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N. A. C., FACT OR FICTION, COLT OR FRANKENSTEIN THE REST OF THE STORY: On Saturday August 24,1 had the pleasure of visiting the Old Idaho Penitentiary Museum in Boise, Idaho. In 2000, J; Curtis Earl donated the bulk of his vast gun collection to this museum, along with enough money to build a special room to house this collection. They refurbished an entire building to house his collection. It has been completed and is now open to the public. It is very well done and very well presented, a must to see. I met the curator of the museum Mr. Ken Swanson on Saturday morning and was given a personal guided tour. This great presentation includes the better part of a Thompson "type" collection. There is a Thompson which appears to be a Model 21 A, (without compensator). This Thompson was serial number, NAC - 3. I am making note of this gun because there is a growing number of people in the U.S. who seem to be miss-led about the facts and the history of these, (NAC) guns. In my serial number book I recognize only the Colt production Thompsons, which are serial numbered from 41 to 15040. I asked the Curator Mr. Swanson if he would like to know the real S/N of this Thompson, NAC-3, which would prove whether this was indeed a Colt or a Frankenstein. His answer was an enthusiastic yes. I met with Mr. Swanson the following Monday morning at the Museum. He took me to the shop in the basement under the Curtis Earl room, where I set up my receiver vise. I field stripped this Thompson No. NAC-3. Careful examination of the parts revealed that: The barrel was a reproduction or re-machined GI barrel with thicker fins, which did not really match the grip mount. The blade front sight clearly had, AOC stamped on the front of it. |
