Editing Thompson submachine gun (section)

===Early use===
[[File:Joseph McCarty, circa 1930 (17505960029).jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[United States Marine Corps|US Marine]] holding an M1928 Thompson during the [[Banana Wars]]]]

The first Thompson entered production as the Model of 1921. It was available to civilians, but, because of the weapon's high price, initially saw poor sales. The Thompson (with one Type XX 20 round "stick" magazine) had been priced at $200 in 1921 (roughly {{Inflation|US|200|1921|fmt=eq|r=-1}}{{Inflation/fn|US}})

The major initial complaints concerning the Thompson were its cumbersome weight, its inaccuracy at ranges over {{convert|50|yd|m}}, and its lack of penetrating power using the .45 ACP cartridge.<ref name="rt66.com">{{cite web |first=Bert |last=Kortegaard |url=http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/thompson.htm |title=M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun |publisher=Rt66.com |date=2000-09-21 |access-date=2011-12-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111217064700/http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/smallarms/thompson.htm |archive-date=2011-12-17}}</ref>

The Thompson was first used in combat in 13 June 1921, when West Virginia state troopers fired on the mountainside near Lick Creek, where striking miners were firing at passing cars. By the time of the [[Battle of Blair Mountain]], 37 had been acquired by the West Virginia state police and 56 were in the hands of coal companies and local law enforcement. The guns were also shipped to various hardware stores in the region.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Association |first=National Rifle |title=Guns of the Battle of Blair Mountain |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/guns-of-the-battle-of-blair-mountain/ |access-date=2022-12-02 |magazine=American Rifleman |publisher=National Rifle Association |language=en}}</ref>

Some of the first batches of Thompsons were bought (in America) by agents of the [[Irish Republican Army]] (notably the Irish gunman [[Harry Boland]]). The first test of the Thompson in Ireland was performed by Irish Republican Army unit commander [[Tom Barry (Irish republican)|Tom Barry]], of the [[3rd Cork Brigade|West Cork Brigade]], in the presence of IRA leader [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first= Meda |year=2003|title=Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter|publisher= Mercier Press|page= 125 |isbn=1-85635-425-3}}</ref> They purchased a total of 653 units, though US customs authorities in New York seized 495 of the units in June 1921. The remainder found their way to the Irish Republican Army by way of Liverpool, England, and were used in the last month of the [[Irish War of Independence]] (1919–1921).{{sfn|Hart|2003|pp=184–185}} After a ceasefire called by the British in July 1921, the Irish Republican Army imported more units, which were used in the subsequent [[Irish Civil War]] (1922–1923). The Thompson was not found to be very effective in Ireland, it was not conducive to terrorist actions, having only caused serious casualties in 32 percent of the incidents in which it was used.<ref name="Hart, p. 187–188" />

During the failed [[1924 Estonian coup d'état attempt|1924 Estonian coup]], communists used Thompsons in an attempt to storm the Tallinn barracks; meanwhile the [[MP 18]] was used by the defenders. This was possibly the first engagement where submachine guns were used on both sides.<ref name=":0" />

The Thompson achieved early notoriety in the hands of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] and [[Great Depression]]-era gangsters and the lawmen who pursued them. It was also depicted in [[gangster film]]s during this era, most notably regarding the [[Saint Valentine's Day Massacre]]. The Thompson guns used in the massacre are still being held by the Berrien County Sheriff's Department.<ref>{{cite news|title=St. Valentine's Day Massacre: Tale of two guns|first1=Brent|last1=Ashcroft|url=https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/st-valentines-day-massacre-tale-of-two-guns/103-41411998|work=ABC 10 News}}</ref> The Thompson has been referred to by one researcher as the "gun that made the [[Roaring Twenties|twenties roar]]".<ref name="NMAH">{{cite web|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=126|title=Thompson Model 1928 Submachine Gun|publisher=National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution|access-date=2008-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=William J. |last=Helmer|title=The Gun That Made the Twenties Roar|publisher=MacMillan|year=1969|isbn=978-0-02-550890-3|page={{page needed|date=December 2011}}}}</ref>

