Antique Pistols Stolen from Australian Firearms Museum

AmmoLand ^ | September 12, 2024 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

On Sunday, August 25, 2024, thieves broke into the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum, in Lithgown, Australia. They broke into display cases and stole 27 antique and collectable firearms.  The police have recovered 13 of the 27 firearms which were stolen.

From Police.nsw.gov.au/news:

Drug and Firearms Squad detectives with assistance from Chifley and South Coast Police Districts have charged three men for their roles in the alleged theft of 27 guns during a break and enter of a Lithgow Museum last week.

Police were called to the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum on Methven Street, Lithgow, about 3.30am on Sunday 25 August 2024, following reports of a break and enter.

Officers attached to Chifley Police District arrived and were told three people broke into the museum and stole a number of high-value firearms before leaving in a silver Toyota Landcruiser….

Detectives were told the handguns – which are worth more than $200,000 – could be made operational.

The Lithgow Museum is the premier firearms museum in Australia. This correspondent spent a day and a half their five years ago. The staff was wonderful. The museum extremely well done, one of the best of its kind in the world. Here is a video tour of Lithgow Museum in Australia. Unfortunately, it shows only a few highlights. The Ron Hays room is show starting at 38:00 minutes.

I took a couple hundred pictures while I was at the museum. From my photos, it appears the theft took place in the Ron Hayes Room.

[marktwain]

The 27 pistols were reported to be worth $200K Australian, about $134K in US dollars. That would be to collectors. Hard to say on the black market. First, the pistols would have to be made functional. Parts were separated from the pistols to make sure they were not functional in the display cases. There are fairly clear pictures of the display cases from which the 27 pistols were stolen, in the article.

[marktwain]

The vertical display case on the left is the first display case which was broken into. The two display cases which were broken into were both in the Ron Hayes Room of the Lithgow Museum.

[BenLurkin]

Suspect’s name is Simon Phoenix?

[SunkenCiv]

[SJSAMPLE]

Well played, Sir.

[gnarledmaw]

They should have thought to make the museum a gun free zone, then the criminals couldnt have picked them up.

I really deserve a government job.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Probably all of them are chambered for some long discontinued cartridge.

[marktwain]

Some undoubtedly are chambered for obsolete cartridges.

The J.Stevens target single shot pistol was manufactured in 1875, in .22 rimfire, before the .22 Long Rifle cartridge was developed. Probably was chambered in .22 short.

[Chainmail]

I got dibs on that Borchardt!

[marktwain]

The Borchardt appears to be one of the firearms they left behind.

This was not a well planned out caper.

[Chainmail]

Darn. Always wanted one of those!

[marktwain]

With the shoulder stock.

[Chainmail]

"With the shoulder stock."

Yes, indeed - a very pricey item! I think that it would use the .30 Luger cartridge, though I'm not positive...

Like I'd shoot the darn thing! I had a 1900 Luger for a while, but never fired it: I was always worried that it would blow that flat extractor right out of it.

I had a very nice 1906 American Eagle that I did shoot, so no need to risk the rarer pistol..

[marktwain]

They used an early version of the 7.65x25 cartridge. Not loaded to as high a pressure as the Mauser C-96. At least it is what I read.

[Chainmail]

One of my favorite memories of the C96 was with the Marines in Vietnam: our sniper was armed with Model 70 in .30 ‘06 and had a C96 in a shoulder holster as his “firefight backup weapon”

I remember him, grinning away, firing that broomie when things got hot and close and a bolt action rifle was too slow.

He used captured Chinese Tokarev ammo in that thing.

[marktwain]

I shot some of the Chinese 7.62x25 ammo in CZ52s and a really beat up, mismatched C96, and maybe a Tokarev.

The Chinese ammo, advertised as "mildly corrosive" was very consistent and accurate. As I recall, about 1430 fps out of the CZ52 pistols.