The Magic Bullet Theory

[Sandy Larsen]

16 hours ago, Jean Paul Ceulemans said:

If snipers are know to remove some gunpowder, could that have been the cause for a lot of people thinking it was the sound of firecrackers ?   I never really understood that. 

 

I'd like to take a crack at this question.

First, I'm no expert. But I have shot guns and heard guns being shot. Same thing with firecrackers. Plus I learned something pretty important regarding supersonic bullets from a forum member who was a bit of an expert.

It goes like this...

First you need to understand supersonic booms. When a supersonic jet flies overhead, it emits a continual roaring sound. The sound is highly directional, being emitted only perpendicular to the path of flight. It is because of this that people on the ground will hear just a short boom as the jet flies directly overhead, and not the continual roar.

Sonic booms occur with any object flying at supersonic speeds. However, a tiny object like a bullet, will make a popping or cracking sound, like the sound of a firecracker.

Let's call a sonic boom from a bullet a sonic crack.

Having explained that...

Bullets make a sonic crack as they fly by. The sound comes from the bullet itself, and you hear it when an (imaginary) geometrical plane perpendicular to the bullet path passes by your ears. These are what sound like firecrackers.

Of course, the rifle makes a booming sound from the burning gunpowder when it is fired.

If a supersonic bullet is shot in your direction, you will hear the sonic crack first followed by the gun's boom, since the bullet is traveling faster than the speed of sound. If you are very far away from the gun, the boom won't be so loud but the supersonic crack will be the same.

If a silencer is used, you'll hear the sonic crack as usual, but a muffled boom.

If the bullet is subsonic, there will be no supersonic crack at all.

The simple, bottom line:

• A cracking (firecracker) sound indicates that a high-speed (supersonic) rifle was shot.
• A booming sound indicates that a gun with no silencer was shot.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

Just now, Sandy Larsen said:

17 hours ago, Jean Paul Ceulemans said:

If snipers are know to remove some gunpowder, could that have been the cause for a lot of people thinking it was the sound of firecrackers ?   I never really understood that. 

I'd like to take a crack at this question.

 

Having re-read the question, I now realize I didn't really answer it. I just gave what information was needed to figure out the answer.

The answer is this:

If one removes enough gunpowder from a high-speed (supersonic) bullet, it will no longer crack, and it's boom won't be as loud. So the answer to your question is "no."

At least this is what makes sense to me.

 

[John Butler]

Sandy

Makes sense to me. A high speed, or supersonic round will more than likely exit the body.  A subsonic round may not pass through the body depending on how the round was loaded.  And, that is the way to reduce collateral damage in a crowded area.

[Pat Speer]

6 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

 

I'd like to take a crack at this question.

First, I'm no expert. But I have shot guns and heard guns being shot. Same thing with firecrackers. Plus I learned something pretty important regarding supersonic bullets from a forum member who was a bit of an expert.

It goes like this...

First you need to understand supersonic booms. When a supersonic jet flies overhead, it emits a continual roaring sound. The sound is highly directional, being emitted only perpendicular to the path of flight. It is because of this that people on the ground will hear just a short boom as the jet flies directly overhead, and not the continual roar.

Sonic booms occur with any object flying at supersonic speeds. However, a tiny object like a bullet, will make a popping or cracking sound, like the sound of a firecracker.

Let's call a sonic boom from a bullet a sonic crack.

Having explained that...

Bullets make a sonic crack as they fly by. The sound comes from the bullet itself, and you hear it when an (imaginary) geometrical plane perpendicular to the bullet path passes by your ears. These are what sound like firecrackers.

Of course, the rifle makes a booming sound from the burning gunpowder when it is fired.

If a supersonic bullet is shot in your direction, you will hear the sonic crack first followed by the gun's boom, since the bullet is traveling faster than the speed of sound. If you are very far away from the gun, the boom won't be so loud but the supersonic crack will be the same.

If a silencer is used, you'll hear the sonic crack as usual, but a muffled boom.

If the bullet is subsonic, there will be no supersonic crack at all.

The simple, bottom line:

• A cracking (firecracker) sound indicates that a high-speed (supersonic) rifle was shot.
• A booming sound indicates that a gun with no silencer was shot.

 

Most silencers are for handguns. When one reads about silencers for rifles, one finds that assassination weapons equipped with silencers are best used in conjunction with subsonic ammunition. 

