The M1A1 Thompson is a submachine gun that appears in every Call of Duty set in World War II, plus it makes a brief appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops. In the new zombie map Mob of the Dead from Call of Duty: Black Ops II it appears under the name “Tommy Gun”.

Call of Duty and Call of Duty: United Offensive

Campaign

The Thompson is a popular starter weapon in the American campaign, much like the PPSh-41 in the Russian story. However, the two versions of the games are different, in UO the weapon does much less damage, only about a third, as in Call of Duty it could kill an enemy with just one bullet. It has a high magazine capacity and does good damage, coupled with low recoil you can use it from almost any range. Ammo is not always available, unlike the MP40 which is so similar to the Thompson, yet you can pick up ammo for it more often than for the BAR or the M1A1 carbine. There is a fire mode that allows you to set whether you want to shoot semi-automatically or fully automatically.

Multiplayer

In Call of Duty, the Thompson is one of the most popular weapons in multiplayer because you only need two bullets no matter the range. In UO, the Thompson has lost a lot of its power because a damage drop was introduced, which means you now need six bullets from a certain distance.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour

In Finest Hour, the Thompson has 30 rounds in the magazine and is present in most American missions, besides being used by Sergeant Dehart as a Brit in the North African campaign. It can kill an enemy with two or three shots.

It uses the same fire sound as the PPSh-41, and unlike in any other game, you look through a sort of hole when sighting in, rather than over the popular V-sight.

Call of Duty 2

Campaign

The Thompson is still one of the most popular weapons with the Allies. However, the weapon now only has 20 rounds in the magazine, which means that you have to reload much more often. At close range, you can kill enemies with one shot, from longer distances you need much more.
The Thompson seems to be Sergeant Randall’s favorite weapon. He uses it throughout the game and is never seen with a secondary weapon.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer, the Thompson is quite ineffective because you need 2-6 shots to kill an enemy, combined with the low magazine it doesn’t stand out much from the other submachine guns.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

In Big Red One, the Thompson is used by many American soldiers. It appears in every mission in the hands of Sergeant Hawkins and can be used by the player in We’ve Been Through Worse, also it is available in every mission after Piano Lupo, with the exception of Crucifix Hill. It has 30 bullets in the magazine and you can often find reloading ammo for it.

Call of Duty 3

The Thompson appears again in Call of Duty 3 and is one of the main weapons of the American armed forces. In terms of stats, it’s pretty much the same as the version from Call of Duty 2, but the sight has been greatly reduced in size and now only takes up about half of the old sight. You can already see the weapon in the trailer.

Campaign

The Thompson is quite common in the campaign. You see it for the first time in the first mission. It is strong and has low recoil, but is inaccurate at a distance. It’s ideal for taking out a lot of targets in tight spaces, and optionally you can combine it with a rifle so you don’t lose out at the long-range. In some missions, ammo is scarce, so you should think over every shot.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer, you draw the Thompson if you’re with the Allies and choose the assault soldier class. It is slightly more accurate than the MP40 and has less recoil. It does have a smaller magazine, but to make up for that, the reload time isn’t as long either.

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory

The Thompson also makes an appearance in the PSP edition of the game series. It actually does good damage against enemy soldiers and you need two hits to the body or one hit to the head to kill someone. It’s one of the starter weapons in all of the American missions, except in Lucky Thirteen, because that one takes place in the air.

Call of Duty: World at War

Campaign

In World at War, the Thompson is not once a starter weapon, unlike in most other games, but it is often found on fallen Marines. The first time you can use it is in Semper Fi, where two are lying on the floor of a hut where two Japanese officers are about to execute an American. It is Corporal (and later Sergeant) Roebuck’s favorite weapon and serves as one of the four weapons you can use at the beginning of the mission Sollbruchstelle. Interestingly enough, the Marines do use the Thompson, but it is still rather rare to find, because in the Pacific the Arisaka, Type 100 and M1 Garand clearly determine where things go. Because of the low ammo and high rate of fire, you’ll quickly run out of bullets for this weapon. If two players play co-op on the same console and one gets a flamethrower as a starter weapon, the other gets a Thompson with full ammo.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer, the Thompson is the first submachine gun you unlock. It has low recoil, along with high damage and a high rate of fire. These features make it a useful weapon even at a distance.

The biggest drawback is the small magazine, which is made up for by either the super fast reload times or the magazine extension, which gives you 40 bullets but takes longer to reload.

The Thompson has the same penetration ratings as rifles, which is better than other submachine guns. Even without extras, it is as penetrating as any other low-impact submachine gun. In terms of statistics, it is basically like the Type 100, only with a smaller magazine and better odds when shooting through wood or metal. The Type 100 takes exactly the same amount of time to kill an enemy and is therefore usually the better choice because of the larger magazine.

Players who use Juggernaut die only after 3-6 shots. In Hardcore game modes, you usually only need 1-2 hits unless you shoot through objects or the enemy uses Juggernaut or Second Chance.

