After graduating from West Point Military Academy and serving several tours of duty with the U.S Army, John Thompson believed that future wars would require an intermediate automatic weapon with ballistic firepower somewhere between that of a pistol and rifle. It was at this time that U.S Navy Commander John Blish patented a blowback breech system that caught Thompson’s eye. In exchange for Blish’s patent, Thompson offered him shares in the company he was starting and in 1916; the Auto-Ordnance firearm company was formed.
When starting on the design of his envisioned automatic rifle, Thompson’s team of designers learned that a rifle cartridge would not work with the blowback design. However, such rounds as the .45 ACP and 9mm, did work with Thompson’s design and so Thompson shifted his goal from creating an automatic rifle to making a lightweight, handheld machine gun. The result was what became known as the Tommy Gun, a blowback-style submachine gun. The Thompson submachine gun, or Tommy Gun is one of the most recognized firearms in the world and has been used by the gangsters of the roaring ‘20s as well as American soldiers during World War II.
Although Auto-Ordnance is most known for the creation of the Tommy Gun, today, Auto-Ordnance manufactures everything from 1911 pistols to 1927A-1 long guns. When you want a piece of American history, you want an Auto-Ordnance firearm and at AutoOrdnance.thegunsource, we have a large selection of quality Auto-Ordnance firearms and accessories for you to choose from. We have everything from the dependable 1927A-1 rifle to the compact and accurate Auto Ordnance 1911 as well as magazines and even violin shaped rifle and pistol cases. From the roaring ‘20s to today, Auto-Ordnance has been producing quality and dependable firearms that you can count on time and time again.