hmmm, notice the side straps on the rifle, above and below, reportedly taken from the TSD. Also why was Tom Hanks in Dealey Plaza.........just kidding!
JFK assassination 60th
anniversary compilation
Jun 11, 2023
I, Vince Palamara, was able to squeeze one more
compilation out of my pre-existing 1200-plus videos, based largely on videos
that under-performed view wise (100-300 views and little or no fanfare). I have
exhausted all of my videos and sources now, as those last batch of videos came
from a friend’s sources and he is out of anything new, as well. This is truly
it, as ABC, NBC and CBS have been scoured for anything and everything by now
and the very few major documentaries not up on my channel (but are elsewhere,
like The Men Who Killed Kennedy) have strict copyright protection. Enjoy!
The
Bottom Sling Mount
The rifle found in the Texas School Book Depository had a leather sling attached to it. The sling itself is believed to be a strap from a United States Air Force holster, and it is mounted to the side of the Mannlicher-Carcano by means of an oval ring (see photo right). Also note, that there is no mounting ring on the underside of the rifle.
On the day following the assassination, Lee Harvey
Oswald was shown a photograph of him holding a rifle in one hand, and two
leftist publications in the other. Around his waist, a holstered pistol.
Immediately, Oswald told Captain Fritz that the photo was a fake, that someone
had superimposed his face on someone else's body.
The backyard photo (CE-133a) appeared on the
cover of Life Magazine on February 21, 1964, as well as several other magazines
and newspapers shortly thereafter. Although Oswald's claim that the photograph
was a fake was not publicly known until the release of the Warren Commission
Report, several critics came to the exact same conclusion based on conflicting
shadows and other inconsistencies in the photograph.
Closer examination of the photograph reveals that the rifle being held by Lee Harvey Oswald is not the same rifle found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Notice the circular mounting ring attached to the underside of the rifle, and compare it to the photo of the rifle found in the Depository. I have marked it with an "A" at the spot which the circular ring appears on the rifle in the backyard photo of Oswald. The mounting ring, so clearly visible in the backyard photograph (see close-ups below), does not exist on the rifle discovered in the Texas Schoolbook Depository. They are not the same rifle.
I've included close-up
enlargements of the mounting ring along with some digital enhancements. The top
left is embossed, while the top right uses edge detection. Both show that the
ring is part of the rifle beyond any doubt.
The bottom left is not
enhanced in any way, and is included for easy comparison. The copy in the lower
right has been lightened to the point where the background blanches out. This
clearly demonstrates that the mounting ring is not part of the background
shrubs as some have claimed. There is no doubt that there is a sling mount
attached to the barrel band that was not present on the rifle found in the
School Book Depository.
The photo below shows
three Mannlicher-Carcanos. On the top is the TSBD rifle (notice no bottom
ring). The center is the 133-a rifle. The bottom is a photocopy of a 91/38 short
rifle, the model which Klein's supposedly sent to AJ Hidell. It is from an
article on the Carcano in the August 1961 issue of American Rifleman. Note the
bottom mounting ring, exactly where the 133-a rifle shows one. Just
coincidence???
C-2766
The most damning
evidence against Oswald was the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle found on the sixth
floor of the Texas School Book Depository. The Italian war surplus rifle,
serial number C-2766, had been shipped to Oswald’s post office box under the
name A. J. Hidell. Oswald carried forged identification cards with
the Hidell name in his wallet. The Warren Commission confidently
proclaimed that there was only one such rifle of that type with that serial
number; there was no doubt that the rifle found in the Depository belonged to
Oswald. From Volume III of the Warren Commission hearings, page 393:
Mr. EISENBERG. Back on the record.
Based on your experience with
firearms, is the placement of a specific serial number on a weapon generally
confined
to one weapon of a given type?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, it is.
Particularly--may I refer to foreign weapons particularly?
The serial number consists of a
series of numbers which normally will be repeated. However, a prefix is placed
before
the number, which actually must be
part of the serial number, consisting of a letter.
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you been able to
confirm that the serial number on this weapon is the only such number on
such a weapon?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, it is.
The
39 inch Carcano
The Carcano on the top
measures approximately 39" according to the tape in the photo. The
barrel/receiver in the bottom photo measures less than 28", while the
stock is just about 34".
FBI firearms
identification expert Robert Frazier testified before the Warren Commission that
he measured the rifle. Here are his findings:
Mr. FRAZIER. The overall length is 40.2 inches.
It weighs 8 pounds even.
Mr. McCLOY. With the scope?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, with the scope.
The CHAIRMAN. And the sling?
Mr. FRAZIER. That is with the sling, yes, sir.
The sling weighs 4 3/4 ounces. The stock length is 34.8 inches, which is the
wooden portion from end to end with the butt plate attached. The barrel and
action from the muzzle to the rear of the tang, which is this portion at the
rearmost portion of the metal, is 28.9 inches. The barrel only is 21.18 inches.
Please note the following:
- Frazier
measured the stock at 34.8". The stock in the photo is no more than
34".
