Police find WWII flak cannon in garage

Published: 30 May 08 18:35 CET
Online: The Local - Police find WWII flak cannon in garage

German police have discovered a well-preserved WWII anti-aircraft cannon in a German man's garage in part of a series of raids that uncovered more than €100,000 in illegal weapons, German daily Berliner Morgenpost reported on Thursday.
Police discovered the flak cannon, used by the German Wehrmacht in the Second World War, after conducting a search on a family home in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The 49-year-old resident was in possession of 200 illegal firearms, one kilogramme of explosives, and 15,000 rounds of ammunition. The anti-aircraft cannon was resting where a car would normally park.

"I thought I'd seen everything, but you can always be surprised," chief investigator Manfred Schmandra told the paper.

The cannon is not in working condition, but Schmandra said this could be easily remedied.

The raid was part of 16 searches in three states, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Schmandra told the paper that police were not planning to prosecute most of the weapon owners. "From what we can tell, they are all collectors who got in touch online. But there is still a danger from these weapons. Someone could get a hold of them, or unused ammunition could be dangerous in the case of a house fire," he told Berliner Morgenpost.

Investigations are ongoing.
The Local - Police find WWII flak cannon in garage

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

Hmm.

These frequent 'scare' stories make you wonder. A couple of years back in the UK a top news story concerned a 'dawn raid' by police in Dartford in which 'hundreds of illegal firearms' were seized - and it was reported that 'many of the guns had been used by criminals in London'.

Shock, horror. The story then almost immediately disappeared. Only much later - in the specialist magazine 'Gun Mart' - did I read that all the guns in question were deactivated and legal, the man in question was a legitimate trader in deactivated firearms, many of the 'illegal guns' were percussion and flintlock and all were antiques , and that the police had failed to prove any connection whatsoever to criminal usage of the 'weapons'. He had been released with no charges and was still trying to claim compensation for damage to his reputation and business.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

I wonder what the other "200 illegal firearms: were? Personally I wouldn't be keeping my Flak gun in the garage. I would rather be showing it off and using it for reenacting LOL.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

Incredible finds ! I hope the man will ge this collection back, he is obviously a great collector and not a hooligan.

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I would hope so too. But Im not quite sure what the laws are considering this in Germany.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

This is the man's life. taking it away from him would be terrible, I hope it won't be destroyed.

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As do I. Though he was breaking the law there. If anything donate them to a museum.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

That's a great gun, it would be very sad if they trashed his collection. I don't understand what makes this gun illegal? They said it didn't work so what's the problem, give him back this cool piece of history before some nut ball politician decides it needs to be destroyed to keep the public safe!

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This is a pair of Dutch resistance crystal radios, built into a small metal can, and a matchbox. The image is from a postcard bought at a Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The matchbox is marked in Swedish, but Swedish matches were sold in Holland for many years..
Scott

Well that may seem incredible for a collector. But on the other hand a nutball could also repair some of these weapons and use them. This will probably never happen, but suppose there is a one million chance.... Also authorities are tight by laws. You can't just leave war weapons in eveybody's cellar here. Donate the to a museum would be a solution (but heart breaking for the collector, why would some benefit for free from his liftime work?)

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Knowing the Germans reputation for destroying everything from the past, you can bet that this will end up as paperclips on many-an-office desk. :-((

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

True, at the very least maybe they will allow it to go into a museum.

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This is a pair of Dutch resistance crystal radios, built into a small metal can, and a matchbox. The image is from a postcard bought at a Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The matchbox is marked in Swedish, but Swedish matches were sold in Holland for many years..
Scott

Assuming they're not antique, I'm with Skipper here. If they're illegal, then eliminate the problem. If the law is unjust, then change it at the polls.

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David

"It is history that teaches us to hope"
Robert E. Lee

Depends on what you consider a "Antique" LOL? The Flak gun should be at least over 60 years old. And the others weapons hopefully are too. Like I said Im not sure what the laws are in Germany considering weapons like the ones he had. If he broke the law than he is pretty much teats up.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

The German Police have been watching Thunderbolt and Lightfoot too many times.

They need to focus on the person rather than the collectibles

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Coir a glaive

Nemo me impune lacessit