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

Discovery of Bullet at Parkland Hospital

A nearly whole bullet was found on the stretcher used to transport Governor Connally at Parkland Hospital after the assassination. After Governor Connally was moved from the stretcher to an operating table on the second floor, hospital senior engineer Darrell C. Tomlinson moved the empty stretcher to the ground floor corridor, where it bumped against a wall and a bullet rolled out. While Tomlinson was unsure if the bullet came from Connally’s stretcher or an adjacent unconnected one, the Commission concluded it came from Connally’s stretcher, as evidence ruled out President Kennedy’s stretcher as a source: Kennedy remained on his stretcher from arrival until his body was placed in a casket in the same emergency room, and the stretcher was later moved to a different trauma room.

Description of Rifle

The bolt-action, clip-fed rifle found on the Depository’s sixth floor is marked “MADE ITALY,” “CAL. 6.5,” “1940,” and serial number C2766, making it the only known rifle of its type with that serial number. FBI experts identified it as a 6.5-millimeter model 91/38 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, confirming the caliber by fitting a matching cartridge and measuring a sulfur cast of the barrel interior with a micrometer; it appeared outwardly like a 7.35-millimeter rifle but had been rebarreled to 6.5mm. The rifle is 40.2 inches long, weighs 8 pounds, and has a minimum broken-down length of 34.8 inches (the length of the wooden stock). It is fitted with an inexpensive four-power telescopic sight stamped “Optics Ordnance Inc./Hollywood California” and “Made in Japan,” and a non-standard leather sling that appears to be a musical instrument, carrying case, or camera bag strap.

Expert Testimony

Four firearms identification experts analyzed the nearly whole bullet, two largest bullet fragments, and three cartridge cases to determine if they were fired from the recovered C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. Two of these experts testified before the Commission: Robert A. Frazier, a 23-year FBI Laboratory firearms identification specialist with an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 comparison examinations and 400 prior court testimonies; and Joseph D. Nicol, superintendent of the Illinois Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation with thousands of bullet and cartridge case examination experience since 1941.

KAPITEL III.

This chapter covers the Commission’s analysis of ballistic evidence tied to the assassination of President Kennedy, including identification of bullet fragments and cartridge cases linked to the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, as well as evaluation of the President’s head and neck bullet wounds via autopsy findings, expert medical testimony, and wound ballistics testing.

Identification of Bullet Fragments and Cartridge Cases

This section outlines the general principles of firearms identification, which rely on matching unique microscopic markings on bullets and cartridge cases to test-fired samples from a specific firearm to confirm a given weapon fired a piece of evidence. Experts Frazier and Nicol, alongside independent FBI examiners, positively identified the nearly whole bullet recovered from President Kennedy’s stretcher and two larger bullet fragments found in the Presidential limousine as having been fired from the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle found in the Texas School Depository to the exclusion of all other weapons. Smaller bullet fragments recovered from the limousine and during the President’s medical treatment could only be confirmed to match the larger fragments and rifle ammunition in metallic composition, while three cartridge cases recovered from the Depository’s sixth floor were also positively linked to the assassination rifle.

THE BULLET WOUNDS

This section details the Commission’s evaluation of evidence to identify the source of shots fired at President Kennedy and Governor Connally, including review of expert medical testimony from doctors who treated the pair at Parkland Hospital and conducted the autopsy at Bethesda Naval Hospital, analysis of the men’s clothing, and special wound ballistics tests performed with the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle and matching 6.5-millimeter ammunition.

The President’s Head Wounds

This section covers the autopsy findings for President Kennedy’s head wounds, where the three examining pathologists concluded the smaller hole in the rear of his skull was the entrance wound and the large opening on the right side of his head was the exit wound, based on beveling/cratering effects consistent with a shot fired from behind and above. Wound ballistics tests conducted at Edgewood Arsenal using the assassination rifle and matching ammunition confirmed that a shot from 90 yards could produce wounds identical to the President’s, with test bullet fragments closely matching those recovered from the Presidential limousine.