Thompson Light Rifle
The Thompson Light Rifle was an attempt by Auto-Ordnance Company to manufacture a US Light Rifle Trials for the United States Armed Forces.
Contents
Design
The weapon was largely based on their tried and true submachine gun (M1921/27 variants) chambered in .45 ACP, however the Thompson Light Rifle is instead chambered in .30 Carbine. It apparently worked well, but was too complex and costly to make, as well as too heavy to fit the U.S. military's requirements for a new "light rifle".
The only major differences from the Light Rifle and SMG was the barrel shroud which housed a quick barrel change device similar to the MG42 and pressed steel components to ease production and reduce weight. The in-line stock reduced barrel climb improving accuracy. The Thompson Light Rifle was more reliable and accurate than the M1 Carbine that was adopted and also came with the capability of select fire, which made it close to the likes of the StG-44.
Auto-Ordnance also submitted two other models not based on the Thompson SMG for tests in the .30 Carbine competitions in May and June, 1941. Their first Light Rifle was a more conventional rifle with recoil-operated locked-breech action and weighed about 5.5 pounds. The modified version tested September, 1941 was semi-auto only, had 80 parts, and was found difficult to disassemble and reassemble.<ref>Larry Ruth, M1 Carbine: Design, Development & Production, Gun Room Press, 1979, Template:ISBN, pp. 20, 21.</ref>
Specifications
Cartridge: .30 Carbine
Action: Delayed Blowback
Fire Rate: 600-1200 RPM
Capacity: 20 or 30 round box magazines.
Similar Designs & Confusions..?
The Hyde M1944 was a very similar design by George Hyde, which was based on the M1921/27 Thompson, and is also chambered in .30 Carbine. It also featured a quick change barrel system which seems to have been directly copied from the German MG 42, as well as select-fire capability. It appears that this model is (incorrectly?) labeled as the "Thompson Light Rifle", but in actuality, it appears to be a copy of a Thompson, but one that was not directly designed / produced by Auto-Ordnance. More info is definitely needed to clear up the confusion.
See Also
Video / Overview
Ian McCallum of Forgotten Weapons gives a quick overview of the Thompson Light Rifle in the YouTube video below.
