The Chicago Outfit

"You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a  kind word alone"

-Al Capone

Bio Undergoing Editing

                   

Weapons

Long Range- Thompson Submachine Gun

Caliber- .45 ACP

Range- 100-150 meters/ 328-492 ft

Weight- 4.9 kg/ 10.8 lbs

Length- 852 mm/ 33.5 in

Barrel Length - 267mm/ 10.5 in

Ammo Capacity- 50-100 round drum magazine

Rate of Fire- 700 rpm

Action- Semi-auto or Full Auto 

The most iconic gun of prohibition era crime, the "Tommygun" was a truly fearsome weapon, capable of literally tearing through its target. It was created by General John T. Thompson in the closing years of WWI. He had a vision of a one man, lightweight, machine gun that would provide its user with an devastating amount of firepower. Thompson created his submachine gun, using the "Blowback" system, which uses air pressure to blow the bolt reward, ejecting the round, and loading the next one. Thompson chose the system because of its simplicity and reliability, the same reasons the gun would become popular among mobsters. It had a compact design, which could easily fit into the inside of a a jacket, or as some criminals preferred, a violin case. Even with the compact size,  the Thompson packs a lot of firepower behind it. The Blowback mechanism meant that the gun could only accept .45 Colt semi-auto rounds, but this would give the gun excellent stopping power. It could tear easily through weak cover, and I think this may hurt the James gang's skirmishing tactics. Although army and marine issued Thompsons had twenty round box magazines, gangsters usually preferred the 50-100 drum magazines, which could empty their rounds in just a few seconds. The Thompson does have a few flaws however, many soldiers complained that the drum magazine made the gun bulky and heavy. It's not particularly accurate either, but then again, it doesn't have to be. Capone's boys would have been probably pretty skilled with the Thompson, using it in many gangland "hits". As long as they actually take the time to aim, and don't give in to "spraying and praying", the Thompson will do very well.

Mid Range- Colt M1911 Pistol

Caliber- .45  ACP 

Range- 25-50 meters/ 82-162 ft

Weight- 1.13 kg/ 2.5 lbs

Length- 216 mm/ 8.50 in

Barrel Length- 127 mm/ 5 in

Ammo Capacity- 7 rounds

Action- Semi-automatic
Considered by some to be the best semi-auto pistol ever made, the Colt M1911 was created by legendary gun designer John M. Browning, in response to the US military's need for a high powered pistol capable of replacing the outdated .38 revolver. It would see mass production during the first World War, where it preformed extremely well, but would over go many changes after the war, including a shorter trigger, wider hammer front sight, and better grips. This new model was designated the M1911A1, and would serve American forces in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Even today the gun still is incredibly popular, being used in the FBI's hostage rescue team, and many SWAT units. It's .45 rounds give it enough power to drop any target, while the gun in still has a simple and overall reliable design, and within its effective range (25-50 meters, although I have heard some say 100), it's extremely accurate. The only drawbacks is the pistol's large profile and weight, which hurts the users mobility and his ability to quickly change targets, and the gun's small, 7 shot magazine

(Old WWI Colt. Note that the Outfit would probably carry the slightly more advanced M911A1 model)

Short Range- Winchester 1897 Shotgun

Caliber- 12 Gauge

Range- 20 meters/ 66 ft

Weight- 3.6 kg/ 8 lbs 

Length- 1,000 mm/ 39.75 in

Barrel Length- 510 mm/ 20 in

Ammo Capacity- 6 rounds

Action- Pump Action

Another iconic Browning gun, the Winchester 1897 was the first truly successful pump action shotgun, replacing the earlier  lever action designs. It was actually modeled after the earlier 1893 pump action, but was far more successful, and truly replaced the lever action shotgun. The pump action design was far easier to use than a lever action; it actually stays on target between shots, and the pump action gives it a far greater rate of fire. The gun was highly mobile, and capable of operating well in tight, close combat situations, like the trenches of WWI. The firepower this gun was capable of putting out was so great, that the German army attempted to have this gun banned from use by American soldiers, for causing "unnecessary suffering to enemy combatants".

 

Special Weapon- Baseball Bat

Length-3 ft

Weight-2 lbs

Material- Maple or Ash Wood

Enough with this Bowie Knife vs. Stiletto crap, lets give the Bowie a real challenge. Any true crime aficionado knows the story of Capone beating some treacherous underlings to death (or at least near to death, it's said he shot them afterward) with a baseball bat. This may only be a gangland fable, but the baseball bat was a very common, and very brutal mob, hand to hand combat weapon. So why use a baseball bat? First off, its legal, so Capone's boys wouldn't have to worry about getting busted like they would for carrying around a Tommygun. The maple or ash wood  of the bat makes it surprisingly durable, and it's faster and less cumbersome than you may think.It's got a good length to it as well; its user can keep an enemy away with some simple strikes so he has room to wind-up for a devastating swing. Any when that swing hits its going to hurt, a lot. A good shot to the head, or neck has a high chance of killing, and even if it doesn't, its very unlikely whoever gets hit will be getting back up again. A hit to the arm, leg, or back also has a high chance of crippling. What worries me about this weapon though is that in order to get a solid strike in, you must have a good wind-up, which leaves you very open for a few seconds. Also it seems kind of cumbersome to drag around in a gunfight; as the person using it will only be able to carry the Colt with him, which will limit his overall effectiveness effectiveness during the fight.

