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Posted by mitch --Previous Message--
on 12/13/2005, 8:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Thompson Machine Guns in Vietnam"
208.34.236.132
To answer the questions by the numbers.
1 The thompson was of limited real use as a defensive weapon on a helicopter. I did fire it a few times as a lark entering and exiting LZs.
2 I'm not sure of the location of the cocking handle. If i were to guess i would guess the side mount.
3 I never saw a drum clip for the thompson. The clips i had were probobly 30 round clips as i seem to remember them being a little longer than m-16 mags. I'm near positive the finish was blued.
4 I did'nt really use the grease gun in any practical manner. It was fun to shoot (i was a gunner after all), and it had a very high COOL rating."COOL GUN DUDE WHERE"D YOU GET IT?"
5 I don't remember exactly what became of the weapons when i derosed. I can say that traditionaly non issue weapons were sold or traded or gifted to someone who had an interest and was staying in country.
PS. All the weapons I've mentioned the two 45 cal. and the 12 gauge were desirable to me because the "enemy" were not real quick to aggravate a troop toting either the 45's or the 12's due to the severity of the wounds they would inflict. Or so the story went at that time in that place. Mitch "PEACE"
: I was an infantryman inthe Mekong Delta.
: I carried a grease gun for a short peropd of
: time in 1969.
: I gave it up because the rate of fire was
: just too slow, I could actually see the
: 45cal rounds going through the air across
: the paddy when I fired it.
: It had a round cylinder barrel and long slim
: magazine.
: Another eason I stopped using it was the
: mags for it were scarce.
: So I went back to the "black
: death" ,m16
: Take care
:
: --Previous Message--
: Mitch,
:
: John is a good friend and is helping me
: locate information on Thompsons in Vietnam.
: I am a director of the Thompson Collectors
: Association. I have some followup questions
: that I would like you to answer.
:
: 1) How exactly did you use the Thompson in
: the LZs? Suppressing fire?
:
: 2) Was the cocking handle on the top or
: right side of the receiver (top=Model 1928,
: side=Model M1 or M1A1)?
:
: 3) You mentioned the straight clip. Did
: you ever have or use a drum magazine? Was
: the stick mag 20 or 30 rounds, and do you
: recall what kind of finish it had (blued,
: parkerized, painted grey)?
:
: 4) The M3 Grease Gun you had has a much
: slower cyclic rate than a Thompson. Did you
: also use that in the LZs or in some other
: way?
:
: 5) What happened to the weapons when you
: derosed?
:
: These are probably dumb questions to a
: battle-tested vet like you, but we are
: trying to gather as much information as
: possible.
:
: Thanks.
:
: --Previous Message--
: :
: --Previous Message--
: I served with USMC Golf 2/7 2nd Marine
: Division in Vietnam. I am currently
: researching the use of Thompson Machine Gun
: use by US Servicemen in Vietnam. Any
: information would be helpful
:
: Hey John WELCOME HOME MAN! I was a Huey
: slick crew chief/gunner with the 128th
: assault helicopter co. out of phu loi
: between long bin and cu chi oct70 oct71. I
: traded for or bought a thompson 45 cal
: automatic from a navy dude one day down in
: the delta. I carried it for several months
: along with several other
: "non-issue" weapons. The thompson
: was a sweet shooter with a straight clip,
: and i used it frequently entering and
: exiting LZs. Also traded for another 45cal
: machine gun a grease gun type weapon, all
: metal body, rounded, with a folding wire
: stock and reciprocating barrel, think i got
: that one from a navy guy too. My favorite
: non-issue piece though had to be the 12
: gauge pump carbine length shotgun, which i
: carried everywhere until i derosed. email me
: if you feel like it with questions or
: comments.
:
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