The U.S. Army adopted the Thompson submachine gun in 1928. Both the U.S. and British armies used it in World War II, as at various times have other armed forces.

Are Tommy Guns illegal to own?

Rather than an explicit federal ban on machine guns, the law was designed to tax Tommy Guns out of existence. ... The law so effectively ended the spread and use of submachine guns the federal government didn't get around to actually banning civilian ownership until 1986.

When did Tommy Guns become illegal?

Congress passed the firearms act in June, and Roosevelt signed it into law along with more than 100 other bills. By 1937, federal officials reported that the sale of machine guns in the United States had practically ceased. In 1939, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that law didn't violate the Constitution.