Semiauto Tommyguns

[Cesare]

Were there ever a civilian auto-ordnance thompson "tommy" in 10mmAuto, and does anyone know how many semiauto versions there were - companies making copies?

[JCoyote]

No, from what I know the 10mm Tommy was FBI only, and even for them it was only a handful of converted guns the FBI already owned.

[Cesare]

Thanks JC thats what i figured, anyone heard of a semiauto tommy-copy referred to as "Eagle-Carbine"?

[Cesare]

Eagle Carbine
The Eagle Carbine was one of the first produced, but as far as i have understood, it was identitcal to the Spitfire both in terms of apperance and operation.

Spitfire Carbine
The Spitfire Carbine, manufactured by the Spitfire Manufacturing Co., Phoenix, Arizona. The Spitfire Carbine is a .45 caliber long-gun which resembles a submachinegun in appearance, firing from an open bolt in semiautomatic configuration. It was originally designed as a semi auto plinker and it worked great and reportedly accurate.

But the weapon design had some unfortunate flaws; sear and safety lever were such that when the safety lever is depressed at the time the trigger is pulled, the sear will jam in its lowered position and cause full-automatic firing. Also disengagement of the sear spring or the trigger spring would facilitate fullauto. These full auto bursts lasted from 3-round bursts to total emptying the whole magazine. Therefore this gun came under National Firearms Act and became defined as a Class-III machinegun.

Here are two Videos of the spitfire;
HERE (20meg) firing a 70rnd magazine
and
HERE (4meg) with silencer
Besides the spitfire there was another tommy-copy that was sucessfull, made by the the Volunteer Enterprises.

Comparision between the Spitfire (top) and Volunteer Ent. carbine (bottom)

[Cesare]

Volunteer Enterprises

Volunteer Enterprises, Inc. made an early Volunteer with a round receiver they called Volunteer Carbine. After some minor changes they called the carbine Commando MkIII, then MkIV (in 9mm Luger), all models fired from a closed bolt. The Mk III was a .45acp caliber semi-auto rifle with a 16,5 inches barrel and, peep rear sight and vertical frontgrip. Commando MK III uses a 30-round M3A1 Greasegun Magazine and was manufactured between 1969 to 1976.

USA Volunteer enterprises Commando III 45acp x30 Left view

USA Volunteer enterprises Commando III 45acp x30 Right view

In 1978 Volunteer Enterprises changed name into Commando Arms and the models names were designated Mk45 (.45acp) and Mk9 (9mm) without any physical changes. Spitfire and Commando Arms were closely connected and the Volunteer Carbine pretty much was a spitfire.


USA Volunteer enterprises Commando Mk45

Manchester Arms
A central person was James McCown, He worked at Spitfire and then started Volunteer Enterprises finally he went to Manchester Arms. Manchester Arms Inc. was a manufacturer located in Lenoir TN, made the Mini Commando Mk45 pistol which was a cut-down version thompson style gun. This little powerhouse had a 5 inch barrel with a muzzle brake using std. 30-round M3A1 .45acp magazines. See Pics below

[Cesare]

There were also some Kit-guns, made by RPB industries & West Hurley Auto Ordnance parts. Like these two;

[PT-The Italian Commie]

Keep up the good work, Cesare!

[Cesare]

Almost forgot...
TAC-1 Carbine
The TAC-1 carbine was developed by designer Gerard Jay Fox (Gerard J Fox) in 1974. The Patent of the carbine design was acquired by the firm TRI-C Corporation in Meridan city, Connecticut, USA. They began the serial production of Fox TAC-1 "police-carbine".


Demro Tac-1 9mm Left
On 17 April, 1976, a fire broke out at TRI-C Corporation's plant destroying most of the machines. Dean Machine Products Incorporated (DEMRO Products Inc. later DEMRO Tac Products) out of Manchester, CT, bought the patent from TRI-C in 1977. The TAC-1 was manufactured into the early 1980's and was originally intended for law enforcement use but saw limited sales.


Demro Tac-1 right
The TAC-1 was a Semiauto blowback operated "halfopen" that is a openbolt bolt fire combination, where the lock-in receiver must be set to fire. Chambering .45auto with 30-rounds mnagazine and 16,7/8 inches barrel. DEMRO also made a version in 9x19mm Parabellum firing from a 32-round Sten SMG magazine. The bolthandle is located on the left side of the body and there is a manual safety also on the left just above the trigger (see pic).


Demro Tac-1 right side Safety
The TAC-1 was a predecessor to the XF-7 Fox Wasp carbine. The XF-7 Was basically the same gun except, some ''hot'' features (to increase sales in the tough market of the mid-late 1980's) like a plastic handguard, folding stock & flashsuppressor.

Tac-1 Data

Caliber: 45ACP or 9x19mm Parabellum

Length: 890 mm without the butt 660 mm

Barrel Length: 428 mm (about 16,7/8 inches) 6-Twists Rifling

Weight unloaded: 3,6kg

Magazine capacity: 30 (45ACP) 32 (9x19mm Parabellum)

[PT-The Italian Commie]

I would ask you where did you got them from, but I guess it's more correct not to, basically everybody around here has its own secrets, when it's time to come out with some cool pic to share...

If you'll find such a good picture of the XF-7 "Fox Wasp" carbine, you'll get another "Winner".

[Grenadier Toebanger]

I know this is an old thread but just worth adding some similar weapons here.

Hafdasa C-4:




Not exact a tommy but comparable: