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Military

How long is a Thompson submachine gun?

A Thompson submachine gun is about 81 cm (2 ft 8 in) long.

What is measured: M1928A1, overall length

Thompson Submachine Gun (81 cm) drawn to scale beside a bowling pin (38.1 cm) and an adult person (1.7 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Bowling pin (38.1 cm), Thompson Submachine Gun (81 cm) and Adult person (1.7 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 48% of the height of an adult person
  • About 2.1× the height of a bowling pin
  • About 7 would fit end to end along a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 41% of the height of a doorway
  • As long as about 9 credit cards end to end

Learn

Facts about Thompson Submachine Gun

The Thompson's distinctive drum magazine made it an icon of both WWII soldiers and Prohibition-era gangsters.

Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History; Imperial War Museum collections

Military

NameSizeCompared with Thompson Submachine Gun
Roman Gladius Sword65 cm (2 ft 2 in)0.8×
Medieval Crossbow70 cm (2 ft 4 in)0.86×
Thompson Submachine Gun81 cm (2 ft 8 in)this page
MP40 Submachine Gun83.3 cm (2 ft 9 in)1×
AK-47 Rifle87 cm (2 ft 10 in)1.1×
Sturmgewehr 4494 cm (3 ft 1 in)1.2×
RPG-7 Rocket Launcher95 cm (3 ft 1 in)1.2×
Winchester Model 1873 Rifle99 cm (3 ft 3 in)1.2×
Katana Sword1 m (3 ft 3 in)1.2×
M16A2 Rifle1 m (3 ft 3 in)1.2×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Thompson Submachine Gun or Winchester Model 1873 Rifle?

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