In some ways there is nothing new about firearm deactivation, especially when you look back to a situation that occurred at RAF Sculthorpe in the late 1970s. I have just spoken with Newark’s Curator and he recalls major issues over the deactivation of the cannons on the F100s and Mysteres.
The USAF welded the barrels and breeches of all the cannons, but back in Nottinghamshire the museum encountered a major problem over the ‘viability’ of the cannons. At the time the County Police Force had one of the largest collections of confiscated weaponry in the UK and they seemed determined to impound these items.
Eventually a compromise was reached and a museum member was awarded a licence to cover these and other items. That person is the current Curator and he recounted how at one of the regular spot checks the inspecting officer said that he “thought one round would clear the blockage!” I’m told that he was asked to try it along way from the museum site.
At the time it is believed their concern was over the possibility of items getting into the hands of the terrorists in Northern & Southern Ireland.
When the museum licence last came up for renewal [circa 2 years ago] I’m told that because Newark is a Registered Museum they were placed on a new national licence/ permit scheme that no longer required items to be individually listed. Even more beneficial is that no fee is now charged.
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