Shooting the Thompsons: Comparing the 1921, 21/28, and M1A1 

I NEEDS MA MONEY, Y'SEE??? Killed me. Ian is having way too much fun at this auction.

“...in front of me I have a selection of Thompson sub machine guns.” That is a sentence that everyone should be able to say at least once in their life, and also guarantees a very good day.

Looks like the lower cyclic rates had more to do with reducing ammo consumption than improving controllability.

5:18 Gun Jesus terrorising rural banks [1921 recolourised[

Love the fact That the old fashioned 21 "typewriter" is still what holds up best.

I believe you, but my Tommy Gun don't!

The Annihilator The Gangster The Veteran The Thompson has many names...but these 3 were what defined it

"I need my money, you's see?" Ian, you are a lovable dork.

As a 90's kid, "Chicago typewrite" reminds me of Resident Evil 4.

Gun Jesus reclaiming the temple from Merchants and bankers, CIRCA 33 AC, or 1925 AC -"The one who is free of sin, empty the drum mag", and did it, and he was pleased"

Ian: can give incredibly detailed and nuanced descriptions of the mechanics, history, and feel of hundreds of different firearms. Also Ian at 4:00: “there’s a thing there.”

I didn't know 1920s Chicago gangsters had Welsh accents.

Gun jesus: check 21 Thompson with drum: check Compiler complete, nirvana achieved.

I’m so jealous of your job... thanks for letting us live vicariously through you.

The slow-motion footage really shows how effective the compensators were at keeping the barrel level. Very cool video.

I'm from Texas and that "Chicago accent" hurt me.

TRIPLE TIME TRAVEL

In a lot of ways the 1921 Colt Thompson were made like a sport rifle. Had the best metal and wood work and tightest specs compared to the rest of the future Thompsons. Sort of like the crown jewel of Thompson Sub Machine guns. Not surprised it was the most enjoyable to shoot.

I think besides removing the Cutts compensator from the M1A1, it appears to produce more recoil due to the design of the bolt. Watch the charging handle at the end of the video, side by side of 1921, and M1A1. Harder recoil impulse as the bolt bottoms out on the M1A1. Wonder if that's to do with the blish lock being removed, and the firing pin being changed from floating to fixed.

*Ian was a warrior. From the land of the midnight sun*

I have no regrets about watching all of the videos in one night. NO REGRETS!

I like this part of the Goldilocks story the best.

I own a WW2 28 Bridgeport Thompson and I have a buddy that has a WW2 M1. I prefer the 28 because they have better sights, finned barrel, take drum mags and you have the option of using a vertical fore grip. But both guns are awesome. Great pieces of history and an excellent investment.

"Here in front of me, I have a selection on Thompson submachine guns." God, what I wouldn't give to be able to say that...

The slow mo at the end was beautiful to watch. The cloud of brass hanging in midair was pure art.

I recently got to handle a 1928 with an empty drum after a lifetime of fascination with the Thompson and was blown away by just how heavy it was. Can't imagine lugging it around day after day. Thanks for a very enlightening series of videos!

That '21 definitely has that iconic sound that u recognize from movies and stuff

What an absolutely brilliant series of vids on the Thompson! An immense amount of compelling and very interesting information not only on the various iterations of the weapon itself, but also on its history. What more could you want? It's small wonder that Ian has such a huge following. Many thanks for the uploads and keep doing what you're doing. MsG

I think he uploaded these but they officially arent released yet. On his video list he hasnt reached this video yet. Pretty cool we didnt have to wait!

As interesting a logistical error as it is for these unlisted videos to be linked in the annotations of the listed videos, I have to say that as always these are fantastically well-shot and informative. Thank you, Ian, for your continued educational service.

This is PERFECT. Thanks Ian, I've been catching up on your Thompson videos and really appreciating the development process (including the T2) And I was really interested when you said the rate of fire was changed, and was curious to hear the discrepancies! As I'm typing this I can hear that this is the exact reason you've made this video. Incredible. Thank you so much for sating my curiosities.

