The cover photo and the picture to the left are of Joe Obulaney and friends out for some shooting fun in 1942 Texas. Joe Obulaney carried a Thompson in World War II. Thanks to Mrs. Obulaney for the use of these photos.

THE BOX MAGAZINE

BY

TRACIE L. HILL

As I mentioned in last months TCN, I will discuss the box magazine, found in the Annihilator I. This is the second in a series of articles looking, with greater detail into various TSMG subjects.

As many of us know from reading the book Thompson: The American Legend, the first box magazines looked like the ones pictured in the patent drawings of Oscar Payne (as pictured to the left), right! Well... this is the first independent box magazine -meaning a box magazine which needs no adaptor to function in the weapon.

The box magazine pictured on the following pages is the forerunner to the patent drawings.

The magazine for the Annihilator I is made from a single sheet of steel press braked into a 90 degree cornered body. The floor plate attaches to the magazine body by a set of ears (as shown in the patent drawing #11-14). The ears (patent #13-14) would lock into the slots on the right and left side of the body.

Unfortunately, the one known example of this magazine has lost its floorplate, spring and follower. So one can only guess as to the followers appearance.

The magazine is aligned into the magazine adaptor by the rib on the back of the magazine. This rib would also allow the shooter to tell from touch which way the magazine needed to be inserted into the gun.

Finally, the magazine is locked into the gun by the locking knotch. A piece of spring steel attached to the adaptor would lock into this knotch.

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