A Thompson submachine gun with a drum magazine and a canvas strap, lying on dark cloth. — Open the full imageJPG, 1599 × 493 px, 0.1 MB

Thompson submachine gun, 1920s (Smithsonian, National Postal Museum 2013.2011.158)

Smithsonian Open Access record and CC0 image of a Thompson submachine gun with canvas strap, transferred to the National Postal Museum from the United States Postal Inspection Service. The museum says Postal Inspectors were the first law enforcement agency to use it against criminals.

Date: 1920s
Kind: photograph
Source: Smithsonian Institution, National Postal Museum (Open Access)
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
Rights: Smithsonian Open Access: the record is marked "CC0" (metadata_usage.access = CC0). Each media item is also marked CC0. Unit: National Postal Museum; object number 2013.2011.158. Credit line: Transfer from the United States Postal Inspection Service.

The record, in the National Postal Museum collection, is classed as Employee Gear and dated 1920s; medium is metal, wood and canvas, about 34 inches long and 10 pounds. The museum’s description states: “Postal Inspectors were the first law enforcement agency to use the Tommie gun for fighting criminals.” The gun is on exhibit at the museum.

The object page on postalmuseum.si.edu could not be opened for this archive because of a bot check, so the source cited is the Open Access API response, with the image from ids.si.edu. The museum’s list of nicknames is not repeated here.

Object: Thompson submachine gun with canvas strap and drum magazine
Maker: not stated in the record
Date: 1920s
Provenance: transferred from the United States Postal Inspection Service
Appears in: Smithsonian Open Access; National Postal Museum 2013.2011.158

itemArmy captain explaining the mechanism of a Thompson submachine gun to a Hartford police captain, Camp Perry, Ohio, 1930 (National Archives)U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph from the 1930 National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. The original caption describes the Thompson submachine gun as "a favorite of Chicago gunmen." Two Thompsons are visible, and the man on the right holds a drum magazine.itemThompson Model 1928 Submachine Gun (Smithsonian, National Museum of American History 1986.0698.02)Smithsonian Open Access catalog record, CC0, for a Thompson Model 1928 submachine gun, serial number 11768, credit line "U.S. Postal Service." No image is published with the record.