Auto Ordnance Serial Numbers

The Last Known Colt Thompson in the U.S.
By Tom Davis, Jr.
Arizona Class Three dealer Tom Stewart had always wanted a Colt Thompson submachine gun. Unfortunately, this “trench broom” envisioned by General John T. Thompson in 1917 and later invented by Auto-Ordnance Corporation engineers Theodore H. Eickhoff and Oscar V. Payne has become one expensive piece of weaponry. Tom decided to take the plunge in late 2006 when he answered an advertisement on Subguns.com concerning a Colt Thompson. Tom was just like many other Thompson enthusiasts; he was familiar with the history of this famous American invention and he wanted one. The story of Tom’s purchase has uncovered for Thompson collector’s around the world a piece of Thompson history that has been heretofore unknown - a Colt Thompson with a 15,000 serial number. Only 41 Colt production Thompsons bear a serial number in the 15,000 serial number range.
The Model of 1921 Thompson submachine gun was manufactured by the Colt Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company and was the first commercial production of this now classic firearm. The initial production run by Colt, under contract to the Auto-Ordnance Corporation, New York City, was for 15,000 Thompson Submachine Guns.
The first serial number used when manufacturing began was No. 41 and this first Colt Thompson was delivered to the Auto-Ordnance Corporation in March 1921. The last serial number used on this initial production run was No. 15040 manufactured in July 1922. Tom’s Thompson, No. 15025, was not the last Colt Thompson as fifteen other Colt Thompson submachine guns have a higher serial number - but none are currently known to be on National Firearms Act (NFA) Registry. However, it is the highest serial numbered Colt Thompson known to exist in the United States at this time.
The original 15,000 Thompsons manufactured by Colt were all Model of 1921. The commercial marketing of these firearms was less than successful. In the ensuring years, Auto-Ordnance modified the Model of 1921 Thompson in hopes of finding something that would be more marketable. The Model of 1923 Thompson was the first modification - an attempt to make the Thompson into something similar to the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). Several variations of this Model of 1923 Thompson were built, but in the end this effort was a complete failure. Only a handful of authentic Model of 1923 Thompsons exist today and all retain the original Model of 1921 markings.
The adoption of the Cutts Compensator for the Thompson in 1926 could also be termed a modification. Even with the added cost, the compensator was a very popular accessory when offered on the Model of 1921 Thompson.
The next modification was the Model of 1927, converting the Thompson submachine gun into a semiautomatic carbine. This met with some limited success in that a small number of these Thompson carbines were built from existing stocks of Model of 1921 Thompsons and sold mostly to prisons as guard guns. These are easy to distinguish because the “Model of 1921” and “Thompson Submachine Gun” markings were removed and re-stamped “Model of 1927” and “Thompson Semi-Automatic Carbine.”
In 1928, the most popular Thompson modification was adopted by Auto-Ordnance and resulted in the best selling Thompson to date. This modification is known as the Model of 1928 Thompson, commonly referred to by collectors as the Navy model or the 28 overstamp. At the request of a good customer, the United States Marine Corps, Auto-Ordnance designed a heavier actuator that resulted in a slower rate of fire. During this same time period, the U.S. Navy took note of the Marines effective use of the Thompson in the jungles of Nicaragua in 1926 and began procurement of the Thompson. This heavier actuator along with a new recoil spring and guide, horizontal forearm, sling and Cutts Compensator later became the U.S. Navy, Model of 1928. Thompsons were taken from inventory and the 1921 markings were changed with the stamping of the number 8 over the number 1. This overstamping appears to many as the letter B, but it signifies a Model of 1928 Thompson. The words “U.S. Navy” were not added to every Model of 1928 Thompson. No. 15025 is a Model of 1928 Thompson; the number 8 stamp over the number 1 is very distinct but there are no US Navy markings present on No. 15025.
