THE BLOODY SUNDAY INQUIRY/Day 209: Two police officers who were stationed outside the Bogside in Derry on Bloody Sunday said in their reports afterwards that they heard bursts of gunfire from a sub-machinegun, the inquiry was told.
They also reported the sound of nail bombs or blast bombs, although the police radio network carried no reports of any such incidents.
Retired constable James Penney, who was positioned at the Diamond and could not see the Civil Rights march or Rossville Street, said his note at the time was that he heard three nail bombs. He could not recollect that now.
He agreed that he could have mistaken the sound of rubber bullet or CS gas guns for explosions.
Mr Penney confirmed that he had stated several days after the 1972 shootings that he had heard "what I took to be the sound of a Thompson sub-machinegun". He did not think he could have mistaken the sound of helicopter blades for this type of firing.
Mr Michael Mansfield QC, for victims' families, put it to the witness that the police units throughout the city had access to various types of radio, and communications from these were tape-recorded. Sixty "Pocketfone" radios had been issued, he said, and a transcript existed of all radio transmissions from the RUC that day.
The witness agreed that hearing nail bombs exploding and a Thompson gun firing were "relatively important matters".
Counsel said no transcript recorded any report from any RUC unit of such incidents, and the witness said he could not explain that.
Constable Frederick Emerson, who gave evidence from behind screens, also said he heard blast bombs being detonated "from around the area of the Rossville Flats" and low-velocity gunfire which he thought came from a Thompson machinegun. These shots seemed to be fired from the Rossville Flats, and he then heard high-velocity automatic rifle fire which he assumed was the army returning fire.
Mr Emerson told Mr Arthur Harvey QC, for a number of families, that he was on duty throughout the afternoon in the Diamond area, and he agreed his statement that the shots came from the Rossville Flats was just a guess.
Constable W.D. Hamilton, who was stationed just inside the city walls, agreed that his report after Bloody Sunday said he heard a nail-bomb explosion, followed by firing from an automatic weapon and single shots from a different kind of weapon.
Mr Mansfield put it to the witness that the statement of a Sergeant Hartop, who had been in charge of his police unit, made no reference at all to nail bomb explosions, nor was there any reference to automatic weapons being fired.
Counsel said this officer had since been asked specifically about explosions and had said definitely that his recollection was that there were no explosions. The witness maintained, however, that his account was right.
The inquiry resumes on Monday.