Another piece of history has been discovered in Abbott Hall after town officials found a World War II machine gun in one of the safes.
As town officials were clearing out the basement and disposing of safes, they were tipped off that one of the safes may contain a gun. After further inspection of the safes, officials stumbled across an MP40 machine gun created in 1942.
The machine gun came from the late Peter McManus, who served in WWII in the Navy on the USS Augusta. McManus was also a former Lynn police officer. When he passed, his wife decided to donate the gun to Abbott Hall for the Marblehead Maritime Museum’s collection.
The initial thought from town officials was to sell the gun and use the revenue to fund future activities. The estimated value of the gun would have been upwards of $50,000, according to Abbott Hall Collections Manager Peter Stacey.
Unfortunately, due to the Firearms Owner’s Protection Act of 1986, which prohibited the possession of machine guns that were not legally owned prior to May 1986, the gun could not be resold, as it was not registered before then.
While there were recent efforts to register the gun, they were unsuccessful due to the strict laws in place. Thus, despite its historical significance, the gun cannot be legally owned or transferred.
According to Stacey, the gun was most likely shown at Abbott Hall for some time, but was later removed and stored in the safe due to legality issues.
Another question surrounding the gun is how it was brought back to the United States.
According to the Neutrality Acts created in the 1930s, it was illegal to sell or import firearms to or from any belligerent nation, such as Nazi Germany. This forced American soldiers to hide any Nazi memorabilia that they wanted to bring back home.
The gun is currently being stored at the Marblehead Police Department, waiting for its departure to the Springfield Armory.
