When we think of hidden treasure, our minds usually drift to pirate gold or sunken Spanish galleons. But for history buffs and firearms collectors, a different kind of treasure has just surfaced. Florida-based Bowman Arms has announced the recovery of a massive cache of surplus World War II Thompson submachine guns, pulled from a highly classified, submerged location.
The weapons in question are British military Model 1928 Thompsons. Following the end of the Second World War in 1946, the British packed these firearms meticulously in grease and stashed them away. According to the recovery team, the preservation was so deliberate that it appears the original owners fully intended to return for them one day.
A Zero-Oxygen Alpine Mystery
Bowman Arms is keeping the exact coordinates of the discovery tightly under wraps, but they have shared a few tantalizing details about the operation. The cache was located in a “now submerged zero oxygen Alpine location.”
The phrasing suggests the site wasn’t originally underwater. Speculation points toward an abandoned mountaintop bunker or a deep mine that gradually flooded over the decades. The sheer scale of the find is staggering—the recovery team estimates there are thousands of weapons at the site, potentially representing almost the entire remaining British supply of 1928 Thompsons.
Muck, Grease, and Perfect Preservation
Despite spending nearly 80 years in a watery grave, the submachine guns are in astonishing condition. The zero-oxygen environment of the alpine water, combined with the thick layers of heavy military grease applied in 1946, halted severe corrosion.
While some of the initially recovered guns show minor pitting, they remain fundamentally functional. According to Bowman Arms, bringing these historic firearms back to life often requires nothing more than a simple power washing to strip away the decades-old oil and muck. Recovery efforts are slow, but the company is confident that the entire cache will eventually be saved.
Navigating the Modern Market
Importing original, fully automatic weapons into the United States requires navigating a labyrinth of strict regulations. These “Tommy guns” will have to undergo mandatory modifications (often being reduced to parts kits or converted) to comply with federal law before hitting the civilian market. Despite the bureaucratic hurdles, Bowman Arms confirms there is already massive customer demand stateside.
Once the U.S. market is supplied, the company plans to sell the remaining inventory across the European Union as deactivated weapons (dewats). In the meantime, the ultimate goal is to safely secure the recovered Thompsons in a U.S. Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) to ensure this unprecedented piece of World War II history is protected from the elements once and for all.
