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And from my experience, it will be worth the wait, and you will not be disappointed 👌

The French army were still using WWII GMC & Dodge trucks in the late 1980's. In the Republic of Djibouti, we even had a couple of US WWII half tracks in service, with the 13e Demi-brigade de Légion Etrangère.

Many years ago, as a proud new owner of a Savage Model 1928, I bought a Kahr Arms X drum, compliment my well used 1928, direct from Kahr. At the time I had little knowledge of the TSMG or it accessories. I then discovered this forum, and spent many hours reading posts, especially the 'drum and box magazine guide', which resulted in my adding some original WW2, ( and a couple of prewar), L drums, to my collection; as I was able to identify them from knowledge gained from this site. These included: An Auto Ordnance NY NY Address with winding Instructions marked for M1921 & M1928. 2nd version manufactured by Worcester Pressed Steel (WPS), Rogers Herbsts book identified for me this one is a rarer version with a ‘patch’ on the drum catch. I had no knowledge of ,this version till I read Rogers book. Another Auto Ordnance NY NY Address with winding Instructions marked for M1921 & M1928. 2nd version manufactured by Worcester Pressed Steel (WPS), without ‘patch’ on the drum catch. A WW2 Production Seymour Two WW2 production Crosby ‘Cash & Carry’ Period drums. One with a silver colored rotor, (1st version) and one with blued rotor, (2nd version). and finally two WW2 produced Auto Ordnance drums, (third and fourth version). When it was published, Rogers book updated a lot of information and provided new information, that to my knowledge had not been published before. it is definitely worth buying and should be on the bookshelf of every serious TSMG enthusiast. Enthusiasts like Roger Herbst and Tom Davis etc. put a lot of time and effort into researching their respective subjects, to provide us with information not found elsewhere. So we should support all these authors by buying copies of their books, to support them and further research into the TSMG. It is amazing how much new information has come light from their research and hard work, since I bought my 1928 in 1996. Thank you to all the authors of TSMG related books, for the knowledge you have all given me over the years. Stay safe Richard

Greg is your man for TSMG cases. I am the proud owner of one of his Indiana cases and a 5 drum carrier. Craftsmanship and attention to detail is 2nd to none, in my humble opinion. PS I am curious why the Indiana case, was called "Indiana"? Has any one out there got an answer for me? Stay safe Richard

Ron, Wow, your memory is far better than mine reading that post " is all by memory tonight to have to check on those numbers, but %99 might be right". Hats off to you sir.... Tom, I agree 100% with what Johnsonlmg41 wrote: "Thanks for keeping up the research and your writings! I've learned a bunch over the years". Here here, every day is a 'school day' for me. It always amazes me the knowledge and fresh information that comes up on this forum.

Roger Herbst's book Thompson Submachine Gun magazines 2917-2021, has the full story..

Couple came up for sale last year and I grabbed them

Those French Contract 1921 Thompsons are a rare breed. Most saw service with French paramilitary police during German occupation, and also I have seen some photos of Germans with them. After WW2, loads ended up in French Indo China where they never returned from. So printed handbooks, if they were shipped across the Atlantic would have probably had a short life too. Remember back then, Thompson enthusiasts like ourselves, were a rare breed, so they were just another weapons handbook/manual. During my service I saw many military manuals used and abused. I agree with you though, finds like yours is what keeps us Thompson enthusiasts interested.... new things, to us, surprisingly keep turning up.👌

That one has a different version cover than the one pictured in David and Michaels 'Thompson Manuals, catalogs and other paper items', so that would indicate that there were at least two French edtions of the Handbook produced. Excellent addtion to your collection, I am really envious now!👍 When did AOC relocate from the 31 Nasau Street address to the Broadway address? I am wondering if your handbook was produced to go with one of the 3,000 Model of 1921's ordered by France in Nov. 1939. The Swedish handbooks dated 1940 had the Broadway address on them. If there is a link, there may have been 3,000 of those French handbooks originally produced.

As a former French Foreign Legionnaire, everything related to the Thompson and France is of Interest to me. I have seen a picture of a French language 1921 handbook cover in the past. It is on page 10, together with a picture of the cover of the French language 1921 AOC Catalog, of Thompson Manuals, catalogs and other paper items by David Albert and Michael Sigillito. What a find, I am envious of your collection 🤫

The same happened to me a few years ago. I stumbled upon a first edition 1921 handbook which was listed on eBay.fr. The seller was based in the UK and was clearing out his grandfathers affairs and found loads of firearm and artillery catalogs / brochures for early Vickers produced weapons . The grandfather had been an engineer at the Vickers Crayford factory in the UK, and had worked closely with their Drawing Department, from were he had obtained all of the catalogs / brochures in his collection. The 1st edition 1921 handbook is a beauty, so I made an offer, which was accepted. A few months, later the same seller listed a catalog from the same source, an AOC Thompson Gun Model 1921-1923 Catalog , which like the 1st edition handbook, was in very good condition, so I made an offer for that, which was accepted and added that to my collection too. Initially, with the 1st edition 1921 handbook, I could not believe my luck, but sometimes you just have to roll the dice

I guess that is training. Last year I was borrowing some 9 mm blank pistols from the Belgium Police training school for our own training nearby. For even those, it is 2nd nature for me to check if loaded. Same when handing back to armourer, mags off and opened slide to show the weapons were empty.

Devin, That is an excellent addition to your collection.

Well after just 13 years on the forum and having read over a dozen books on the subject of the Thompson gun, I thought there could not be any more information and history to learn about the Thompson, but how wrong I was. Following receipt of ‘Thompson: Colt's, West Hurley's & More’ by Tom Davis Jr., I have learned a lot of new information, thanks to Toms extensive research. In particular I found the chapter on the British proofed Colt manufactured Thompson guns very interesting. The pictures, and story, of the New Mexico Prison Model of 1921’s are excellent, as is the chapter on the Colts in the US Army. I’d definitely recommend this book, to anyone who has an interest in the history of the Colt Thompson and it accessories. The book itself, the European version printed in Poland, is very good quality and very well bound, indeed produced for many hours of reading, which it well get.... I even 'wore out' my original copy of The Ultimate Thompson Book, I leafed through, and referred to it, that often. Tom, thank you for an excellent book.