At what point in our history was it made illegal for an individual to own artillery? It had to be legal at some point
Cannons, recoilless rifles, mortars, bazookas, land mines, and grenades were all legal until the 1968 gun control act. Thereafter these items were reclassified as destructive devices falling under the purview of the ATF and required the same registration and clearance as machine guns. In addition, each round of ammunition required the same registration and transfer tax. Prior owners were grandfathered, but had to register each weapon and round of ammunition.
Cannons, recoilless rifles, mortars, bazookas, land mines, and grenades were all legal until the 1968 gun control act. Thereafter these items were reclassified as destructive devices falling under the purview of the ATF and required the same registration and clearance as machine guns. In addition, each round of ammunition required the same registration and transfer tax. Prior owners were grandfathered, but had to register each weapon and round of ammunition.
When I was a kid in the '50s, you could legally buy a 20mm Finnish Lahti antitank cannon along with ammo. All you needed to do was fill out the form in the magazine, send a money order, and it would be delivered to your door via Railway Express within 15 days. I know, because at age 14 I ordered and got a nice WWII surplus rifle in the mail for (with 75 rds of ammo and a bayonet) for $23.50. Delivered. I hunted with it for years.
That was before the assassination of Robert Kennedy and the subsequent 1968 Gun Control Act. It has been down hill ever since in America.
It was a different America. A free America. Not the cringing metro sexual shell intimidated by the gun control nuts we see today.