Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

KAPITEL II. With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

Chapter II, with the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the FBI, examines the forensic firearms evidence related to the assassination. The chapter covers expert firearms identification methodology applied to cartridge cases, a physical description of the 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (C2766) recovered from the Texas School Book Depository, the 6.5-millimeter Western Cartridge Co. ammunition used, the three expended cartridge cases and bullets recovered from the building, the President’s car, and Governor Connally’s stretcher, and the .38 Special Smith & Wesson Victory Model revolver taken from Oswald at his arrest.

Expert Firearms Identification of Cartridge Cases

Firearms identification of cartridge cases relies on microscopic examination of individual characteristics—dents, ridges, bumps, and depressions—left on the breech face and primer by the weapon. A photograph can show the location and type of marks but cannot convey their height, width, or relationship; actual identification requires a mental, visual comparison between the questioned and test specimens under a microscope. According to firearms expert Frazier, a layman could not perform this analysis because he would not know what to look for, the marks must be mentally sorted and compared across many areas, and irrelevant features (such as pre-existing depressions in the primer) could lead to erroneous conclusions. Identification is therefore a matter of expert interpretation rather than a simple point-for-point comparison. Even when individual marks differ between two cartridge cases fired from the same weapon—due to differences in metal flow, pressure, firing-pin wear, or primer hardness—identification is based on the overall pattern, contour, and nature of the similarities rather than the absence of dissimilarities. A bullet or cartridge case cannot always be identified with the firing weapon if it is too mutilated, if the weapon’s microscopic characteristics have changed between firings due to wear, corrosion, or cleaning, or if the weapon marks bullets inconsistently.

The Rifle

The rifle recovered from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository shortly after the assassination was a bolt-action, clip-fed, 40.2-inch-long, 8-pound military rifle bearing the markings “CAL. 6.5,” “MADE ITALY,” “TERNI,” “ROCCA,” the numerals “1940” and “40,” serial number C2766, and other inspector’s and manufacturer’s marks. It carried an inexpensive Japanese-made four-power Ordnance Optics Inc. sight and a non-standard sling too short for normal use but capable of providing some steadiness. The rifle was identified as a 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano Italian military rifle, Model 91/38—a shortened version of the 1891 Mannlicher-Carcano series originally designed by Ritter von Mannlicher and Salvatore Carcano. The 6.5-millimeter Model 91/38 was produced during World War II when Italy faced an ammunition supply problem with the 7.35-millimeter Model 38. The identification was made through reference works, inscribed markings, chambering a 6.5-millimeter cartridge, taking a sulfur cast of the barrel measured with a micrometer, and was later confirmed by SIFAR (Italian Armed Forces Intelligence Service), which explained that “TERNI” designated the Terni Army Plant manufacturer. The Model 91/38 has been widely imported into the United States as surplus military equipment. The bolt-action mechanism operates by cycling the bolt handle up and back, forward, and down to chamber a round; the trigger releases a spring-driven firing pin. A leaf spring beneath the clip raises the next cartridge into loading position after each cycle. The rifle is designed to hold one to six cartridges in the clip with a seventh loaded directly into the chamber for a total capacity of seven rounds. The clip found in the rifle bore the markings “SMI” and the number “952.”

Rifle Cartridge and Cartridge Cases

When the rifle was found, one 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano cartridge manufactured by the Western Cartridge Co. of East Alton, Illinois, was in the chamber. This cartridge is loaded with a full metal-jacketed, round-nosed, parallel-sided 160-161 grain bullet measuring just under 1.2 inches long and just over one-fourth inch in diameter, with a velocity of approximately 2,165 feet per second. The Western Cartridge Co. ammunition proved highly reliable in FBI and U.S. Army tests, with the C2766 rifle firing over 100 rounds with no misfires, and approximately 2 million rounds have been sold in the United States through mail-order houses and gun shops. The presence of a chambered cartridge does not necessarily indicate an intent to fire another round, as reloading may be reflexive. Three expended cartridge cases were found in the southeast portion of the sixth floor between the south wall and a high stack of boxes, slightly west of the southeast corner window. All three were identified as having been fired from the C2766 rifle through comparison with test-fired cases. Ejection-pattern tests demonstrated that the rifle ejects cases to the right at roughly a right angle to the line of sight (86 inches and 80° right when depressed at 45°; 80 inches and 90° right when held horizontally), rising no more than 2 or 12 inches above the ejection port depending on orientation. After initial landing, cases ricocheted between 8 inches and 15 feet, making their location consistent with firing from the southeast window of the building.