What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Prison sentence for used LAW tube

Falcon

Falcon

Well-Known Member
I found this article earlier.

Whether it is the full story or not is difficult to tell. Notice the sensationalist headline:
[h=1]"Former TA soldier, 46, kept a working 3ft ROCKET LAUNCHER which could destroy a tank hidden under his bed as a souvenir of his service"
[/h]He was also growing cannabis in his flat, it says that he was charged with "cannabis cultivation and posession of a rocket launcher".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...destroy-tank-hidden-bed-souvenir-service.html

I have seen these tubes for sale in the past, and have always considered them to be a grey area which could be used against you.
 
Don't take no notice of what the papers say, from the sentence i would say he got the jail term for the Cannabis growing,,,,,, Dave
 
single use throw away item only anyway....we were always taught to stamp on them to crush the fibreglass tube to stop possible re-use as a improvised mortar....I think Dave has hit the nail on the head about the papers and cannabis!

Tony
 
Single use M72 type empty LAW tubes are NOT illegal . There have been several case involving them & they have always been deemed legal to own in the UK .
 
It's the Daily Wale. What do you expect? Is it me or are they getting more and more like the Sun? At least with the Sun you can look at page 3.
In the US, I believe the LAW tubes have to be de-activated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
gsimmons said:
In the US, I believe the LAW tubes have to be de-activated.
Click to expand...

By "de-activated" do you mean fired? That is the only requirement for legal posession of an M72 tube in the US (unless there is a specific state or local ordinance that covers the item).
 
I read this article on another forum the other night and was surprised to read about what was deemed to be required to de-activate a LAW. As I understand it when it comes to mortar tubes, as part of the deactivation process, these must be drilled across the bore and rods inserted and welded in place so that a round cannot be put down the bore. I reckon this must at least be the same level required to de-activate a LAW to physically prevent anyone introducing any missile into the bore.
Saying it is a one shot weapon and useless after firing is something I cannot agree with, they can be reloaded and I would say multiple times too if given the fact you have spare rockets and igniters to hand (N.B. Armed Forces context here). A LAW M72 is just a tube, no more no less - nothing about it changes after the first firing, put it back on the production line load it up, and you are good to go again.
Does anyone on here own a legitimately legal de-act Law? ( U.K.) if so can you tell me what has been done to it to comply - thanks. I take on board what Siegfried says re' the legal issue, but I was led to believe a good few years back after the firearms law changed that "rocket launchers" were a prohibited item ( unless deactivated?). So much so that I deactivated my LAW underneath a 150 ton press...that sorted it!
This does make me wonder though, given the fact that the LAW M72 is simply a tube, about the no doubt thousands of tons of drawn steel seamless tubing of all bore sizes that lie all over the country... perhaps we should deactivate all that as well just to be on the safe side!
 
Bockscar . Trust me , I had one confiscated many years ago & they had to return it . I've had dozens of them & there is no problem owning them or selling them . The legal precedent is very clear on this . Normal mortar tubes MUST be deactivated & have a certificate & stamp to confirm this but a very fair point about normal drawn steel tubes ! . Mike.
 
Mike,
Thanks for that, I shall accept that from one who has been there / done that! lol
Does this mean then in effect that the conviction on the LAW part of the offence in the original post could be appealed and won citing precedent? And no, there's no connection between me and the aforementioned drug dealer...got what he deserved there.


Bockscar.
 
Bockscar . That article in the paper mentioning the LAW as well as the ganja was just to spice up the article as is normal practice for newspapers , I've had similar problems in the past . As Millsbomber pointed out , a two year sentence would just have been for the drugs & I doubt the LAW was even mentioned during the case . Mike.
 
about 25 years ago kids were motorcycling out in the desert and found tons of these things out in a firing range and loaded some on their bikes and brought them home and their younger brothers were playing with them Nothing came of this though they could have been cited for trespassing and theft of government property. A rare instance of no action by the timid faction of the area. Getting ones hands on an unfired rocket is a more difficult job.
 
In the old days(late 60's) in the Nam, you had to smash them so they could not be used as a booby trap. V C would fill with grenades, fix the end cap with a trip wire and when tripped, grenades would slide out and ruin your whole day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top