Around 200 Model of 1921 Thompsons were sold in 1926 to the [[United States Postal Inspection Service]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/inspectors/a6p1.html |website=Smithsonian National Postal Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611180052/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/inspectors/a6p1.html|archive-date=2007-06-11 |title=Postal Inspectors: The Silent Service: Unexpected Duties |quote=The Postal Inspection Service became the first law enforcement agency to purchase the Thompson submachine gun&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=McCollum |first=Ian |date=2018-10-09 |title=The Marines' First SMG: 1921/28 Thompson Gun |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/the-marines-first-smg-1921-28-thompson-gun/ |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=Forgotten Weapons |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Marines Guard the US Mail 1921 |url=https://marines.togetherweserved.com/usmc/newsletter/38/Marines%20Guard%20the%20US%20Mail%201921.html |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=marines.togetherweserved.com}}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Source doesn't mention weapons of any kind. Mentions robberies but remember what this article is about|date=May 2024}} so they could protect the mail from a spate of robberies.<ref name="Fitz2487">{{harvnb|Fitzsimons|1977|p=2487}}</ref> These weapons were loaned to the United States Marine Corps which was, at that time, tasked with guarding mail shipments; this prompted the US Navy to formally test the Thompson. The Navy requested a reduction in the rate of fire. Auto-Ordnance complied, modifying the weapons by adding a substantial amount of mass to the actuator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stilwell |first=Blake |date=2022-06-10 |title=The intense rules for US Marines who protected mail from gangsters |url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/intense-rules-for-marine-guards/ |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=We Are The Mighty |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> In 1927 a number of Thompsons would be shipped to Marines in [[China Marines|China]] and [[Nicaragua]].<ref name="schroeder1927" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Association |first=National Rifle |title=Guns of the 'Banana Wars' Part Two |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/guns-of-the-banana-wars-part-two/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |magazine=American Rifleman |publisher=National Rifle Association |language=en}}</ref> The Navy subsequently ordered 500 guns, designated the Model of 1928.<ref name=":1" />  

The Thompson saw popularity as a point-defense weapon for countering ambushes by Nicaraguan guerrillas (in the [[Banana Wars]]) and led to the creation of four-man [[fire team]]s which had as much firepower as a nine-man rifle squad. Federal sales were then followed by sales to police departments in the US, as well as to various international armies and constabulary forces; chiefly in Central and South America.<ref name="Fitz2487" />

In 1926, the Cutts compensator (a [[muzzle brake]]) was offered as an attachment option for the Thompson. Models with the compensator were cataloged as ''No. 21AC'', at the original price of $200. The plain Thompson (without the attachment) was designated ''No. 21A'' at a reduced price of $175<ref name="Frank Iannamico 1928"/> (roughly {{Inflation|US|175|1926|fmt=eq|r=-1}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}).

In 1928, [[Federal Laboratories]] took over distribution of the weapon from Thompson's Auto-Ordnance Corporation.<ref name="ramsour">{{cite magazine |first=Robert "Bo" II |last=Ramsour |title=The FBI and the Thompson Submachine Gun |magazine=Soldier of Fortune |date=18 July 2010}}{{page needed|date=December 2011}}</ref> The new cost was listed as $225 per weapon ({{Inflation|US|225|1928|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}), with ammunition sold at $5 per 50-round drum and $3 per 20-round magazine.<ref name="ramsour"/>

Thompsons had also been widely used throughout China, where several Chinese warlords and their military factions [[Warlord Era|running various parts of the fragmented country]] made purchases of the weapon, and subsequently produced many local copies.

[[File:Corporal, East Surrey Regiment 1940.jpg|thumb|A British soldier equipped with a Thompson M1928 submachine gun in November 1940]]
[[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Nationalist China]] acquired a substantial number of Thompson guns for use against Japanese land forces. They began producing copies of the Thompson in small quantities for use by their armies and militias. In the 1930s, [[Taiyuan Arsenal]] (a Chinese weapons manufacturer) produced copies of the Thompson for [[Yan Xishan]], the then  warlord of [[Shanxi]] province.

The FBI had also acquired Thompsons in 1933 following the [[Kansas City Massacre]].<ref name="ramsour"/>

A number of these guns were acquired by a construction company in Brazil,{{Who|date=September 2022}} after construction of a federal road in Sergipe was disrupted by armed [[Cangaceiros|Cangaçeiros]] in December 1937 who violently opposed any attempts to build roads near their territory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=de Mello |first=Frederico Pernambucano |date=2011 |title=Guerreiros do sol : violência e banditismo no Nordeste do Brasil |language=pt-BR |trans-title=Sun Warriors: violence and banditry in Northeast Brazil|edition=5th revised and updated |publisher=A Girafa |location=São Paulo |pages=332 |isbn=978-85-63610-05-8 |oclc=879852051}}</ref>