"free machine gun" Is it true?

[Mike101650]

I had an occasion to visit with a self taught gun smith in his seventies who has worked on guns since his teens. He had a German machine gun (WWI vintage) in his shop and told me that some time during the bond drive for WWII, you could get a free disabled German machine gun with the purchase of a certain amount of war bonds. He did not get his that way. I have never heard of this and can't find anything on the internet about this. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

 

[Fyrtwuck]

He may have been talking about what is known as a DEWAT. De-activated War Trophy. It used to be allowed to deactivate a war trophy firearm so that it could not fire and own and possess. Some of these were registered with the BATFE and were able to be reactivated to the usable status as long as it complied with NFA rules. In some cases the barrels were filled with molten lead. Some had internal parts welded and so on.

 

[338Shooter]

It should be registered with the ATF if it is a dewat. I believe in '68 they all had to be registered in the amnesty or destroyed. Dewats transfer tax free on a form 5, and can be reactivated on a form 1 with $200 tax. If it is a dewat and he doesn't have paperwork it would probably be a good idea to seek the advice of a lawyer that works in this area.