Thompson 50 rd drum magazines

[tankhunter]

Denix Repro drums are available in the UK/ Not steel though, but they are a cheap alternative. For something that you will only hang on the wall!

I have one for my own M1928. I would like an original, but cannot justify the asking price in the UK! That money would by another Deact!.....

[Flying10uk]

I did see 3 origins for sale earlier in the year for an eye watering £450 each.

[Peter Laidler]

Thompson drums is a superb example of getting something while you can. Even if it hurts your pocket in the process. I bought 8, ex Home Guard, still wrapped in oil-paper and in boxes in 1978/9 or so for an eye wateringly crippling £8 each. And couldn't even sell the 6 I didn't want for £10 each - in order to make a bit of a profit!

Glad I kept 5 of 'em now.........................

[RCS]

These two Bridgeport 50 rd drums are still new in their cardboard sleeves. They are also stamp U for United Specialties Company who was a WW2 contractor

[browningautorifle]

Years ago Lever arms in Vancouver had them by the bushel basket for $5 each. Not as long ago as one might think either...

[Peter Laidler]

That's JUST like mine RCS. But they're wrapped in that oil-paper type/oil resistant or waterproof paper stuff........ you know the brown stuff that I mean. Probably as additional protection as they tramped them across the atlantic.

£450 quid......... they ain't makin 'em no more! I suppose it'd make it worethwhile if we could actually use them. I did give one of mine to the Small Arms School to use in place of the ratty old heap that was being used

[Flying10uk]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that when significant numbers of 20 and 30 rnd stick mags for the Thompson started arriving in the U.K. during the early part of the War some of the drum mags were returned to the states. I have no way of knowing if this is any way correct and if so were they put to further use in the U.S. or did they end up being scrapped???

[browningautorifle]

some of the drum mags were returned to the states

I seriously doubt that happened, I've personally been involved in destruction of equipment rather than ship it back.

[Peter Laidler]

There is no record of mags - or any of the paid-up-front material being returned to source in the public archives. Especially since we did indeed pay up-front - and in gold too - BEFORE it was loaded onto the ships!!

[Mk VII]

As early as April 1941 the British, following trials at the Small Arms School at Bisley, had become convinced that the drum was of doubtful utility. The reasons given were:
"mechanically delicate
"heavy and unwieldy to carry
"difficult to judge when the drum is nearly empty - firer has a tendency to assume drum is inexhaustible, whereas with the box he is taught to reload after every shoot"
By May instructions were given to exclude the drum from further orders and boost the number of box magazines ordered instead. At this stage the US Ordnance Department was committed to ordering 510,000 "and for reasons of good faith and public policy will not cancel". By December the British Purchasing Commission was instructed not to ship the 47,000 drums it had accumulated in the USA and to offer them to the US or other allies receiving Lend-Lease. The balance appear to have been scrapped in the end.

[source: T. Davis, Great Britain:The Tommy Gun Story, (2014) which I did some of the research for.]