Alabama lawmen recover World War II weapons in Bibb County creek
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
CAROL ROBINSON
Birmingham News staff writer

A small cache of Japanese, Italian and German World War II-era weapons found dumped in a Bibb County creek is baffling to even the most veteran lawmen.

The firepower, discovered by a state road crew conducting a bridge inspection just north of Centreville late last week, is illegal to own, still in working condition and probably worth in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, said David Hyche, resident agent in charge at the Birmingham office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Hannah sent a sheriff's dive team into the water, where they found four Japanese machine guns, a Japanese anti-tank cannon, an Italian machine gun, a Japanese 50 mm mortar and a Thompson submachine gun, also known as the Tommy Gun, a popular Prohibition-era weapon.

For the complete story:

http://www.al.com/birminghamne...950298400.xml&coll=2

Alabama lawmen recover World War II weapons in Bibb County creek
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
CAROL ROBINSON
Birmingham News staff writer

A small cache of Japanese, Italian and German World War II-era weapons found dumped in a Bibb County creek is baffling to even the most veteran lawmen.

The firepower, discovered by a state road crew conducting a bridge inspection just north of Centreville late last week, is illegal to own, still in working condition and probably worth in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, said David Hyche, resident agent in charge at the Birmingham office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Hannah sent a sheriff's dive team into the water, where they found four Japanese machine guns, a Japanese anti-tank cannon, an Italian machine gun, a Japanese 50 mm mortar and a Thompson submachine gun, also known as the Tommy Gun, a popular Prohibition-era weapon.

For the complete story:

http://www.al.com/birminghamne...950298400.xml&coll=2

This reminds me of the couch I read about years ago. Some couple bought a couch. While moving it they noticed it felt very heavy. Turned out the couch hid full auto firearms and hand gernades. They caled police. Just like I would have done.

When I was young, back in the 50's and 60's there was a tavern that had numerous WW1 and WWII firearms hanging on the walls. Probably over 50 of them. Full auto's, had a tripod mounted water cooled .30 hanging from the ceiling. Sometime in the late 60's they all just disappeared. No one ever said where they went.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I was driving home one day. The highway I live on runs out along the river. As I was driving uphill (downriver), there came a group walking toward me. It looked to me like a grandfather, a son, and the grandson (maybe 8 or 9). The oldest was carrying what appeared to be a milsurp rifle.

So I parked in my drive and walked back in the direction they were going. Too late. I heard a splash, and saw a ripple in the water. They disposed of the old relic in the typical country/Kentucky fashion. They didn't want it, so they threw it in the river. Ignore the pollution consequences. I guess they were lefties, thought the rifle was best left to rust away, least it start shooting people.

We have military ordinance discovered all the time in rental units and the homes of war vets. I can only guess why the person had it. We only know why they kept it.. because we've criminalized the ownership, so the old guys don't have a safe and easy way to dispose of it. I'm thinking its a result of mindless zero tolerance PC ****. I can even suggest a better answer. Call a cease fire on prosecutions. Give everyone a year or two to just turn in the old stuff. Don't ask, don't tell. Better still, have a buyback. Pay everyone $100 per hand grenade, claymore( ) or whatever.

My state is overrun with mining stuff. Its not filled, but many of the old miners have some dynamite stashed away. Hint: Its not real safe when it gets old. You can't move it, you can't dispose of it, and you can't turn it in without it getting ugly. So the old coot just dies and leaves it for someone else to clean up.

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Dick Burg

When I was 6 or 7 my family visited one of my great uncles. He was with the 7th Armor in WW2.

In a closet he had two foot lockers. On hangers was at least 20 different German uniforms. In one locker was every type of German used handgun you can imagin. In the other was an MP-40, M18 Bergmann and a Sten. Behind the footlockers was a rack with at least 5 or 6 K98's a G43 and a M1 Garand.

He had several German helmets that his wife used as hanging baskets for flowers on the front porch.

