Bond's Gun and Airport Security
CmdrAtticus
United StatesPosts: 1,102MI6 Agent
This has come up in my mind from time to time when watching all the films:
Before there were scanners in airports, Bond could pass through customs without worrying about his pistol being discovered. Since he always traveled as a rep for a fake import/export firm and MI6 would disavow him being an agent, he always had to take the chance of authorities discovering he was packing.
In certain circumstances, he could have items (such as Q's gadgets or even a gun) delivered by diplomatic bag to the UK embassy where he could retrieve it (or possibly it could be delivered right to him).
Now in the modern films where there is such tight security, how is he getting his weapon through the airports? I see in CR it's given to him after he arrives at the hotel. However, in SF Q gives it to him in London, which means he would take it with him to Shanghai.
So, is he now having to travel sans PPK until he arrives at his destination where it is given to him by the local MI6 station rep, or does British Security clear him at the airports ahead of his flights so he has authorization to carry it and if so, does it mean he does not go through regular security and gate check in but rather passes through another area reserved strictly for law enforcement officials who travel armed?
Before there were scanners in airports, Bond could pass through customs without worrying about his pistol being discovered. Since he always traveled as a rep for a fake import/export firm and MI6 would disavow him being an agent, he always had to take the chance of authorities discovering he was packing.
In certain circumstances, he could have items (such as Q's gadgets or even a gun) delivered by diplomatic bag to the UK embassy where he could retrieve it (or possibly it could be delivered right to him).
Now in the modern films where there is such tight security, how is he getting his weapon through the airports? I see in CR it's given to him after he arrives at the hotel. However, in SF Q gives it to him in London, which means he would take it with him to Shanghai.
So, is he now having to travel sans PPK until he arrives at his destination where it is given to him by the local MI6 station rep, or does British Security clear him at the airports ahead of his flights so he has authorization to carry it and if so, does it mean he does not go through regular security and gate check in but rather passes through another area reserved strictly for law enforcement officials who travel armed?
Comments
Version. In which his gun cannot be seen by security scanners or
by a hand search.
Might not hold water as a theory, but it keeps me happy.
Guns are so widespread around the world, that you could
Pick one up in any country, from the right place
I remember reading somewhere, might have been a Bond refrence book.
That most people have never heard a gunshot and don't know what one
sounds like. Although I'm sure there are guns made of some "space age"
Materials, that can be brought through airport security.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Without going too deep, I'm sure there are ways of smuggling one through.
Getting them out must have been the hard Part
Mechanical typewriter.
It was a good one...
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
It's fiction.
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I agree.
Q could have had it sent via diplomatic pouch to the British Consulate, then it was delivered to him at his hotel before he went to the airport.
Much safer than trying to smuggle it through Chinese security.
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
Airport security is suddenly beefed up ? The NSA is checking us out.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I would imagine that he dismantles it into its component parts , and hides/disguises them into ,toiletries ,
cameras ,false compartments , and various samples of his wares as a travelling rep ? he dosent work for universal exports for nothing , im sure the ammunition for his weapon is collected locally ,but hey in the words of DR NO
im just another stupid policeman
on how to disguise a PPK for travel, but in the end its a film and we shouldn't take it too literal 8-)
In the world,................... Or out of it !
I always tended to think it was a variation of CR-06. 007 pocks up weapons, tools and other bits and bibs from a pick up point near his assigned task. Q often arrived with the toys local to whete Bond was working, such as in YOLT, TSWLM, and TND. AS has a point, maybe we are overthinking this.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
After all, it worked for Dimitrious's henchman in Casino Royale...
The films and the less realistic novels of Gardner/Benson have him using special shielded suitcases with hidden compartments. With Fleming's books it was simple as security checks were virtually non existent at that time, and in one book he has Bond contemplating what he will do when the new metal detectors/security screens are installed after he sees an article in the paper about their development. Deaver has Bond using a Q-Branch supplied South African firearms CCP and hunting licence travelling from Dubai to South Africa, with the pistol stowed in the main luggage. A person can do this with a valid reason and the appropriate paperwork. The other times in Carte Blanche when he went over foreign borders, it was with the cooperation of the local authorities or debuss via SAS helicopter, and in one case a private flight.
But in the real world, firearms are quite easy to acquire with local knowledge and the right contacts. All of which would be made available to Bond and accrued by himself over the years. No doubt, he would also have a private stash of such useful equipment at key points over the globe too. As for him carrying the one personal sidearm with him everywhere he went, this is unrealistic and nigh impossible.