the thompson garand and m1 carbine all saw action at the same time in WWII depending on what you need it to do the thompson and the m1 will go about 100 yards, the garand will go closer to 300yards (on stock iron sights) if you can find the parts the .30 or the .45 can also go full auto these weapons were both designed for close in work in house to house or city fighting
steel jacketed .30 carbine or .45 auto (lake city surplus) will punch a hole in a variety of different metal objects
if you join the civilian marksmanship program you can get the .30 carbine in bulk at a highly discounted rate