John T. Thompson
John Taliaferro Thompson (born December 3, 1860 in Newport , Kentucky , † June 21, 1940 ) was a US Army officer. Special He gained fame by inventing the Colt Thompson submachine guns and -Selbstladewaffen , their further development, the Thompson submachine guns in World War II were used in large numbers.
Early life
John T. Thompson grew up in Newport, Kentucky, the son of a Lieutenant Colonel ( Lieutenant Colonel ) in the US Army and Union veteran of the Civil War . His father's job meant that he grew up on various US Army bases, and so he decided to pursue a career in the military at the age of sixteen. After a year at Indiana University in Bloomington , Illinois (1877) he went to the United States Military Academy at West Point , which he graduated in 1882.
His first career station was in his birthplace Newport, where he was assigned to the 2nd Artillery as a Second Lieutenant ( lieutenant ). He attended engineering and artillery schools and was finally assigned to the United States Army Ordnance Department in 1890 - a department that dealt with the supply and maintenance of weapons. There he would spend the rest of his military career. During this time he began to specialize in lighter weapons.
Spanish-American War
With the beginning of the Spanish-American War , Thompson was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and transferred to Tampa , Florida , as chief officer of supply and maintenance under the command of General William R. Shafter, head of the " Cuba Campaign ". While the rest of the army struggled with logistical problems, Thompson was handling operations in Cuba in a very efficient manner, so that 18,000 tons could be transported from Tampa to the battlefields without any problems. As a result, became the Thompson Colonel ( Colonel transported), the youngest in the US Army at the time.
It was in this war that Thompson was first confronted with automatic weapons. At the request of Lt. John H. Parker assembled a unit that consisted of 15 Gatling Guns and had enormous stocks of ammunition and sent them to Cuba . This unit would later play a significant role in the Battle of San Juan Hill .
Administrative tasks
After the Spanish-American War, Thompson was appointed Chief of the Small Arms Division for the Ordnance Department . During that time he oversaw the development of the Springfield M1903 rifle and was chairman of the panel that approved the Colt M1911 pistol . He was also an advocate of large-caliber handguns and was hired by his superior Brigadier General William Crozier in 1904 to conduct ammunition tests with Major Louis A. LaGarde of the US Medical Corps after the Model 1892 New Army revolver caliber .38 in the Filipino-American War had had bad experiences due to the lack of man-stopping effect .
His duties also included monitoring the weapons inspection as chief inspector, his JTT punch can be found on various weapons tested at the time.
First World War
Since the United States did not enter the First World War directly and Thompson also foresaw a high demand for light weapons and great professional opportunities, he resigned from the Army in November 1914 and took a job as chief engineer at the Remington Arms Company . His area of responsibility included overseeing the construction of the Eddystone Plant in Chester , Pennsylvania , then the largest light weapons factory in the world. There, the were Enfield Royal Small Arms Factory developed Pattern 1914 Enfield Rifles for the UK , the M1917 rifles for the US troops as well as the Mosin-Nagant rifles for Russia produced.
The occurrence of trench warfare changed military tactics fundamentally, so that in 1916 Thompson again dealt with the development of light weapons, this time specifically with the idea of a weapon with which the soldiers could "clear" an enemy trench. He called this "trench broom" - "Grabenfeger" . Thompson studied various designs and models and was ultimately convinced by the design of John Blish , a commander in the US Navy . With Blish at his side, he received the necessary financial support from the Auto-Ordnance Company and eventually developed the weapon that would later become the famous Tommy Gun .
When the United States finally entered the war in 1917, Thompson rejoined the Army with the rank of Brigadier General ( Brigadier General ). He served as director of the entire arsenal until the end of the war and was responsible for all light weapons production. For these achievements he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal , a prestigious award from the US Army. After the war, he resigned from the army in 1918 and was mainly occupied with perfecting his Tommy Gun .
Thompson chose the .45 ACP caliber for the Tommy Gun ammunition , which he had already used for the Colt M1911 pistol . The weapon was patented in 1920, but the foundation for economic success was lost with the armistice of 1918, so new markets were needed. Thompson found this in civil agencies, such as private investigators, who ordered large quantities. By 1928, however, the company's financial problems were so great that Thompson was replaced as head of the Auto-Ordnance Company .
death
After his death on June 21, 1940, Thompson was buried on the grounds of the American Military Academy at West Point . A year and a half later, on December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Army ordered large numbers of the "Thompson". It remained in official Army service until the end of the war in 1945 and was then also used by other armed forces and by the American Federal Police FBI . The number of pieces produced is around 1.7 million pieces.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thompson, John T. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thompson, John Taliaferro (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American general and light weapons specialist, inventor of a submachine gun |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 3, 1860 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newport , Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 21, 1940 |