30MM Bofors snagged by water cops off deck of private boat

[George Hill]

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6659846^13762,00.html

Illegal gun packs big punch
By Tony Wall
June 27, 2003

IT IS the biggest, heaviest and most unusual weapon ever seized by NSW police - and it's set to take pride of place outside the new water police base.

The 40mm single-barrelled Bofors gun gave water police veteran Senior Constable Stan Watson the surprise of his life when he saw it mounted on the bow of a vessel motoring up the Parramatta River before the Olympics.

"I thought 'what the hell's this?' I was concerned," he said.

A joint operation between water police and the ballistics section was launched and officers raided the boat.

The owner of the 30m retired Fremantle Class patrol boat said he had bought the gun from an RSL club in Queensland.

It had been rendered inoperable but the boatie had begun making modifications so the barrel could move again.

The man had no permit for the weapon and was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, fined, and ordered to hand the weapon over to police.

A barge-mounted crane was used to transfer the gun to the police base in Pyrmont, where it has sat ever since.

Ballistics section commander Inspector Wayne Hoffman said all that was known about the two-tonne gun as that it was built in Australia in 1944.

It will be mounted outside the new water police base being built at Balmain.

Insp Hoffman said the gun was easily the biggest illegal weapon seized by his unit.

"It's a big mother."

GIS for Fremantle Class patrol boat:

OMG I WANT ONE!
What to you think Spectre? Privateer material or what?
30MM Bofors like on these boats:

Nice. Too bad the Cops stole it. I'd sue to get it back. It was demilled.... it's legal. Cops just can't take something because they want. Which apparently they did in this case.

 

[Jeff OTMG]

The gun was a 40 mm. This is the same gun used on the back end of an AC130 Spectre next to the 105mm howitzer. They were used in pairs during WWII for anti-aircraft work.

 

[Kestryll]

It may be legal here in the U.S but not in Australia where he was.
Too bad, I'll bet no one bothered him!!

 

[George Hill]

40MM... Yes. I must have typoed.
Still... that is cool as all get out.
Does anyone have the specs on that boat? One of you Navy types? How big is that? 150 to 180 feet?

 

[Mike Irwin]

That's likely a Mark VII, which the Aussies modified to better suit their particular needs.

They were made in singles for land and naval use, duals, mainly for naval use, and the famous quads which were virtually all naval mounts.

Here's a page with information on the Bofors guns. Note that they were used extensively on both the allied and axis sides during WW II.

http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WNUS_4cm-56_mk12.htm

Here's a page with some information about the Fremantle class

http://www.nasog.net/datasheets/warships/patrol/Fremantle_Class.htm

 

[MicroBalrog]

I'm dumb. Please explain.

So he had re-milled the gun. Where did he think he'd get the extra ammo ($100 a shot?). And what crime did these idiots think he'd commit with it anyway?

 

[dinosaur]

Well, there are pirates in those waters.

 

[H Romberg]

Well this settles the "What gun to take on safari in Jurassic park" debate once and for all.

 

[keithernTN]

In the article it says he only made the made the gun functional enough for the barrel to be moved, not to actually shoot.

I'm dumb. Please explain.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Sounds like he made it to where it would traverse. Even if the gun wouldn't fire, if you were a high-seas pirate (they do still exist in that part of the world you know! -really bad around all the myriad small Pacific Is.), it would make you think twice about making an "Avon call" if the gun moved and was pointing at you.

Wasn't it a Bofor's that the Pirate had in the movie "Seven days and seven nights, with Harrison Ford?

I always wanted one of those on my patrol boat !!
would have settled for a Ma-Duce though !

 

[Solinvictus70]

Pirates are pretty common in the South Pacific and around Africa. I read an online article a few years back about a cargo ship that was being shot at with small arms off the coast of Madagascar. The cargo ship was in a panic until an officer saw a Russian merchantman coming up at a high rate of speed. On the deck, he saw sailors assembling a crew serviced weapon. The weapon was a recoiless rifle, as described similar to our old Jeep mounted 105mm. The pirates were in a midsize boat and were oblivious to what was about to happen. The Russians drew a bead, fired, and blew the pirate's boat in half leaving splinters. The Russians then waved at the cargo ship (Taiwanese I think) and sailed on. It was a neat article.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Urrah! Urrah! Urrah!

