Search the Community

As I have mentioned previously, a search of FBI released documents I obtained clearly reveal that the hard cases for the Bureau's Thompsons, rifles and other long guns were first manufactured by the Kansas City Trunk Company in the fall of 1935. The Bureau was looking for two things; the lowest bid but also the highest quality. Three bids from companies at the time were required by U. S. Government regulations; a procedure that last time I looked, is still in place today. The Bureau's liason with the Trunk Company was SAC E. E. Conroy of the Kansas City field office. His son, Ed, is a retired FBI agent today living in the South. For those doing further research, I've located a document during another review I thought you should have. I'm making the document available here, but as you'll see it clearly reveals that the Kansas company was revealing itself, name wise, in confusing documents during the payment process. Conroy was requested by HQ to ensure this got straightened out. See the attached document and keep this - and the names - in mind in your future research efforts. I have not done any research beyond the 1930s regarding "hard cases" used by the Bureau and who may have picked up the ball in later years. As some of you know, the specs for the original Thompson case, and others, can be found at our website at: historicalgmen.squarespace.com Best, Larry Wack FBI (Ret. 68-03)