I loved the impression Ian did at 5:23! 😂 Nice Chicago typewriter

living the dream Ian, living the dream.

I feel like his video actually clears up a good amount of misconceptions about the thompson in its many forms. Also personally i would takr one of the first ones. The 1921

I was a lot more enthusiastic about full-auto guns back when I didn't have to pay for the ammunition myself.

Absolutely awesome series of videos on the Tommy. Thanks for sharing with us.

Dang, you should take that 20s gangster bit you did and send it back in time to one of the 20s/30s directors as an audition tape. I'm sure the rate of fire on that '21 is fast enough to make it possible.

When you're so sneaky and stick around to the credits and get gifted with this !

Man, this was a great series. Very entertaining and informative.

I have clocked my own M1 Thompson at 860 rounds per minute... A lot of it has to do with ammo types. I also have videos comparing the M1 bolt and the M1A1 bolt in my Thompson.. You can definitely tell the difference!

Be Ian Start patreon to buy 1921 Wins 1921 2Gun matches with 1921 Most RU-vid views ever Win Internet.

This just keeps getting better

Thank you. I have learned so much about weaponology from you. I've never been able to find out this information from any other place. Had a book once when I was a kid but that didn't tell me much. Good job keep it up.

Great series Ian! Enjoyed it a lot.

Those Thompson are iconic as much as a Gibson Les Paul Custom or a Harley. Beautiful to look at and to hear. Ian you are doing a great job. Your sense of history gives your videos a lot of meaning. Keep on the good work !

Awesome vid! Its interesting watching the slow mo comparisons at the end, you can clearly see just how much trouble Ian is having controlling the M1A1 compared to the others. Maybe the Blish lock makes a significant difference?

Ian, that was a real treat. Thank you for doing this series on Tommy guns!😎👍

The high speed footage appears to reveal some things about why they might have different cyclic rates. The 1921 and 1921/28 bolts both move forward much faster than the M1A1 suggesting a stronger recoil spring (not necessarily by design, springs tend to get weaker with both age and use and the M1A1 likely has had the most rounds through it). They both also move backwards faster, no doubt because their multipiece bolt assembly is lighter than the monolithic bolt of the M1A1. You can also see something else interesting about the 1921/28. In the other 2 you can see the extra force applied to Ian when the bolt hits the rear of the receiver. In the 1921/28 that force appears to be far less, almost looking like it didn't bottom out at all with some rounds. As though it was accidentally constant recoil.

I understand how hard it is to steady your breath when your trying to speak clearly and in complete sentences, Ian's delivery is top tier always

Thank you ,Ian .

Another awesome video by Forgotten Weapons!

Great series on the Thompsons!!

5:17 a reenactment of valentines massacre. I NEED ma MONEY Ya see.

But wait, THERE'S MORE!!!

Your videos are always great.But when we get to see you actually firing them they are fantastic.

You have the life friend. The rest of us only dream of having this much fun. Much respect for the knowledge you have, and the way you present it.

From the side shots, the 1921 climbs quite a bit, especially compared to the 1928. The 1921 seems to recoil, or jump around a little less, which I’ll guess has to do with the additional weight of the bolt in the 1928 and M1. It looks like the design was optimized around the lower weight actions.

WELCOME TO THE WOOORRRLLLD OF TOMORRRROW!

I needed this so much. Thank you.

Great series. I really enjoyed it, thank you!

The 21 is my favourite of the 3

"There's a thing there." -Forgotten Weapons, 2018

Nicely done as usual.

Great series Ian thanks

It's gotta be impossible to fire one of those bad boys without making gangsta voices, I dont know how Ian held out until the end of the vid! 😊

I'd love to see an M1919 Thompson, if wikipedia is to be believed about it being a 1200rpm gun in .45ACP.

Love these types of series with shooting at the end

Was really cool seeing the rounds actually being pushed in like that during the slow-mo portion.

