M1-A1 Thompson submachinegun
History
The Thompson sub-machinegun was a semi-automatic or fully automatic, handheld gun used widely by the U.S. Army and Marines, as well as the Commonwealth forces and most other allied nations during the war.
This weapon was designed by General John. T.Thompson in 1917, designed to sweep trenches at close range, hence it has an early nickname, Trenchbroom. The weapon arrived too late to see action in WWI. And unfortunately, the M1921 Thompson has few buyers after the war, it became widely used by gangsters and lawmen alike in the prohibition era in the 1920s and 30s.
In WWII however, it was mainly issued to NCOs and officers and also was a badge of rank, in the Paratroopers and Rangers, the Thompson was issued more generally and could be used by just about anyone, later in the war, Thompsons are sometimes scavanged by both sides of the soldiers, especially in Pacific theater. The production rate of M1928 Thompson cannot meet the army's need, even after the introduction of M1 and M1A1 model, they are still over-complicated for mass produce, therefore, the M3 and M3A1 "Grease gun" and Reising M50/M55 or M60 sub-machineguns were introduced. Non of above had replaced the Thompson however, it's still in use as battlefield weapon until 1970s.
Made famous during the Prohibition Era it was prized by infantry soldiers to it's high rate of fire and was also often used in the Pacific Theatre of the war. The Thompson fires a .45 calibre pistol round or .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), same as used in the Colt 1911 pistol, in 20 or 30-round detachable magazine or 50 and 100 round drum magazines, older model like M1921/M1928/M1928A1, can also use clip magazine. But the later model like M1 and M1A1 only accepts 20/30 round box magazine. The Thompson M1921 had a cylic rate of fire of 1000 RPM, the M1928/M1928A1 had a slower rate of 750-800 RPM (due to the cutts compensator), and the M1/M1A1 had a rate fo fire of 700 RPM.
The M1A1 Thompson and its varients continued in service in U.S. until Vietnam War.
Suggested Tactics in Gameplay
In Brothers in Arms it is often one of the two weapons in the players load out. In addition, the Thompson is most often used by the assault team in all of the Brothers in Arms games. It has significant recoil if not used properly, for best results, fire in short, rapid bursts. This weapon has a good accuracy as an automatic weapon, its more effective at close quarter than M3 Grease Gun, while the latter is better used for suppression. Despite its large .45 caliber cartridge and high stopping power, this is not the weapon for long range combat, and it eats up ammo pretty fast, use caution while playing skirmish mode and in Road to Hill 30 (Which you cannot request ammo), unless you are playing as German. The M1A1 however, has a considerable effective range compared to other Sub-machineguns, say MP 40 and M3 Grease Gun, you will have an edge against these users. Suggest you use this when you have a clear sight when flanking and mow them quickly.You will receive the Thompson after the mid-stage of Road to Hill 30, and you start with this weapon since level Baupte (along with the M1 Garand) until the end of the game in EiB. The M1928 Thompson will be the standard weapon until the Factory level (Operation Garden) of Hell's Highway, before that you will use M1A1 Thompson instead. In RtH30 and EiB, the M1A1 use 20 round magazine while in Hell's Highway it uses 30. Other than its wild recoil, ammunition tends to be expended quickly when using the Thompson due to the high fire rate, and extra ammo can only be recieved from your teammates (EiB only). This could be a disadvantage in skirmish mode. (since you cannot request ammo from your teammate in this mode). The M1A1 Thompson will be replace by older M1928 Thompson in the later stage of Hell's Highway, though this weapon can serve you well throughout the game. The only advantage the M1928 has is bigger clip capacity, and the rate of fire is reduced to 650 rounds per minute, the rest are almost identical.
