Watch: Prototype Thompson T2 Submachine Gun

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.

This model lost the competition, but the model that won, the similar-looking Inland/Hyde M2 submachine gun, was itself quickly replaced by the M3 “Grease Gun.”

Pretty cool.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.