Maybe he should just declare his home a museum. It could work :hmm2:

Or give it to me, I'd look after it. :yeah: Especially if it's an Ausf. G, my favourite variant of my favourite German tank. :yep:

EDIT: Apparently it was a Panther built under British directions after the war, so it's a G.

G for Gib...to me...now...

Have any of our German forum members heard an update to the story? Was what his lawyer claimed about the weapons being deactivated true? Will he be getting his tank back?

Personally I would be inconsolable if "da Man" confiscated my tank!

Too bad it wasn't a Tiger Tank. That would wake the neighbors up. :D

I believe that everything remains confiscated as all the items were declared "weapons of war" and therefore illegal for civilians. Haven't heard anything else about it.

It could stay that way for a while, I mean if this is going to go through the courts then it could be years before a decision is made on it. Still, hopefully in the meantime someone will fix the road wheels that got a bit bent when the Leopard was pulling it out. :/\\!!

So does the owner even have some kind of legal recourse or is the governments pronouncement the final word?

Maybe they'll send him a surrogate Panther made of nice peaceful balloons.

http://ingesidee.de/dateien/grafiken..._x_300cm-l.jpg
http://ingesidee.de/dateien/grafiken...nther_1b-l.jpg

I defer to Schroeder on the absolutes of German law, but I'd say that there are a couple of questions that the court will want answers for, such as:

1) Was the equipment seized from the basement legal, as in was it de-activated?
2) Was the Nazi memorabilia displayed in an appropriate manner (ie, is the guy a closet neo-Nazi?)

In regards to 1, I would imagine, at least for the tank the answer would be yes, unless it has had work done on it since it was in a British scrap-yard, since the tank was decommissioned sometime in the 1950s, so the British Army would have rendered it unusable as a weapon, but as with many weapons there are ways you can go around this, but it would take time, however this chap has had the tank for some time so if he wanted to, it's likely he could source the parts or have them made. Getting the ammunition for a Panther Ausf. G though...that's a bit harder, well in regards to the main gun, the co-ax and hull MG could be do-able though.
In regards to 2, that's going to rely on a careful study of the mans background, witness reports and examination of his house and the basement. I don't think that on its own being a Neo-Nazi is illegal, but it would definitely be something that would sway any courts mind in regards to returning the weaponry to its owner.
This could take a couple of years at least, but at least, since the equipment will be evidence, it's not going to be scrapped or sold on in the meantime (I hope) and if the court does decide not to award it back to the owner, then hopefully it will go to somewhere like the Deutsch Panzer Museum or the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung who already have a Panther and so would know how to look after it, or if it won't stay in Germany I'm sure Bovington will take it in, an operational Ausf. G would go nicely next to the worlds only operational Tiger. :yep:
Would be better if it stayed in Germany though, and only fair. :yep:

Ok time for someone to fess up.

Who is the Subsim member who has a Type VIIb in their bathtub?

A judge will, not the government. If the weapons are considered weapons of war they will be seized. Sometimes it goes so far that a rusty expended Panzerfaust tube will be seized as a "weapon of war"....:/\\!!
I don't know the exact definition of what is legal to have and what not (many hunters own WWII Mauser K98 rifles legally) but sometimes it gets ridiculous.

As long as it was in his private rooms he can have that stuff arranged as an Altar and worship Hitler on it. As long as it isn't publicly displayed it has no effect on the case.


Knowing how we handle WWII relics here I wouldn't be surprised to see all that stuff being carted to the next steel mill once a court has ruled it illegal.:shifty:

I dunno, I'm sure the Bundeswehr could find a use for it, especially the firearms, even de-activated they would be better than broom handles.

Funny, I've never heard of that incident before. Sounds like a mountain out of a molehill thing. During my time there was never a shortage of weapons as every soldier has had his personal rifle and every unit has had it's compliment of additional weapons like MGs, submachine guns, pistols etc. To say that Boxer was lacking a barrel for it's weapon because non were available sounds stupid to me as weapons aren't purchased without barrels. My guess is they forgot to pack it before the trip (which is embarrassing enough).

He should install a cardan joint on it and register it as a tractor.

I'm surprised it hasn't happened already over here, to be honest. Although, in a way it did happen back during the war, post Dunkirk, when ammunition for our artillery was so low that gunnery practice consisted of lining up the artillery piece and shouting 'BANG!'... :doh:

It worked for the Russians... :haha: