being out of spec and/or misplaced, preventing insertion into a gun, or orienting the drum so that rounds do not feed properly; inside rails not properly installed, causing narrow feed paths which cause feeding problems; and, out-of-spec feed opening in the drum. Updates could address any of the above issues found, and often included replacing the center hub with a hollow hub like original drums (when the springs were replaced). The presence of solid hubs probably means no update on your drums. Some West Hurley L drums did work fine out of the box, so it is worth testing. I know of no WH C drum that works properly. Most Kahr L drums with solid hubs also will not work in full auto guns. Later Kahr L drums with hollow hubs also often have reliability problems. YMMV…

The C drum and 50#1 are both Numrich/West Hurley. Drum 50#2 is a Kahr drum made to the same design as the Numrich drums, but by a different manufacturer selected by Kahr. All three have suspect reliability, so I recommend testing each.

These drums were manufactured circa 2007 for Kahr by their subcontractor Tempco Manufacturing Company. The general consensus among collectors is that the drums numbered under 2600 are reliable. Above that number, reliability is 50/50. Since these drums appear to be used, the owner should be able to vouch for their reliability. The price range quoted above is reasonable, considering that new Taiwan replicas which are generally very reliable are selling right now for $400, plus shipping. The current Kahr price for their C drum is $721. These will be unnumbered and of questionable quality (read possibly/probably not reliable in full-auto guns). Roger

I am the person building kits from the parts recovered from Merle Bitikofer. I was able to assemble and deliver the first 27 kits, and I still have approximately 20 people on the waiting list. The main reason no more kits have been delivered is that Merle’s remaining barrel inserts are out of spec, and I have been sporadically trying to see what I can do to enable them to work. I have also had to arrange for new parts to be manufactured to complete the additional kits. i have not responded to the OP because it is very unlikely that I will be able to fill the current waitlist, let alone add to it. There has been discussion about making new barrel inserts, but the cost of that part alone would likely add a lot more to the cost of a kit. For now, I do not plan to pursue that option. Merle’s design did replace the bottom of the bolt with a steel base, which solved the wear issue in the sear notch (compared to Ciener design), and also adds weight which lowers the cyclic rate. Roger

Deavis, Yes, it is likely that the rear sight and barrel were changed out when it was re-activated. That is also likely the time it was blued. Most DEWAT barrels were welded closed during this timeframe, so were scrap and needed to be replaced when reactivated. As has been mentioned, originally it probably had an unfinned barrel and L rear sight. Congrats on your new toy.

Note that the mags they have are drums, as those were the mags supplied in the tanks. If Sherman’s that would be M4 tanks. M3 tanks could be either the medium M3 Lee or light M3 Stuart. I don’t recall the M3 Lee being used in the PTO, but the M3 Stuart definitely was. Thanks for sharing!

Jake, Congratulations! It makes a nice historical display.

Jake, Nickel was a very valuable metal during the war, so was restricted to specific authorized uses. These mag holes were soldered.

Not common, but not rare either. My book explains the details of all of the mags made for the Thompson. It will be available at the TATA S&S, or on Amazon.

That is an early WWII mag made by Mitchell Stamping for Auto-Ordnance. It is one of two WWII patent date mags made by Mitchell, but this version has an incorrect patent date on the first line. It should be AUG. 24 instead of AUG. 20. If you remove the floorplate, you will find MSCO stamped on the inside of the backstrap.

Devon, In addition to the cards shown in Vol. 8, originals and duplicates are also shown in Vol. 7 starting on page 86, and in my book. It appears that this is a new reproduction version. The alignment appears identical to an original, but the overall size is larger, like the other reproductions. It differs from the alignment of all of the reproductions I have seen. I suspect the card stock is also different from the originals. Not sure when this may have been created, or by whom. If you are coming to the TATA S&S, please bring it along so we can all see it in person. Thanks for posting. Roger

It has now been relisted with the correct price of $299.99. Apparently an Oops! On the original listing. BTW, the wrapping paper does appear to be similar to original Crosby wrapping, though I have not seen five mags wrapped together in this manner before. Anything is possible Nice catch!