This would mean that a low serial number Auto-Ordnance, Bridgeport M1928A1 would have been manufactured at the same time period as a mid-range Savage M1928A1, and so on. The production of Auto-Ordnance, Bridgeport M1928A1 models began approximately sixteen months after Savage. The marking of the serial numbers on many Auto-Ordnance, Bridgeport guns was rather carelessly done, as the numbers are quite often unevenly spaced and out of line. A duplicate serial number was stamped on the trigger frames, under the stock slide attachment. The serial numbers, like on the Savage and Colt guns, were roll-marked on the center of the left side of the receiver. All 1928 Thompsons that were made at the Bridgeport factory had with the letters “A.O.” preceding the weapon’s serial number. The Thompsons being produced in Bridgeport were identical mechanically and in appearance to those being made by Savage. In January of 1942, Auto-Ordnance began to renovate other buildings on the property to further increase production. The plant ran seven days a week and worked two eleven-hour shifts per day. Their guns were assembled with parts purchased from Savage and other subcontractors. At first Auto-Ordnance only made receivers and frames in house. By August of 1941, the plant was manufacturing the U.S. The first months after the building was occupied were spent renovating the facilities, and making tools and gauges not already supplied by Savage. Russell Maguire opened his Auto-Ordnance factory in a former automotive brake shoe plant located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It wasn’t until the autumn of 1941 that Auto-Ordnance opened its own factory, to assist Savage with the overwhelming wartime demand for the weapon. The Auto-Ordnance Corporation had first relied on Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in 1921, and then Savage Arms in 1940 to actually manufacture the Thompson for them. Several attempts were made to simplify the weapon in order to expedite manufacture, but these had limited effects on increasing production.Īlthough all Thompson Submachine Guns have the Auto-Ordnance Corporation name roll-marked on the receiver’s right side, only a small portion of the total production were actually manufactured at the Auto-Ordnance Corporation’s own Bridgeport factory, especially when compared to the total number made. The Thompson Submachine Gun ID Guide, Part II: The Auto-Ordnance, Bridgeport and Auto-Ordnance, West Hurley 1928ĭuring World War II the Savage Arms Company experienced difficulty in keeping up with the ever-increasing demand for more Thompsons.
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