No. 15025 has a unique marking on the receiver. The letter “A” is stamped beside the overstamped 8 thereby making the model nomenclature read Model of 1928 A. The purpose or reason for this “A” marking and who applied it to No. 15025 is unknown. Gordon Hergistad, renowned Thompson researcher and author of the excellent reference book, Colt Thompson Serial Numbers, reported that he has never seen a Colt Thompson with only the “A” marking after the model nomenclature. Mr. Hergistad has observed five Colt Thompsons with “U.S.” markings before and “A1” markings following the model nomenclature. These markings were applied by the United States military when the Army adopted and procured this gun in very limited quantity.
An examination of No. 15025 reveals the upper receiver and lower frame have matching serial numbers. The first noticeable exception to No. 15025 is the misalignment of barrel alignment markings. This is because No. 15025 was dewated (deactivated) in the past and later activated with another Colt barrel. A close inspection of this replacement barrel reveals the letter “H” to the right of the barrel alignment marking. This “H” marking makes for the second unusual letter stamping on No. 15025. The replacement barrel appears to have a modern Auto-Ordnance Corporation, West Hurley, New York, compensator that has been pinned. Fortunately, Tom has acquired the original dewat barrel, and more importantly, the original Cutts Compensator. The buttstock has the upside down anchor marking indicative of the correct buttstock, but the pistol grip and vertical foregrip may not be original to this Thompson. Tom has reported all the internal components appear to be original Colt parts. The rear sight is of special interest as it has the very rare “METER” markings, an indication No. 15025 may have been originally prepared for sale to a foreign government or customer. The right side receiver markings show the 1922 patent dates, something only found on Colt Thompsons with serial numbers over 14500. Aside from the past dewat/rewat and re-barrel procedures, this Thompson only shows the normal signs of scratches and wear. Tom believes No. 15025 still retains the original finish.
Tom filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on No. 15025 to learn more about the history of this historic Thompson. From the redacted documents provided by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, we learn No. 15025 began life on the National Firearms Act (NFA) Registry via a Form 2 (Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported) dated June 30, 1939. It appears No. 15025 was one of the last Colt Thompsons sold by General Thompson’s Auto-Ordnance Corporation. On July 21, 1939, the Auto-Ordnance Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Thompson Automatic Arms Corporation with J. Russell Maguire firmly in control of the Thompson.
Deciphering redacted government forms is at best a guessing game. However, it appears No. 15025 may have belonged to a governmental agency until 1969 or 1971 when it was acquired by a Class III dealer in Michigan. It was deactivated sometime in 1971 or 1972 and then transferred to a private individual on September 1, 1972. It remained with this individual until February 2006 when it was sold to another Class III dealer. It was re-activated in August 2006. The transfer of No. 15025 to Tom Stewart was approved on January 12, 2007.
Recently, Gordon Hergistad discovered another Colt Thompson with a slightly higher serial number than No. 15025, outside the United States. Gordon will report on this discovery in the next edition of his book.
Many years ago the author was talking to then noted Thompson expert Roger A. Cox about Colt Thompsons with serial numbers in the 15,000 range. Roger told the author that his examination of some very poor condition Auto-Ordnance sales records revealed only one in the United States. Roger would not reveal the location because he was going to attempt to acquire this Thompson. In Roger’s now classic book, The Thompson Submachine Gun, he references No. 15036 as being sold in the United States by Federal Laboratories. Is it possible No. 15036 never made it on to the NFA Registry? Could No. 15025 be the only 15,000 serial numbered Colt Thompson in the United States on the Registry? Or could another one or two be hidden away in a police department gun vault or private collection? Only time will tell.

