https://www.nsw.navy.mil/NSW/History/WWII/
Watch: Prototype Thompson T2 Submachine Gun
Russ Chastain 05.26.16
Back in the 1940s, the search was on a for a more-affordable submachine gun to replace the horribly expensive M1928 Thompson “Tommy gun.” Thompson joined in the competition for a replacement, and this T2 was their entry.
This is a prototype gun that was offered at auction by Rock Island Auction Company in April 2016 but failed to sell.
This interesting old popper has a tubular receiver and fires from a closed bolt (unlike the Tommy gun). Perhaps the only things it has in common with its predecessor are the Thompson name, the 45 ACP cartridge, and the same type of stick magazine.
Nobody really knows why they made the butt so angled. It doesn’t make a bit of sense to me.
The cool thing about this particular gun is that it is believed to be the very one that was tested by the military.