Survival

The Thompson appears on every map and is available from both the wall and the mystery crate. You can buy it for 1200 points and the ammo costs 600 points. It is a good weapon, especially in early to mid rounds, because it does high damage at short range, has a high rate of fire, and is accurate. In high rounds it loses its strength quickly and takes many hits before a zombie dies, so you have to aim for the head.

On The Giant you can punch the weapon, turning it into a “Bolzomatik”, with a doubled magazine, more spare ammo, and higher damage. Even after upgrading, ammo is usually still a problem because it runs out quickly. The only thing that helps is the fact that you can buy ammo on the wall for 4500 points. If the player doesn’t hand out a lot of headshots in late rounds, the weapon is more or less useless. Fortunately, the recoil is low and the sights are generous and open, making it no problem to get a lot of headshots. Thanks to the magazine of 40 rounds, the fast reloading animation, and the existence of Speed Cola, a lot of firepowers are provided for the Bolzomatik.

Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts

The Thompson appears in almost every American mission as a secondary weapon with the M1 Garand. At short and medium-range, the weapon is very good, plus you can pick up ammo from fallen American soldiers, so that problem is already solved. For most players, however, the small magazine and high rate of fire is a problem, because many enemy weapons like the Type 100 and MP40 are better in this regard.

Call of Duty: World at War (DS)

The Thompson appears in the Nintendo DS version of World at War as one of five available submachine guns. As with most weapons in DS games, there are some similarities and differences to the weapons on consoles. The first similarity is probably the frequent appearance of the weapon in the campaign. Also, the sights are very similar, but you have less accuracy for a more open field of view. The Thompson in this game has a historically accurate magazine of 30 bullets, unlike many other versions of this gun in previous games. What’s even more true to the original is the gigantic recoil you get with it in this game.

Campaign

In single-player, the Thompson is either the starter weapon in every American mission or is used by allies. The only exception is On the Water because you are using vehicles. The Thompson takes up to three shots at medium range, has a noticeable but controllable recoil, and a good magazine. Despite the good qualities, Type 100 beats the Thompson because it has a higher rate of fire and the ammo is more frequent, at the cost of more recoil.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer, the Thompson is the only submachine gun available to Americans when joining the Allies. Like all weapons, the Thompson has been made weaker in multiplayer and you need four hits instead of three to kill. Fortunately, the damage at the range has not been reduced. Thanks to these features, you’ll see the weapon relatively often. In close quarters, the weapon is strong because the recoil kicks it upwards where you get to the head where the damage is increased. Even at long distances you have a chance, provided you shoot in volleys or semi-automatically.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

The Thompson shows up in the redesigned zombie maps from World at War when you get special editions or buy the Rezzurection DLC.

You can buy it on the wall, but it’s no longer available at the mystery box. It’s one of the few classic weapons you can get on any map because back in the day it was also available for purchase on every map on the wall. It’s still extremely powerful, which is something to keep in mind if you don’t want to gamble with luck and pull a bad weapon at the crate.

Info

General

• In Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, and Call of Duty World at War, the Thompson has 20 bullets in the magazine, although the real version had 30.

Call of Duty 2

• There are two versions of the Thompson. Full-auto and semi-auto.

World at War

• On the Wii version, the player reloads the empty gun as if there were still some bullets in the magazine and vice versa. Add a magazine extension and this bug is fixed. The Rifle 43 suffers from the same problem, but only if you add a silencer to it.
• The class editor shows the Thompson without a muzzle flash muzzle, to be more accurate it is the Thompson from Call of Duty 3.
• If you play online with the Thompson and have a magazine extension, every other player will still see the normal magazine with 20 bullets.
• In World at War, you can see that the weapon can be set to shoot in any way you want. The pointer is always semi-automatic, yet the Thompson is fully automatic without exception.
• In Night of the Undead, the wall says that the Thompson costs 1500 points, even though it only costs 1200 points. This was fixed in Black Ops.

Black Ops

• The files for the Thompson can be found in the game files on the PC, even if you don’t have the classic zombie maps installed. However, these files are empty.

Black Ops II

• The Thompson or much more the “Tommy Gun” seems to have some kind of modified drum magazine, making the gun have 50 bullets in the magazine.

Call of Duty

The Call of Duty series has existed since 2003 and in addition to various spin-offs, including for the handheld systems Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, 14 major titles of the series have now been released. Ever since the first part of the series, great emphasis has been placed on the online multiplayer mode in addition to the single-player campaign, which is also reflected in the development of the shooter series. Since the first Call of Duty, World at War, which was developed exclusively by Treyarch, each part also included cooperative challenges that you could play together with friends. The latest installment, Call of Duty: World War II, also features an extended multiplayer mode that puts you and your friends in the combat zones and famous battles of World War II. Using the divisions, you’ll be able to choose between the deadly sniper and the brute armored division and support your comrades in battle. In addition, World War II also has a zombie mode “Nazi Zombies”, as in its predecessor Call of Duty: Black Ops. Face the monsters of the Third Reich and win glory and honor.