Posted on 05/31/2007 11:31:54 AM PDT by InfraRed
HAMILTON — You never know what you'll find on a spring cleaning sweep, but sheriff's deputies were surprised to find something "explosive" May 5 while participating in the Hamilton citywide cleanup.
A used military rocket launcher, specifically a M72 light anti-tank weapon, covered by brush and leaning against a telephone pole, was spotted by a Butler County Jail inmate in the 500 block of South Third Street, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said.
"It's pretty bizarre and scary to find something like this in your neighborhood," Jones said, noting the sheriff's office and inmates were responsible for collecting trash in the 4th and 5th Wards.
The sheriff said during his military training he shot similar weapons, known as LAW rockets, and was told to stomp on them after firing so they could not be reused by the enemy.
A portion of the rocket launcher found in Hamilton was missing, making it inoperable and of no danger, Jones said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, M72 launchers with a training tube installed for firing smaller projectiles than the usual rocket fall under the same regulations as firearms. A used, inoperable tube, however is not federally regulated, an ATF official said Friday.
"Makes you wonder what they were using it for," Jones said.
Specialist Mike Grimes, commander of the sheriff's bomb unit, estimated the rocket launcher as circa 1970s, most likely used in the Vietnam war.
He said it is possible children were using it to shoot fireworks or someone ditched it because the person who took it as souvenir could be charged with receiving stolen property since it technically belongs to the U.S. military.
Then how the heck can it be "scary" to you?
It would be interesting to know which ‘part’ was missing. Perhaps the thing was disassembled for smuggling? This article makes it sound as though this is some dusty old war relic, but check out the article where 10 pieces of the same model launcher were stolen in Australia.
No big deal, it’s not possible to use them to launch a rocket.
Related headline: “Photo of handgun found in middle school, lockdown continues”.
RECENTLY stolen...
Makes us wonder what you are using your brain for.
By the way, I posted hsatily.
I didn’t mean you Infrared, I meant “you Officer Jones”.
Sorry.
My Dad, who was in the Army, would bring things like this home for us all the time. It is just a tube basically.
Yep.
Just about as alarming as an empty bag of CheetOs.
Unusual? Certainly. Bizarre? Maybe. But Scary? MEthinks that this sheriff is afraid of his own shadow.
Hmm, I missed that bit of training in basic. Anyone else told to stomp used ordnance to prevent re-use? Maybe by a one-legged instructor?
So that’s where I left it.
I have also seen many demilled launch tubes.
However, there are several aspects of these two reports which made this discovery interesting to me...
One report --about the ten M72 launchers which were stolen between July 2002 and February 2003-- claims they were sold to known terrorist colaborators for $5,000 each. Maybe as much as $10,000 to $12,000. Only one of the ten were recovered.
This new report --about the single tube found in Ohio-- claims "the person who took it as souvenir could be charged with receiving stolen property since it technically belongs to the U.S. military." That doesn't really sound like a demilled souvenir you would find at a gun show.
Does anyone around here know for certain the empty souvenir tubes are remnants of the same model mentioned in these reports? Is anybody certain the M72 (a single use weapon) can't be disassembled and later re-assembled?
Yeah, the portion that was missing was THE ROCKET. The article says it was a used tube.
Just an empty shell. The equivalent of finding an artillery round’s casing.
Oh no! A expended round! We need more gun control!
The article says it was used. The M-72 is a single use launcher. Once it is fired once, the launcher is trash.
My understanding is that you only have to replace the bit of wire that was scorched by the rocket's flame. Don't know how true that is, though.
It probably is the one Dirty Harry used to blow up the guard tower at Alcatraz Island.
scared of a tube?
good thing he’s not a plumber, he’d crap his pants when shopping for pipe...
No, the article says, "A portion of the rocket launcher found in Hamilton was missing, making it inoperable and of no danger".
That's not necessarily the same thing as "used". Sure, the missing part is the rocket. However, just because the rocket is missing does not necessarily mean the rocket has been expended.
I'm asking if there is anyone on this forum with a working knowledge of the M72 specifically, and knows for certain that the rocket cannot be removed and later re-installed in the tube.
I detest infringements on the 2nd more than most, but I do not follow your logic that this is a push for more gun control.
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