If anyone has more information they can supply about these manuals, or the history of French Thompsons, please reply. The French manuals were issued on March 24, 1941, and have print dates of 19, and more than likely, 1941 also. The picture in our book may be the original 1941 version, however the qualityof the image made it impossible to read the print date at the bottom of the front page. If anyone knows more about Colonel Laffargue, I would be interested in learning what his official capacity was during World War II.Īt least 2 different French Model of 1921 Thompson manuals exist, and there are probably 3 versions. The Thompson manual was printed under the authority of Le Colonel Directeur de l'Infanterie Laffargue. Some sentences were carried out, but Petain's was commuted to life inprisonment. Several leaders of the Vichy government were sentenced to death by the French government following the defeat of Germany in 1945. The government was headed by the former Supreme Commander of the French Armed Forces, Henri-Philippe Petain. The Vichy French government was what most French considered a traitorous 'puppet' government that operated out of Vichy, France, and basically collaborated with the Nazis after the Fall of France in mid 1940. The manuals were printed by Charles Lavauzalle & Co., which had locations in Paris, Limoges, and Nancy in France. I believe they are, and if they are not, then they become even more intriguing based on the print dates and print locations under Nazi occupation. What I would like to confirm, and learn more about, is whether these are Vichy Government manuals. They were almost certainly printed to cover operation of the last remaining Model of 1921 Thompsons that Auto-Ordnance had in inventory between 1939-1940, and sold (and delivered) to France. These French manuals represent some fascinating history.

Here are some parts diagrams from inside the manual: Here are several pictures to give a good idea of the quality of production of this manual: Many of the diagrams inside the manual are also colorized. The 1944 manual is an impressive one, containing 87 pages of information, plus 3 colorized foldouts. They are very similar to the French manual pictured on page 11 of the book that SIG and I printed titled 'Thompson Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Paper Items.' The pictures printed in the book were from the web, and represent a manual that I have never seen in person, however I have now obtained two 1944 editions of the same manual. I recently acquired a couple of French Model of 1921 manuals.

Auto ordnance 1927 schematic