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Thomas Crossly Johnson
1862-1934
T. C. Johnson was the son of Samuel Johnson, President of Yale Safe & Iron Company. A well educated man, he graduated Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School in 1884. Johnson joined Winchester in 1885 as a draftsman.
In Johnson’s early career with Winchester he rose from draftsman to be assistant to William Mason. Johnson would spent the first decade of his career preparing patent applications for Browning prototypes and assisting Mason in developing them for production.
His first independent success came with the production of the Model 1903 autoloading rifle. Johnson would develop this into a line of rifles including the 1905, 1907, and 1910.
After Browning separated from Winchester, and the Auto 5 proved wildly successful, Johnson was tasked to create a semiautomatic shotgun for Winchester. His efforts to circumvent Browning’s patents would take nearly ten years and resulted in the Model 1911. It was mildly successful financially with 82,774 produced between 1911 and 1924. However, the shotgun would prove to be a publicity disaster and is often cited as the worst shotgun ever made. The harsh recoil and dangerous manual of arms earned it nicknames like “skull cracker” and “widow maker”.
Johnson would also create one of Winchester’s most successful shotguns, the Model 1912. Over one million Model 12’s were produced before production ended in 1964 due to labor costs.
By 1914 Johnson was involved in preparing Winchester to produce the Enfield P14. He developed the Model A bolt action rifle prototype as a possible alternative in case the P14 proved difficult to manufacture. While Winchester successfully produced the P14 and M1917, Johnson continued experimenting with the bolt action design. Prototypes would continue from Model A to E, with many incorporating a take-down feature. One of those designs would late be developed and produced as the Model 54.
Johnson remained active at Winchester until his death in 1934. Like William Mason, Johnson’s contributions are often forgotten, lost in the minutia of Winchester production.
U.S. Patents:
Winchester firearms: