Illegal gun packs big punch

[Bruce in West Oz]

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

(Australia) 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."

So, the owner didn't have a "permit"? I'll lay money on it that the police don't have a "permit" either.

But then, it's becoming very much a case of "one law for them, and another for the peasantry".

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6659846%5E13762,00.html

 

[Standing Wolf]

...it's becoming very much a case of "one law for them, and another for the peasantry".

Nope. It already is.

 

[Orthonym]

"water police"?

Are these the people who will kick our doors in, slam us to the floor, and stick pistols in our ears while shouting at us, because we have old toilets which use more than 2.5 gallons/flush? Just asking for clarification here.

 

[Bruce in West Oz]

Orthonym

water police = coppers on boats



Bruce

 

[Orthonym]

Thanks, Bruce.

I do believe in calling things by their right names, as you may have surmised from reading my "Nom de Web" here. If the government people thought on similar lines... nah, never happen.

 

[Bruce in West Oz]

Getting a bit OT .... but the local police here call their compatriots in the "air wing" (read police helicopter) -- "Pigs in Space" (wih apologies to the Muppets).

 

[Tamara]

A permit.

For a demilled cannon.

Essentially an inert chunk of iron.

Do they require permits for I-beams, too?

 

[TheeBadOne]

A permit.

For a demilled cannon.

Sounds like what got him into trouble was that he was putting it back into working order (even thought I doubt it would have been for use, where would you get ammo?). I suspect if he had left it inoperable they couldn't/wouldn't have been able to seize it.

 

[Tamara]

It doesn't say he was putting it back in use, it says he was rendering the T&E gear operable again so that he could point his de-milled inoperable barrel in various directions.

What fun is a non-functional cannon if you cant spin the T&E wheels and move it around while making shooting noises with your mouth?

 

[TheeBadOne]

Tamara, I agree with you, but what I think he did was free the action. A Bofors is recoil operated and the barrel moves backward cycling the action. I took the article to mean he freed the barrel/action, which would get you into trouble. A de-milled gun can spin and point, no problem with that, it's all about the action/barrel when the trouble starts. I suspect he may not have had bad intentions when he did this as the Bofors is known for that very action (I'd want have it move too )

 

[tyme]

[blockquote]Do they require permits for I-beams, too?[/blockquote]
Nope, only if you try to turn one into a T-beam.

 

[MicroBalrog]

copying question from parallel thread

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?

 

[Bruce in West Oz]

TheeBadOne

No, he was not re-activating the gun. The action was gutted; the breech was welded -- all he was doing was allowing the T&E wheels to work again.

In Albany (WA) there's a really great war museum on a hill; it has an operational 4.7" destroyer twin mounting on it. You van sit in there and train and elevate to your heart's content. Which I did -- to piss off the 14-year-olds

So what's different here???????????/

 

[HankB]

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

It appears the coppers saw that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where the evil slayer espoused the philosophy "See . . . Want . . . Take."

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

Watercops ? Are those the guys that harrass you for sitting on your tailgate drinking beer and watching the boaters and skiers ?
I've met a few of those guys, we call 'em "fishpigs" My dad was a gun operator in the navy. When we were kids we went to San Jacinto and got to board an old battleship and play with all the neat stuff. That was my favorite part, operating the big gun T&E and going "BOOM BOOM"

 

[TheeBadOne]

Bruce

No, he was not re-activating the gun. The action was gutted; the breech was welded -- all he was doing was allowing the T&E wheels to work again.

My point is taken from the article. If he freed the barrel he freed part of the action (on a Bofors). Again, that's what I suspect got him in trouble. Being able to traverse and elevate will NEVER get you in trouble.

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

 

[Tamara]

TheeBadOne,

Being able to traverse and elevate will NEVER get you in trouble.

I wouldn't be too quick to apply our silly and illogical gun laws to the silly and illogical gun laws of another country. It may well be completely illegal for someone to own a de-milled cannon in Oz, functional T&E gear or no.

("Eeeeeewwwwwrrr! Booff! Booff! Booff! Zeros at twelve o'clock high! Eeeeeewwrrrr! Booff! Booff! Booff!" )

 

[willyjixx]

heres a link to a pic

http://www.insidelst.com/40-1.jpg

is this what your talking about about...........


you wanna here the sick thing. the Aussie police just made someone pay them (fined him didnt they) to give them an old Antique.


awww Justice


Bas............

 

[jsalcedo]

This reminds me of the story a few months back where the guy was arrested by the ATF for having demilled WWII bazookas and dummy rounds
in a storage facility.
I wonder if that guy ever got his "arsenal" back.