Explosive Weapon- Mk.II Hand Grenade

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Weight- 1 lb

Explosive Material- 2 oz of TNT

Blast Radius (Killing Range)- 16 ft/4.8 meters

Maximum Killing Radius (Fragmentation)- 50ft/ 15.24 meters  

The "Pineapple Bomb" from the show, the Mk.II, this was the official had grenade of the US military from the 20's to the 60's, and a man of Capone's money and resources would have easily been able to get his hands on this weapon. It got its nickname from the grooves on its sides, which were said to aid in fragmentation (although this is now considered false) and, give soldiers a good grip on the grenade. The grenade contains 2 oz of TNT, which compared to the dynamite that Jesse and gang will have, is much more stable. However it has less of a blast radius, but makes up for it with the grenade's deadly fragmentation, produced from its cast iron exterior. The fragmentation is what truly makes this grenade lethal, capable of sending shards far past the initial blast radius.

 

         

X-Factors/Intangibles

Tactics- The Outfit may have been a separate entity from the Sicilian Mafia, but they both shared a love for strong-arm, intimidation tactics. If the Outfit wanted something out of someone, they would usually resort to bribery first, but if someone refused, they better watch out, because Capone wasn't concerned with just taking what he wanted. Attacks on rival mobs, and other targets, weren't just brutal, hasty affairs (although they were very brutal), they were well planned, and well executed, often by the Outfit's most dangerous professionals. Most of all though, these attacks were designed to send a message, don't screw with Capone! Kidnapping and extortion were also were common tactics. It was this mix of firepower and fear that allowed the Outfit to become so powerful in the Chicago underworld. These tactics allowed the Outfit to rely just as much on the fear of violence, as the actual violence itself.     

Training- No professional training exists for the Outfit, they would pick up skills they needed as they rose through the ranks of Chicago's underworld. Starting off with with menial jobs as they made a reputation for themselves, they would learn how to extort, intimidate, and most importantly, how to kill. That's not to say that they should be considered unskilled, as Capone would probably had some very dangerous men with him, whether they were career Mob "soldiers" or hired guns. Even with their combat experience though, I'm not sure their discipline will be on the same level with the James-Younger Gang.

Morale/Motivation- Like most organized crime Capone expected his members to keep a code of silence and loyalty. The traditional code of silence and honor for the Sicilian Mafia is called the omerta. The code in a nutshell, basically states that you maintain loyalty to the "family"(in this case Capone), and will never betray them to any outsiders (in this case the police, or a rival mob). If you do betray them, you are considered a "rat", and your life is basically over. I'm not sure exactly what the code the Outfit followed is called, but I imagine it's very similar to what the Sicilian Mafia followed. Capone himself had a strong sense of both loyalty and honor, and any who disobeyed the code could expect a swift execution.

Combat History- Up until the height of his power, Capone's Outfit was often locked in constant gangland warfare with many other crime syndicates, most prominently the North Side. These gangs were as well armed and brutal as the Outfit, but Capone managed to beat them all. Even at the height of his power Capone still had to deal with increased pressure from law enforcement (most prominently Elliot Ness and his "Untouchables"). Ironic then, that the people to really take him down in the end were the office workers of the IRS Special Intelligence Unit.

The Untouchables, posing after a raid

Leadership- While rising up through the ranks of the Outfit, Capone earned the respect and trust of many of its members, giving them a strong sense of loyalty to him when he actually took control of the Outfit. They called him "The Big Fellow", appreciated Capone as the kind of boss they could joke around with, and also share a few laughs with. Yet Capone was known for his short temper, known to go off at the least amount of provocation. Although he could be cunning when he needed to be, he mostly relied on brute force tactics to bring the Outfit to power. Also, despite running a far larger and more complex gang than Jesse, Capone would not be used to leading them into combat like Jesse would.

 

                 

    (Two clips from the show Boardwalk Empire, showing both sides of Capone's personality, the fun loving jokester, and the short tempered brute.)

             

Well there you have it, both these gangs are locked and loaded, and only one will walk away from this rematch alive. Please let me know if I forgot anything for these two gangs, and feel free to give any edge predictions/overall predictions.