1. Auto Ordnance 1911 Serial Numbers
2. Auto Ordnance 1911a1 Serial Numbers
3. Thompson Auto Ordnance Serial Numbers

Auto Ordnance Pistols for sale and auction. Buy a Auto Ordnance Pistol online. Sell your Auto Ordnance Pistol for FREE today! Login Register Menu. I have a rare NIB TRUMP 1911 V2 45 auto And the serial number is #26, and has the presidents initials (DJT)in the serial number, very rare.Serious inquires only.Zoom into picture t. Kahr & Auto-Ordnance firearms returned to the factory for service or repair should be sent to: Kahr Firearms Group Attn:Return Dept. Greeley, PA 18425. Confirm the firearm is unloaded before shipping.Contact Kahr Arms Technical Support Department to receive a Return Authorization number before shipping a firearm to the factory. For Tom only: These two are presentation or commemorative guns 5) Mauser model 1898, broom handle 9mm sn #836092 6) Auto ordnance mod 1911A1.45 auto. Navy comm issue. Sn # AOC70147 I will send photos read more.

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By Frank Iannamico
Frank Iannamico has recently finished what is the definitive work on the Military Thompsons. “American Thunder: The Military Thompson Submachineguns” is available from Small Arms Review, we published it. He has also submitted a series of articles on the Identification of the Thompsons- and he thinks it will be a two part series. Hahahahahaha! We plan to chain him to his computer and get a whole series on this. These first two parts cover identifying the Thompsons you are apt to run across in the normal course of being a collector. There were 1919 Thompsons, 1923 Thompsons, 9mm and 30 caliber Thompsons, and all sorts of others, which are well covered in Tracie Hill’s book “Thompson: The American Legend”. In the meantime, please enjoy this series- I have to go email Frank about what his next one will be. Better yet, if you have Thompson articles you want to see, email me at sareview@aol.com, and I will bug Frank about it- Dan
This is part one of a two part series of articles on how to identify a Thompson Submachine by the markings on their receivers.
There are four basic categories of the 1921 and 1928 Thompson Submachine Guns; all were marked with the Auto-Ordnance Corporation name regardless of who manufactured them.
Thompsons manufactured by Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company from 1921 to 1922. Production Models; 1921A, 1921AC, 1927 Semi-automatic, 1928 “Navy”.
Thompsons manufactured by the Savage Arms Corporation from 1940 to 1944. Models; 1928, U.S. 1928A1.
Thompsons manufactured by the Auto-Ordnance Corporation, Bridgeport, Connecticut from 1941 to 1944. Model; U.S. 1928A1.
Thompsons manufactured by the Auto-Ordnance Corporation, West Hurley, New York from 1975 to 1986. Model 1928.
PART I
The Colt and Savage 1921-1928 Model.
This article is a basic guide on how to identify a particular model and manufacturer of a Thompson Submachine Gun. More detailed information on each variation of these guns will be forthcoming in future articles.
The Thompson Submachine Gun is probably one of the most recognized submachine guns in the world. Even non-enthusiasts are familiar the Thompson. There is however, a lot of confusion on actual manufacturers and other aspects of the guns, especially when the Auto-Ordnance name is mentioned. Adding to the confusion are the more recently manufactured full-auto Thompson guns that were produced by the modern Auto-Ordnance Corporation formerly of West Hurley, New York.
Former U.S. Army Ordnance officer John T. Thompson formed the original Auto-Ordnance Corporation in 1916 with the intent of developing a semi-automatic military rifle dubbed the Auto-Rifle. Work soon shifted to a one-man portable .45 ACP caliber machine gun, that was to become the famous Thompson Submachine Gun. While the famous submachine gun bears Thompson’s name, the weapon was actually designed by Oscar Payne, an employee of Auto-Ordnance. Auto-Ordnance’s Chief engineer, Theodore Eickoff, with the help of his staff, perfected the design into a working weapon. However, without the foresight and fortitude of John Thompson the gun would never have been conceived. The original Auto-Ordnance Corporation was simply a research and development organization, which had no manufacturing facilitates. The Warner and Swasey Company of Cleveland, Ohio manufactured all of the prototype weapons for the Auto-Ordnance Corporation. After a final production model was ready, the manufacture of the weapon was subcontracted out to Colt.
The Colt Thompsons
The very first production Thompsons were manufactured by Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Company of Hartford, Connecticut under contract with Auto-Ordnance from 1921 to 1922. These guns all have the Auto-Ordnance Corporation name and their New York, USA address roll-marked on the right side of the receiver. Also marked on the right side of the receiver near the center, are the patent dates of the Thompson. Early Colt guns have nine patent dates, while later manufacture Colt guns have three additional 1922 dates added. The left rear side of the receiver was marked to announce that Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Co. manufactured the gun, and the .45 ACP caliber of the gun (spelled calibre). The top of the receiver was marked with Auto-Ordnance’s “bullet” logo. Very early manufacture Colt guns under serial number 5000 used a bullet with the name AUT-ORD-CO inside of it. Subsequent receivers were marked with a narrower .30 caliber style bullet, which is often mistaken for an arrowhead, with the name THOMPSON inside of it written in script lettering.
The model designation MODEL OF 1921 was marked on the left side at the center of the receiver. The serial number of the Colt Thompsons was stamped on the left side of the receiver as well as on the trigger frame. Some Colt guns had an additional serial number marked on the receiver under the grip mount. Most Colt guns were inspected and stamped with the initials JHB of John H. Barrett. There were several variations of the Colt Thompson, but all were made from existing 1921 Models, conceived after the initial production run had ended. The “new” models were introduced by Auto-Ordnance in an attempt to generate new interest and increase sales of the guns.
