2
ANOTHER
WIN!
No one can ever say that the Class III world is not properly represented by The American Thompson
Association. At this year's NRA Annual Meetings, held in St. Louis, we presented the "Evolution
Of The Submachine Gun," a thorough display of the creation of a totally new classification of
firearm.
The display walked the guests through the evolution by first introducing them to the first firearm
to which most historians equate as a machine gun chambered in a pistol cartridge, the Villar Perosa.
this very unique firearm is actually two machine guns mounted side by side. It was first used in
defensive fire for airplanes. If you are familiar with the "Indiana Jones" movie "The Last Crusade"
with Sean Connery, in one scene the two are escaping from the Germans in a biplane with Sean
Connery shooting at German fighters with a set of Villar Perosas.
This firearm was later used by ground forces first in the side by side mount and later it was mounted
in a single receiver design like a rifle. This is a very rare gun to find in the US in private hands and
TATA was very fortunate to have one loaned to us by Ken Keilholz and brought to the party by Bob
Landies and company. We are indebted to both of these people.
From the Villar Perosa the exhibit moved to the "First Generation" submachine guns like the
Bergman, Lanchester and the Model of 1919 Thompson. The next panel was the "Second
Generation" guns like the MP 38/40, STEN, PPSH41, and the M# Grease Gun. The "Third
Generation" arms were the Carl Gustov, Madsen, Uzi and the Sterling. The final "Four Generation"
included the MP5 and the FN2000. In all, 21 different firearms representing almost 100 years of
development were displayed.
This is the eleventh time we have created an exhibit for the NRA conventions. Six of these exhibits
have won the top prize, "The Gun Collector's Trophy" for best of show. TATA has now won it four
of the last five years, including the last three years in a row. TATA is the only club in the fifty-two
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