# The .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun at Fort Knox, June 1942 (Library of Congress, Office of War Information)

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/items/loc-2017695486-thompson-fort-knox-1942/

Alfred T. Palmer photograph for the Office of War Information, June 1942, of the .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun at Fort Knox. Military context, eight years after the National Firearms Act; kept as a reference image of the weapon type.

The Library's title reads: "Fort Knox. Machine guns. The .45 caliber Thompson sub-machine gun, familiarly known as the Tommy gun." The caption adds that it is "a hand weapon for which every branch of the service finds many uses." The photograph shows a pair of hands gripping a Thompson.

This is a military photograph from 1942, not a crime record. It is included only as a clear reference image of the weapon type.

**Object:** Photographic negative: hands holding a .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun  
**Maker:** Alfred T. Palmer, Office of War Information  
**Date:** June 1942  
**Provenance:** FSA/OWI Black-and-White Negatives, Library of Congress  
**Appears in:** call number LC-USE6- D-007921

## Sources

- Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (FSA/OWI Collection): https://www.loc.gov/item/2017695486/