5:18 Edward G. Robinson intensifies

In my career as a tanker in the US Army I had the pleasure of shooting the M3 and M3A1 Grease Guns (we carried them as crew served weapons on M60 series tanks as well as M113s). I loved the M3A1 and, because of the charging handle and small ejection port, didn't like the M3 so much. They were both really heavy after you had to carry them for a period of time so, I can sympathize with any soldier, LEO, or gangster that wielded a Thompson for any length of time.Thanks for a great series.

I'm very glad you got to do a drum dump. That was awesome.

Nice finish to the series. One more chapter could be a run-n-gun using the Thompson. Thanks again!

I do see

You mentioned the M1A1 blowing more gas back at you. I think that's because the 21 and 28 were both blishlock mechanisms, whereas the M1A1 was reengineered to be a straight blowback

An Ian super vid, solid video, love it! I love the occasional roll playing, freekin gold! Great video series as well!

One of the coolest scenes in movies ive seen the tommy gun in was with Gary Oldman in Lawless when he has a cigarette and he pulls over to light up the guy chasing him infront of Shia. What a badass scene

An excellent end to the Thompson Series! I think we all are surprised that the one with the highest rate was the easiest to shoot; it’s also interesting to see that the continued evolution of the original design did not result in a better, more suitable design but in fact made it harder to shoot. The M1/M1A1 is practically a different gun internally, with only the outer appearance having a family resemblance. It was also interesting to see that the Cutts Compensator actually does work to make the guns more controllable, after hearing for years that it was a gimmick. I’d be curious to know your opinion if you thought the Thompson SMG was a success or a failure as a gun in the context of history; it certainly has a reputation and image with the public at large. However, it’s initial timing (coming out as WWI ended), its complexity, it’s weight, it’s ergonomics, coupled with the cost and effort to produce it all seem to work against it in terms of its overall success as a military firearm. In contrast, the M3/M3A1 was designed from the ground-up to be cheap, mass produced, have a low rate of fire, and be a simple and utilitarian automatic weapon that stayed relevant much longer.

22 dislikes...must have been with Sonny Corleone at the toll booth...

Ian i want to thank you again for doing this Thompson series.

I loved the slowmo footage at the end!

Very cool

It basically turns into an eye exam at 4:28. "Number 4 or number 5?" "Umm... let me see number 4 again" "Number 4..... number 5"

In the slow mo footage at the end, its so cool that you can see each round being pushed into the chamber.. Look at the tiny gap between the mag and barrel.

Ian you are so close to getting 1 million subs! Congrats!

"It's my Chopper ya see! It's my Chicago Typewriter!"

Was this meant to be unlisted (as of 9/29/18), because I didn’t get notified of its posting (and I do have notifications enabled), and the video is listed in the WWII guns playlist.

great series learned so much

I love that we can see the rounds feeding from the mags in the slow-mo.

Ian the Divine thompson gunner

How did I comment on this before it released? MAGIC.

Very cool. Nice footage.

Wow, the slow motion at the highspeed camera footage at the end is very cool. Look at how high those spent casings go when they get ejected from the M1921! They get *blown* outta there, there's hardly ever two casings in the shot at the same time

I guess he is rewarding people for watching until the end with these links to unreleased videos

The whole time I'm sitting here watching and saying to myself "drum mag, get the drum magazine" and then 5:18 happens. Nice lmao.

Watching the slow motion shots between the M1921 and M1A1 you can really see the difference the compensator makes. You can see where your shoulder is taking the recoil effect and it is significantly lower in the shoulder on the M1921. Great footage

Thanks ! Always well done.

“I needs my money, you’s see!”- Sayith Gun Jesus, Amen.

Gun jesus has become Machine-gun mcollum!!!

I want to thank you for the Tompson information. I have always been interested in these guns. And now I understand the differences between the models. Again Thank You.

ROFL THAT GANGSTA SKIT WAS GREAT!!! Love the videos