Who knows what happened to all of it. Probably melted down years later after he passed.

With the passing on of many WW2 vets I would think more and more of this stuff would turn up.

Good point, Dick. During Viet Nam, we had amnesty boxes out in the open and easlily accessible. You could drop off anything you should not have with no questions asked. I had occasion to dispose of an AK-47 among other things in that manner.

Bill

There's also been an issue with Japanese skulls turning up in dumpsters, causing crime investigations until the origin of the skull becomes apparent. At one point - thanks to an article in Life magazine - it was the "in" thing to cut the head off a dead Japanese soldier, boil all the skin off, and mail it home to your girl as a souvenier/gift. As people die, the family finds the skull, doesn't know what to do with it/finds it morbid to have around, and tosses it.

WWII 20 MM automatic cannon stuff was being found in the storm sewers in Chicago as soon as the early 60's. IIRC it was 1960' when a few friends and I found a clutch of it after a gully washer T/storm. The burlap bag it'd been dropped into the storm tube in, had caused it to get belched up into the middle of the city street! No sweat. Every third house on the block was a cop or fireman!

Dick, begs the question, when you went swimming in after it, did you find it??

Caliber, pictures, range report, would be nice!

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Wherever my mind isn't
Jim

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Hard To Kill

We had an investigation back home in Ohio where a skull was found buried in a back yard. We dug the whole yard up called the coroner, all that good stuff. Didn't find any additional bones. This was the same week Jeffrey Dahmer got arrested. Turned out former resident, an elderly male, was an army surgeon in WWII stationed in the pacific. Probably a souvenier he didn't know how to get rid of.

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M&P Pistol and Rifle Armorer

Crofoot629, I had that same reaction. I decided I was being baited by our famous Kentuckian-moderator and withdrew back across the Ohio, for safety!

Easy, where it leaves town at the floodwall, its probably at the 68' level. In front of my house, probably 85' to flood. Around the bend and up the hill even more, well over 100' (from river bottom, nominally, with normal pool at about 26'.)

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Dick Burg

I fear for these guns. Unless an owner can come forward and claim them, I think the ATF will likely destroy them.

I used to know an EOD officer with the Philadelphia PD. He told me once that the Bomb Squad got a call from a widow about a bomb that her late husband had brought home from "the war". It turned out to be an 81mm mortar shell - demilled - that the husband used to store his poker money. The EOD officer told me how he and his crew were happy to take the shell off of the poor widow's hands, and they had a good time with the money as well. Funny, he never could understand why I always had something to do whenever he wanted someone to pal around with.

Regards,

Dave

They took the widow's money, not nice.

Rick

DICK, You have to forgive them they never been to Kentucky,I know exactly where you're at.

I hope what they say on page 2 happens and they end up in a museum or with the rightful owners (although there might be some 'splaining.).

A few years ago a guy on another forum I read had an interesting story. He's a gunstore proprietor and one day is sitting there and an old curmudgeon walks in with a big sack. Wants to know what a WWII German rifle is worth?
Curious, he asks the old guy what sort of rifle?
The old guy looks around and pulls out a MP44 assault rifle all there except for the magazines.
The store owner tells him quite a lot...but he needs to see verification that it's legally owned as it's a full auto weapon and he can't deal in those but knows guys who can...
Old guy gets all pissed and ends up storming out. Called him names and everything and accuses him of not wanting to do business in good faith and yadda yadda.

He said he heard down the pipeline that a few other local dealers had similar run ins with the old coot. No one ever bought it and the only local Class III guy never received a visit/insult session.



Family friend was in the Gator Navy in WWII and brought home one of the Arisaka paratrooper rifles that broke in half for portability and one of the short officers's sword complete with manta ray belly on the handle and everything.
He passed away about 10 years ago and I (politely and respectfully) asked about them just because NONE of his kids and grand kids knew bupkess about them other than "the gun and the sword". I was very rudely rebuffed and never asked again.

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Caretaker of a small herd.