Urrah for the Russian Bear!

The Naval Institute Press magazine, Proceedings, a few years ago reported about piracy and how some pirates are threatening to blow a hole in the hull with a RPG-7. Coastal and naval forces of different nations have been trying to catch them.

I think pirates should be tracked down with whirleybirds. After we blow 'em out of the water, drop raw meat to attract the sharks. No loss to mankind. Trust me.

 

[George Hill]

http://www.iccwbo.org/ccs/imb_piracy/weekly_piracy_report.asp

The Weekly Piracy Report.

They are out there. And you need guns to stop them. I would suggest sending out "Q Ships". Normal looking merchant vessles that are bristling with hidden guns. When the bad guys get close, the false sides slide down and all the guns start blasting the bad guys out of the water. They did this in WWII against Germans. This is where James Bond's "Q" got his name.

 

[foghornl]

Seems to me the 40MM Bofors is a good choice against pirates....

Didn't some of our WWII "PT Boats" have the Bofors on them?

 

[Cosmoline]

So in Australia, a DEMILLED cannon is still illegal? Even in the worst parts of the US, a demilled firearm isn't even a firearm. It's a hunk of metal.

 

[Mike Irwin]

yes, some PTs had single 40mm Bofors guns on them.

I THINK that a dual mount was tried on several boats, but it was just too much.

 

[444]

I have fired that gun extensively in the duel configuration and have a few pieces of brass lying around somewhere. The rounds were HEITSD.

 

[Mike Irwin]

444,

Who were you dueling?

 

[444]

It was a duel between me and a bunch of inantimate objects such as a car, radio controlled airplanes etc.

When I was in the reserves I was in a unit that was still using the M42 Duster. It fired those 40mm rounds full auto at 240 RPM if I remember correctly.

 

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

I have a couple of lamps made from 40mm brass on mahogany bases. Ordnance lamps are very slick. I'll bet the Pentagon's chock full of 'em.

40mm cases remind of gigantamous .303 British or .375 H&H cases: long taper, almost no shoulder. They probably look the same for the same reason: reliable extraction.

The linked naval artillery page said that Bofors guns are recoil-operated but that was all. Does anyone know what kind of breech-locking system they use?

I can tell you all about small-arms, I've been studying their design for nine years continuosly. But artillery is a whole 'nuther kettle o' fish.

 

[Detritus]

This is where James Bond's "Q" got his name.

only partly true, acording to Ian Fleming "Q" was based on a friend or aquaintence of his by the name of "Quincy" (never can remeber if that was his given or Sur-name) what was a bit of a gageteer.

 

[Mike Irwin]

I can't find any specifics on the action, but I would suspect that it was a sliding wedge-type lock.


Hand Rifle,

The largest part of the reason for the long taper and no neck on rounds like the .300 and .375 H&H rounds is because of the Cordite propellant.

It had to be loaded into the case before final forming was done because the Cordite was long, thin strands bundled together with a tie in the middle. Impossible to load after the final case forming.

The .303 was also loaded that way, but was actually a black powder cartridge when it was first developed. Only the powder wasn't poured in, it was in the form of a compressed pellet that was loaded into the case, the final forming done, and the bullet seated down against it.

 

[c_yeager]

So, according to the article it has been demilled effectively enough to be used as a decorative piece outside the police station but well enough to be legally owned by one of their citizens? Man it must really suck to live in australia.

 

[0007]

Theft and consequences

Wouldn't it be funny if someone waited until after the thieves got it cleaned up and mounted and then dropped a couple of homemade thermite cans down the barrel and on the breech? That would really "de-mill" it.

 

[BallisticTip]