Balder Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Sven, I have to admit that I don't know much about the variations on compensators/front sights. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what I have. BTW, mine is not a Lend-Lease, it was purchased by the BPC (British Purchasing Commission) in 1939-40. The Lend-Lease act wasn't passed until March of 1941. Balder http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Thompson/th_comp4.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevengunner Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Balder, Can you post a ... larger picture ... with more of a close-up on the markings? I know the big pics have inflamed some, but it is hard to see the details on the smaller, thumbnail type photos. Also, a left side shot of the comp and sight blade would help me better determine what you have. I can just barely make out a diamond shape on your comp. The 2nd generation compensators have the word "Cutts" inside a diamond logo just ahead of the ports, and the patent and patent date information parallel to the ports but scrolling up the left side and over the front of the comp. From the top view, it appears that your sight blade is the 2nd gen type, that comes to a point; however, it is hard to know for certain without having a side view. Sven P.S. Thanks for clarifying the BPC vs. lend-lease status of your gun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balder Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Sven, For some reason that's the size Photobucket decided for me - I've tried to blow it up. You can go to the site for a better look: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Bal...mgAnch=imgAnch1 Balder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevengunner Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Balder, Oh yeah! The bigger pic confirms it. The markings on yours are correct for a 2nd generation compensator. However, I cannot say for sure if your sight blade is 2nd gen without a side view -- from the top view, it is hard to ascertain whether it ramps to a "point" or a "flat." By the way, that patina is fantastic. You can almost feel the history in it. Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balder Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Sven, I'll try to take some sideshots in daylight tomorrow. BTW, your name indicates some sort of Scandinavian family history, or maybe German? Balder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevengunner Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Balder, I'm a parts gun: Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and German, with other nationalities mixed in! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif The 2nd generation comp is mainstream for the Colt 1928. They also appeared, but in limited numbers, on early Savage Thompsons. Have a good evening! Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijive Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 QUOTE (sevengunner @ Jul 19 2006, 04:05 PM)I know the big pics have inflamed some, but it is hard to see the details on the smaller, thumbnail type photos. Also, a left side shot of the comp and sight blade would help me better determine what you have. I don't think you guys are getting it. My earlier post commenting on the size of the pictures wasn't a "flame"; I was suggesting that the same clear, high resolution photo can be resized to fit the width of the web site format without having to use the horizontal scroll bar to read the text or see the entire image on the screen. In case you are interested, any high resolution, well lighted, clearly focused digital image will fit the frame if you resize it in Photoshop to about 6 or 7 inches wide at about 100 to 150 pixels per inch (ppi) resolution. Balder's pictures were very nice. I wasn't advocating he post thumbnail images. Digital images can be resized to fit a certain format without losing pixel resolution if one utilizes even a rudimentary imaging program like Microsoft Picture Manager. They don't have to be simply downloaded from the camera at whatever pixel resolution size you took them at. I do a lot of digital imaging/graphic work. Good pictures are more effective when the viewer doesn't have to scroll horizontally to see the image because the oversize photo hasn't been sized to fit the format it was posted in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevengunner Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 GI Jive, Okay, okay ... no flame. NO FLAME! Chill, brother. Thanks for the pointers. Always good to get tips from a pro. However, to be honest: it really didn't bother or inconvenience me to scroll the wide pic. Peace, Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijive Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Sven, Okay, I'll get off the soap box, too! Just trying to help the picture posters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balder Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Sven, Hope this works: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Thompson/P1050279.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Thompson/P1050278.jpg Balder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijive Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Balder, Great pictures! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevengunner Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Balder, Once again, I must commend you on your fabulous photography! Also, your pictures shed more light on another suspicion I've had for some time about the presence of "transition model" compensators with mixed features from different generations. Your front sight blade is the 3rd generation type (with the flat top, and which is common to war-time Thompsons) but installed on a 2nd generation comp (which is more common to pre-war Thompsons). It does not appear that your sight blade has been replaced. I have encountered a number of early, Savage 1928s with precisely this same phenomenon, but because they were refinished, it was next to impossible to determine if the front sight blade had been replaced at a later time (e.g. through depot level maintenance and repair, etc.). Documents by Frank Iannamico, Roger Cox and Tracy Hill all show four to five distinct generations of compensator assemby for the Thompson. However, the accumulating evidence is suggesting that there are most definitely "transition model" compensator assemblies, with inter-generational features on the comp vs. sight blade, that were issued by Savage on their early guns. The comp+blade assembly on S-18XXX is identical to yours. S-18XXX also appears to have all-original parts and finish, and even shares the same condition of having "inclusions" in the receiver roll marks. An interesting "variation" on the story of the Savage Thompson is unfolding. Now, if Bug will post pics of the comp on his S-16XXX Savage "Commercial," with its confirmed provenance as a police gun, maybe we can attain some triangulation on this. Your interesting, original Thompson and your superb photos of it are becoming a validation "baseline!" Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balder Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Gentlemen, Thanks for your kind words about the gun and its pictures, it's always interesting to share information and maybe even uncover new details. We had an interesting discussion on markings a year or two ago, I bet Sven would be interested in that. I hope 21 smoker can give details about the markings and comp/front sight on his early Savage as well. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invb...f=3&t=4836&st=0 http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invb...&f=3&t=1064&hl= Balder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21 smoker Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Balder,..my photographic skills are truly second rate....and my early Savage is currentlly on display at the NASLEM Museum,so new photo comparisons are a little difficult to provide.Also this Savage was a DEWAT so the barrel has been replaced with a correct comp reinstalled during that process.From my old pics you can still see the interrupted lettering just like the rest of the early Savage thompsons in this post...I wonder if perhaps these dies were worn or damaged in the 17 years they layed around in a forgotten corner at the Colt, Hartford Conn. facility.I will post new pics as soon as possible... http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijive Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 QUOTE (21 smoker @ Jul 20 2006, 07:29 PM)I wonder if perhaps these dies were worn or damaged in the 17 years they layed around in a forgotten corner at the Colt, Hartford Conn. facility.I will post new pics as soon as possible... http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/wink.gif 21 smoker, I believe that Russell Maguire made new dies when he contracted with Savage to put the gun into production again. Certainly the left side of the receiver has different markings than the Colt guns. The early Savage guns had similar markings on the right side of the receiver, but I would guess new dies were made when they began production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevengunner Posted July 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Balder, Thank you for the links! I hope this thread has added another fascinating chapter to the saga of the WWII Savage Thompson already unfolded on these boards. Gents, It's been a great thread! Thanks, Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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