Because of lagging sales Auto-Ordnance introduced a semi-automatic-only version in 1927. The 1927 model was made by the conversion of existing 1921 model guns. Aptly named as the Model of 1927, there were some internal modifications made to eliminate the weapon’s full-automatic operation. The original SUBMACHINE GUN markings were neatly milled off of the gun and replaced with THOMPSON SEMI-AUTOMATIC CARBINE. The words “full auto” were also milled off of the selector markings.
Another variation was the 1928 Navy Model. These were 1921 models that were internally modified to lower the cyclic rate. The Navy guns had the numeral 1 in 1921 over stamped with an 8, and the nomenclature “US NAVY” added above the model designation. The “US NAVY” stamp was usually struck noticeably lighter than the other markings on the receiver. Many of the US NAVY marked guns were used for commercial sales.
World War II
In 1939 the Auto-Ordnance Corporation, now under the control of Russell Maguire, contracted with the Savage Arms Company of Utica, New York to manufacture the Model of 1928 “Like the one illustrated in Auto-Ordnance’s 1936 catalog”. Auto-Ordnance received its first contracts for the Thompson from France and Great Britain. These countries purchased the weapons directly from Auto-Ordnance with no U.S. government involvement. The first Savage manufactured Thompsons were delivered in April of 1940.
The Savage Model of 1928
The contract between Auto-Ordnance and Savage specifically stated that Savage was not to place their name on the Thompsons they manufactured. The early Savage manufactured receivers had Auto-Ordnance’s corporate name and New York, NY address roll-marked on the right side at the rear of the receiver, while the weapon’s thirteen patent numbers* were located at the center of the receiver’s right side. After A-O moved their operation to Connecticut the marking dies were changed to their new Bridgeport address. The Bridgeport address was located at the center of the receiver’s right side, and the patent numbers were moved to the rear of the right side. To date, the highest serial number 1928 model documented with Auto-Ordnance’s New York address has been S-75115, while the lowest serial number 1928 model recorded with a Bridgeport address has been S-83818. Somewhere in-between those two serial numbers the dies were changed to reflect the Bridgeport address of Auto-Ordnance. In addition to the receiver number, a duplicate serial number was stamped on the trigger frame.
*Note; Colt guns had patent dates stamped on them, while Savage and Auto-Ordnance manufactured guns had patent numbers on their receivers. All of the 1921 Colt and all of the WWII 1928 and 1928A1 Thompsons had the word CALIBER spelled as CALIBRE on the left side of the receiver.
Most of the early Savage manufactured 1928 guns were sold to the British. These guns can be identified by a small British proof mark on the receiver and/or barrel. The receiver’s left side was marked “Model of 1928”. There were no U.S. acceptance or inspector’s stamps applied to the British contract guns.
The Savage Commercial
There has been a lot of mystery and confusion regarding the so-called Savage Commercial Thompson. These guns were being made at the same time as the guns for the British contract and were used for the occasional police sales made by Auto-Ordnance in the 1940’s. They are the same as the British contract guns, except there are no British (or U.S. military) acceptance or proof marks on their barrels or receivers. Most of these guns had New York addresses on them, but there have been a few documented with a Bridgeport address.
The Savage U.S. Model of 1928 A1
The United States made the decision to provide military aid to the countries at war with the Axis powers, by passing the Lend Lease Act in March of 1941. Under this program the U.S. government was to take over all foreign contracts with U.S. companies supplying material for the war. One of the provisions of the Lend Lease Act was that all weapons provided under the program be U.S. marked. All future Thompsons would now be marked as U.S. Model of 1928 A1. Thompsons destined for Lend Lease that had already been built, had the U.S. marks added by hand stamping. After the United States entered the war Thompsons were procured by the thousands for U.S. forces, and these guns were virtually the same as the Lend Lease guns.
Early Savage 1928A1 Thompsons that were U.S. marked were stamped US without a period following each letter. The Savage receiver marking dies were changed at approximately the mid S-200,000 serial number range. The changes included the letters U.S. with a period after each letter, and all of the letters of the model designation were more uniform. Use of the new dies resulted in sharp, deeper struck markings than are seen on guns that were marked with the earlier dies.
After the U.S. government began procuring Thompsons, they implemented their own inspection procedures. All weapons were gauged and inspected to insure the guns met the government’s criteria. All Thompsons that passed the inspection process were stamped with the Ordnance Department’s “flaming bomb” stamp. The Ordnance Department’s “flaming bomb” acceptance stamp was superceded by a new Ordnance “crossed cannon” acceptance mark late in October 1942.
The U.S. Army Ordnance officer officially in charge of the entire weapon inspection process was designated as the Army Inspector of Ordnance or AIO. When an AIO’s initials were stamped on a firearm, it indicated that the weapon was accepted as U.S. property by the AIO on behalf of the U.S. Government. The Savage Thompsons were made in the Ordnance Department’s Rochester, NY district. The Army Inspector of Ordnance for the Rochester District were Lt. Colonel Ray L. Bowlin using the stamp, RLB from 1940, until 1942, and Colonel Frank J. Atwood from 1942 until 1945 using the stamp, FJA. Colonel Atwood assumed the position of AIO of the Rochester District near the end of the M1928A1 model production run. His initials are generally only seen on the M1 and M1A1 models.
All Savage manufacture receivers had the Auto-Ordnance “bullet logo” roll marked on the top. A few Savage 1928 models were marked “TOMMY GUN” on the top right of their receivers. This was done to fulfill a legal requirement to register the phrase as a trademark. All Savage manufactured Thompson receivers and frames were marked the GEG initials of Auto-Ordnance’s civilian inspector George E. Goll.
Next; Identifying the Auto-Ordnance, Bridgeport and the Auto-Ordnance, West Hurley Thompsons.

Auto Ordnance 1911 Serial Numbers

Auto Ordnance 1911a1 Serial Numbers

Thompson Auto Ordnance Serial Numbers

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