Historical firearms found dumped in river

[EDDE]

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/artic...tle=Historical-firearms-found-dumped-in-river
A cache of World War II-era firearms was discovered last week under a bridge in Bibb County.
Now, federal gun experts hope to find out more about what could be considered a gun collector's dream.

Eight of the 10 weapons were on display Monday at the Birmingham office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They included a Thompson submachine gun (commonly called a 'Tommy gun'), a Japanese 50mm mortar, a German 20mm anti-tank gun and a .303 Vickers machine gun.

'It's kind of amazing what all is here,' said ATF Resident Agent in Charge David Hyche.

Hyche said it was illegal to possess the weapons, which may explain why they were found dumped in a river near Alabama Highway 219.

Bibb County Sheriff Keith Hannah said the firearms were discovered Thursday by Alabama Department of Transportation bridge inspection crews.

A dive team for the Bibb County Sheriff's Department discovered more weapons just beneath the water's surface.

 

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[EDDE]

An old World War I artifact that was locked away in the attic of the library for decades and had most recently been stored in a police evidence locker has found a new home.

A Maxim machine gun originally captured and retrieved by the 17 survivors of Sergeant Alvin York's platoon is about to embark on what may be its final journey to the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tenn.

The gun was surrendered among other weapons in 1918 when 132 Germans were taken prisoner. The gun was sent to Nahant by Mayland Lewis, an Army clerk serving in France who took the first shorthand report of the battle from York.

The gun was exhibited as a trophy of war in the town's 1919 welcome home parade. It was placed in a red wagon that was pulled by Boy Scouts and, following the parade, Lewis presented the weapon to the Nahant Public Library. The gun was relinquished to the attic of the public library and it was rediscovered in 2003 when Library Director Daniel deStefano literally tripped over it.

The Board of Library Trustees looked into selling the weapon at auction but found itself in a Catch 22. The gun had never been registered so it is classified as an unregistered automatic weapon, which means the library could not sell it or keep it. After the gun was rediscovered, it was transferred to an evidence locker at the Nahant Police station where it has remained.

Compared to modern machine guns, the Maxim was heavy, bulky and awkward. Even though one person could fire the gun, it was usually operated by a team of men. The cooling mechanism of the weapon needed a constant supply of water in order to produce a continuous stream of fire and several men were needed to move or shift its position.

Library Trustee John Welch said the library and Nahant Historical Society tried to find a way to keep the historic gun, which is fully functional, in town but that proved impossible. The only option open to the library was to destroy the gun or to transfer it to a museum that receives federal funding so the Board of Library Trustees entered into an agreement with the Museum of Appalachia, which is building an exhibit around the weapon.

"We can't give it to Nahant Historical Society," he said. "It has to be donated to a museum that gets federal funding. So we're donating it to the Museum of Appalachia and the museum is making a $10,000 donation to our building fund. We'd much rather see the gun at the Nahant Historical Society but the government won't let us do that."

Welch said the Maxim is believed to be the last surviving weapon captured by York so it is historically very significant.

"York was from Tennessee so he's a local hero down there," he said. "The museum has a whole exhibit dedicated to York."

But before the weapon is shipped off to Appalachia, area residents will have an opportunity to see the historic Maxim. On Sunday, March 22 from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., the weapon will be on display in the library. Welch said police officers would transport the gun to the library and for a $5 donation to the Friends of the Nahant Public Library, area residents can have their picture taken with the World War I artifact.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2193660/posts

 

[EDDE]

I know

 

[GL]

Suspicious! That is tens of thousands of dollars in firearms. The Thompson alone is very expensive and highly sought after. I smell stolen guns. Recently stolen guns because they appear to be in great shape.
No rational or sane person with any intelligence whatsoever would dump those weapons in a river off a bridge unless they were stolen. It is the work of an insane or extremely low IQ scumbag bottom feeder.
I hope they are being taken care of and not being demilled by some low life politician on principle. The Thompson would be traceable and a record of ownership would exist at Colt HQ(if it's a Colt). I believe by using the serial number and contacting Colt(if it's a Colt) they would cooperate with any authorities trying to trace that weapon. It doesn't appear to be military so it could have been police originally.

 

[EDDE]

stab in the dark
Someones grandpa brought them home from WW2. Then down the road years later he died,the heirs had no idea what to do with the items

 

[GL]

Got to be something like that. A daughter has no idea what to do with dads collection?

I mean come on, a Vickers in a river? That's madness.

 

[jeff of pa]

stab in the dark
Someones grandpa brought them home from WW2. Then down the road years later he died,the heirs had no idea what to do with the items

This was My Guess

Someone who is either Anti gun
Or thought they could be arrested for Having
them Found them in their Home
or relatives home under the circumstances you
mentioned above

 

[steif]

Actually if they were not registered to the owner in 1968 when the gun control act of 68 was enacted they are illegal to own.

the owner had to register them in a general amnesty in 1968.
you could not do it ever after that. even with WW2 trophies. only new production was allowed to be registered after that till 1986. now you can not register anything unless you are a dealer for a "sales sample" and the samples are not available for purchase by individuals.
this means that even though those are historical items with a lot of value, they are illegal without registration.
so if they did "catch" the former owner with them and they were unregistered, each one is good for a 10 year jail term and a $100,000 fine by the federal government.
on the other hand if they were registered by "grandpa" then the kids found them and dumped them, they just threw away $50,000 or more...lol..
a transferable thompson regularly brings $15-20,000!

 

[Atticus Finch]

I don't own a single gun. But I believe the Constitution clearly states gun ownership is a right that NO govt can take away. I don't give a rat's ass how many laws are passed...We The People have a Right to Bear Arms..and I believe it was put there solely to Protect us FROM the govt.

My two cents.

 

[maverick4440]

Suspicious! That is tens of thousands of dollars in firearms. The Thompson alone is very expensive and highly sought after. I smell stolen guns. Recently stolen guns because they appear to be in great shape.
No rational or sane person with any intelligence whatsoever would dump those weapons in a river off a bridge unless they were stolen. It is the work of an insane or extremely low IQ scumbag bottom feeder.
I hope they are being taken care of and not being demilled by some low life politician on principle. The Thompson would be traceable and a record of ownership would exist at Colt HQ(if it's a Colt). I believe by using the serial number and contacting Colt(if it's a Colt) they would cooperate with any authorities trying to trace that weapon. It doesn't appear to be military so it could have been police originally.

That Thompson on the table is not a machine gun.
It is a semi automatic version.
If you look on the frame above the trigger there is no selector switch for full or semi auto, there is only a safety switch.
It is a modern semi auto copy and probably the only legal gun on the table.
It is also possible the guy had a legal class 3 license for the guns but died and whomever just assumed they were illegal and dumped them.
I have seen news stories where police seized other clearly semi automatic Thompson's and held them up for news cameras as if they made some great machine gun bust. The anti gunners jump all over those stories and you never hear a follow up stating that they were actually legal semi automatics even after informed viewers pointed out they were legal variants.
It doesn't fit the anti gun agenda of most media.

 

[Gunny71]

Maybe my eyes are foolin me, and maybe it could be registered as an SBR, but the barrel on that Thompson is pretty short.

 

[maverick4440]

Maybe my eyes are foolin me, and maybe it could be registered as an SBR, but the barrel on that Thompson is pretty short.

Yep, It is a Semi Auto SBR.