Finally! 1st Thompson 1928A1

[Mattg203]

Finally have it! AOC Bridgeport gun with matching upper and lower serial numbers (111xxx). W.B. Inspected. Replacement barrel (S). Shoots like a dream

Edited July 6, 2024 by Mattg203

[Motorcar]

Super nice, beautiful wood, congrats!

[TD.]

Mattg203,

Very nice! Congratulations! I like your collection.

Why do you think the barrel has been replaced?

[Mattg203]

The Index line is slightly off is why I think it’s a replacement. 

[Mattg203]

51 minutes ago, TD. said:

Mattg203,

Very nice! Congratulations! I like your collection.

Why do you think the barrel has been replaced?

 

[Dpedersen]

Congratulations and nice collection!!!!

[pstidan]

Please tell us more about your Browning 1919A4.

[Mattg203]

1 hour ago, pstidan said:

Please tell us more about your Browning 1919A4.

It’s a DLO fully transferable. Love it 

[Rabbit57]

Very nice pictures, love the battlefield look! Thanks for sharing.

Mark

[shotmag45]

I believe your barrel is orignal i have seen a  few 28AC  and 28A1 with L sight and smooth barrel . that were not refinished guns and all alinement marks were off not by much and  yours looks the same Nice Gun ENJOY

[hntrdarren]

Congrats on your very nice Tommy and nice collection. Enjoy !

[Colt Chopper]

Looks great !!! Congrats !

[Rekraps]

18 hours ago, Mattg203 said:

 

Could the barrel have been removed for some reason, then reinstalled with the index slightly off?

[Rekraps]

19 hours ago, Mattg203 said:

The Index line is slightly off is why I think it’s a replacement. 

What a great period collection! I love everything about it. 

[68coupe]

3 minutes ago, Rekraps said:

Could the barrel have been removed for some reason, then reinstalled with the index slightly off?

That last little bit sure can be challenging....Been there, done that. A Hurculean UUUmff. My witness marks are on top. Hmmm....

Karl, 68coupe

[brveagle]

beautiful collection! 

[dalbert]

Look at the top of the receiver nose.  See if there is a small “prick punch,” which will almost certainly indicate a barrel replacement.

Congratulations on acquiring a great piece of history!

David

[TD.]

Mattg203,

I agree with your thoughts this is a replacement barrel. It is just my thought; I really don't know. That said, on a World War II Thompson gun, it is not a major issue. I would guess a master gunsmith like Board member PK. could easily make the index lines match and reset the compensator to be in perfect alignment. You have a beautiful Thompson submachine gun and a very nice collection. Thank you for sharing. 

[Bridgeport28A1]

Does a member have a WW2 Thompson that does not have a pin prick mark on the top of the receiver “nose”.

AOC guns are typically marked over on the top left and Savage guns are marked  in the center.

https://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?/topic/22880-top-of-receiver-nose-pin-punch-mark-on-m1-and-m1928a1-tsmgs/

 

 

 

 

 

[Merry Ploughboy]

At one placed I worked, the designation of the tool used to make small circular indentations when struck by a hammer was subjective based on the perceived personality of the person using the tool.  As such, some individuals were said to use a center punch, while the same tool used by others was referred to as a prick punch.

MHO, YMMV, etc.

[Doug Quaid]

A "prick punch" is a very fine punch that is used to very precisely mark out dimensions on a metal surface.  The prick punch has a finer point, and is hit lightly with the hammer, to be more precise.  And then you use the prick punch dent to spot the larger center punch.

The prick punch does the same job for the center punch that the center punch does for the drill bit.  

I bought a prick punch by mistake and killed it by hitting it too hard.  That's how I know about this.

[Bridgeport28A1]

I rephrase my question.

Does a member have a WW2 Thompson that does not have a punch mark on the top of the receiver “nose”?

AOC guns typically have the punch mark on the left and Savage guns are punch mark will be in the center.

https://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?/topic/22880-top-of-receiver-nose-pin-punch-mark-on-m1-and-m1928a1-tsmgs/

[Lewisfan]

My wartime Savage below.

A question - weren't a number of the NAC 1928a1 guns put together from "leftover" receivers?  If so, these receivers would not have arsenal "re-barrel" punches since they never had a barrel replaced (?). If correct, and if all these NAC guns have the punch mark, maybe the punches have nothing to do with being re-barreled.  

Using the same logic, there have to be wartime guns in unfired / original "as issued" condition somewhere. Do these have the punch mark? That would seem to clear up when the punch was added. 

The consistency of where the different manufacturers punch the receivers is enough to convince me that it is done prior to issue by the factory.  It doesn't compute that EVERY wartime issue Thompson had its barrel replaced.  

[TD.]

Lewisfan,

Great question. There has always been a lot of misinformation about the NAC Thompson guns. Yes, there were leftover Savage receivers found in the crates when George Numrich purchased all the Thompson assets in 1951. Numrich Arms manufactured (some say assembled) these Savage Arms receivers into complete Thompson submachine guns and sold them for a number of years. The serial numbers of these crate guns are usually very different from the Savage World War II Thompson guns, i.e., S- NAC 17, S- NAC 34, etc.

The confusion began when Numrich Arms acquired complete World War II Savage Arms Thompson submachine guns (many from Interarms) and added the letters "NAC" as a suffix to the original Savage Arms serial number, i.e., S-210334 NAC. This story (and many more) is told in my third book, A Thompson Compendium. It is available directly from me or on Amazon.com. The NAC Thompson Gun story is also included in the new Thompson Encyclopedia series by Tracie Hill.   

[Doug Quaid]

Just curious, why do people call Numrich a "manufacturer" of Thompsons?   

The situation doesn't really seem to fit the common usage of the word.  

Edited July 10, 2024 by Doug Quaid