- Frazier
measured the muzzle to the rear of the tang at 28.9". It is less than
28" (38 - 10).
- Frazier
measured the barrel at 21.18". It is approximately 19" (38 -
19).
- Frazier
measured the overall length at 40.2". The top photo shows that it was
about 39", well short of the 40" mark.
Clearly, the rifle Agent Frazier describes does
not match the rifle in the photos.
The
Warren Commission / FBI Rifle
Special Agent Frazier
also took photographs of the rifle, showing the various markings, including the
serial number. It is clear from these photographs that the barrel base,
which contains the serial number as well as other markings, is cylindrical in
shape.
The LIFE Photo
In November 1983, Life Magazine
was granted permission to photograph the evidence stored at the National
Archives to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the assassination.
Although he was not permitted to handle the evidence, the photographer (Michael
O'Neill) was permitted to photograph the rifle.
The photo on the left
was selected for publication in Life Magazine. In this photo, the
serial number C-2766 is clearly visible on the barrel base (bottom left).
The Warren Commission photo of the serial number (bottom right).
Please note the
difference in the numbers themselves. The most obvious difference can be
seen in the 2, which is far more ornate on the FBI / Warren
Commission rifle. Notice the way the vertical shaft is thinner at the
bottom and balloons out at the top, and the way it narrows to a fine line as it
curves left. It then ends with a teardrop that nearly
touches the left side of the vertical shaft. By comparison, the lines
that form the 2 on the Life rifle are fairly
consistent in thickness, with plenty of space between the end of the loop and
the left side of the vertical shaft.
Also note the C in
both photographs. While the Life photo shows a C with
a rounded bottom, the Warren Commission C has a serif on the
bottom which somewhat resembles a G.
Two other photos
demonstrate the differences in the serial numbers. Top right is from a photo on
the National Archives web site which shows a serial number corresponding with
the Life photograph. The bottom right photo is a capture from
a History Channel assassination special, and the C and
the 2 clearly match the Warren Commission/FBI photograph.
One final observation
about the Life photo. The Warren Commission photo (above
right) shows CAL 6.5 on the rear sight. That does not appear
in O'Neill's photo.
Bolt-side
Barrel Mount Markings
The only markings on the barrel mount should be C2766, the factory markings (Terni with a crown), Made Italy and the year the rifle was manufactured (1940). However, a photograph of the bolt-side of the rifle in the archives shows something entirely different.
The only mark visible
appears to be three letters, possibly GMC. This is where we should
see the date of manufacture.
As a point of interest,
the rifle allegedly belonging to Oswald was supposedly a Riva modified Carcano.
Part of preparing the rifles for the United States market, Luciano Riva was to
remove the various markings and stamp Made in Italy on each
rifle. This was not done on the rifle in question.
Whatever those letters
are, or what they indicate, they don't appear to be 1940. But the Warren
Commission photographs clearly show 1940 (see insert) where we see those three
letters.
Photo courtesy of Jack White
Another
Indication of Two Rifles
The trigger guard in the
above photo (marked by black box) is curved, almost S-shaped.
Compare this to other photographs of the rifle found in the Texas School Book
Depository:
The front of the trigger
guard in these photos seem less curved and more squared off. This difference in
the two styles of trigger guards has been noted on the Carcano Home Page
Magazine housing / trigger guard: This joint part has some slight but
discernible shape differences as to its lower
bellyside, and can be found in a slightly
"straighter" and slightly more "curved" form. All the
Moschetti TS 38 in
8mm that I have seen show the more curved belly.
HSCA
& the Ballistics Test
The House Select Committee on Assassinations
Firearms panel test-fired C-2766, and could not match its test bullets with
either CE-399 (the magic bullet) or the test bullets fired by the FBI from what
was allegedly the same rifle (CE-139). From Volume I, page 464 of the
HSCA hearings:
Mr. MCDONALD. Did you compare the FBI test bullets with your own test bullets
that you recently fired out of 139?
Mr. BATES. Yes, we also made a
microscopic comparison of that.
Mr. MCDONALD. And what did the
comparison show?
Mr. BATES. The results of this
examination indicated that we could not determine whether the FBI test bullets
were, in
fact, fired from the rifle, CE-139.
Mr. McDONALD. And would you please
explain your answer?
Mr. BATES. Based upon the
microscopic comparison, there were differences in the
individual identifying
characteristics found within
the land and groove impressions on the FBI test bullets and on the panel test
bullets.
Summary
The existence of two rifles with the serial number C-2766 in evidence means
that no one can prove that the rifle found in the Texas School Book Depository
belonged to Lee Harvey Oswald. In fact, it is highly unlikely. The
only photographs of Oswald with the rifle shows that it had a bottom sling
mount -- the rifle found in the Depository did not.
hmm........Ruth Paine's husband, Michael, resembled Lee Oswald! Ruth also apparently lied and said she could not speak Russian, when in actuality she taught Russian at a school.
No comments:
Post a Comment