From patspeer.com, Chapter 9:

While reading about the CIA’s overthrow of the Guatemalan Government in 1954, I discovered that, among the supply lists, lists of communists to be killed after the take-over, and other documents released in 1997, there was a CIA Manual on Assassination. In this manual there were several relevant passages. At one point, when discussing the advantages and disadvantages of assassinating people with firearms, the manual relates "Public figures or guarded officials may be killed with great reliability and some safety if a firing point can be established prior to an official occasion. The propaganda value of this system may be high.” (Note that the propaganda chief for this operation was future Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt, who, shortly before his death, admitted an involvement in the Kennedy assassination to his son, and claimed David Morales, one of the CIA's para-military trainers for the Guatemalan Operation, and presumably one of those handing out the CIA' Manual on Assassination, was also involved.) Elsewhere, the manual deals specifically with the issue of subsonic charges, noting “pistols, submachine guns and any sort of improvised carbine or rifle which will take a low velocity cartridge can be silenced,” and then cautioning “Because permissible velocity is low, effective precision range is held to about 100 yards with rifle or carbine type weapons.”

Further confirmation came from studying the supply lists prepared for the Guatemalan op. On one such list there is the surprising item ".22 cal. rifles w/silencers." As larger caliber rifles were available, this gives a clear indication that .22 caliber rifles with silencers were a preferred assassination weapon, and that the 100 yard limit mentioned in the assassination manual was true for these weapons. While I've taken a lot of guff from shooters about this, as they all seem convinced that a sniper rifle firing a small subsonic bullet would be nearly worthless at the distances of Dealey Plaza, I suspect their concern is overstated. Geoffrey Boothroyd, the English Firearms expert who advised James Bond creator Ian Fleming on the weapons described in his books, once famously wrote Fleming: "Silencers. These I do not like. The only excuse for using one is a .22 rifle using low-velocity ammunition, i.e., below the speed of sound." Former sniper Craig Roberts, in his book Kill Zone, moreover, wrote of his suspicion that a "CIA-issued .22 caliber Model 74 Winchester silenced sniper rifle" was fired at Kennedy, wounding him in the throat. Subsequent investigation on my part revealed that, yes indeed, the Winchester 74 sniper rifle pre-dated the assassination and is a semi-automatic weapon, meaning it could be fired quite rapidly, causing separate hits on Kennedy and Connally, and creating the illusion they were hit by the same bullet. I found a photo of such a rifle, furthermore, in the 1991 book OSS Special Weapons and Equipment by H. Keith Melton, an expert on the CIA and its predecessor, the OSS. This is reproduced below:

 

P.S. I subsequently found this in Silencers, Snipers, and Assassins (1972):

"When the muzzle "thump" is dampened, leaving only the isolated ballistic crack, locating the firing source is usually very difficult, particularly under field conditions. It might be concluded that for sniping under normal field conditions, a suppressor may be used to dampen muzzle blast, without too much worry about silencing the ballistic crack. Covert operations and clandestine assassinations, however, are a different matter. Usually, these are carried out in situations where as much silence as possible is desired. Thus, weapons for this activity attempt to deal with both sources of sound." 

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Pat Speer

[Bill Brown]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:03 PM, Pat Speer said:

Oh Lord, Bill. Get thee to a library. Every book and article on wound ballistics will tell you that bullet wounds in general and high velocity wounds in particular leave a permanent cavity within muscle tissue that can readily be probed.

Oh Lord, Pat.  Get thee to a library and read  Lattimer's Kennedy And Lincoln: Medical & Ballistic Comparisons Of Their Assassinations.

 

In addition, If you'll have a look at the autopsy report, you'll see that the back wound and the throat wound are connected.

 

From Ken Rahn's website:

 

Back/neck wound (page 3)
    "Situated on the upper right posterior thorax just above the upper border of the scapula there is a 7 x 4 millimeter oval wound. This wound is measured to be 14 cm. from the tip of the right acromion process and 14 cm. below the tip of the right mastoid process."

Throat wound (page 3)
    "Situated in the low anterior neck at approximately the level of the third and fourth tracheal rings is a 6.5 cm. long transverse wound with widely gaping irregular edges. (The depth and character of these wounds will be further described below.)"

Back/neck wound and throat wound again (pages 4–5)
    "2. The second wound presumably of entry is that described above in the upper right posterior thorax. Beneath the skin there is ecchymosis [escape of blood into the tissues from ruptured blood vessels] of subcutaneous tissue and musculature. The missile path through the fascia and musculature cannot be easily probed. The wound presumably of exit was that described by Dr. Malcolm Perry of Dallas in the low anterior cervical region. When observed by Dr. Perry the wound measured "a few millimeters in diameter", however it was extended as a tracheostomy incision and thus its character is distorted at the time of autopsy. However, there is considerable ecchymosis of the strap muscles of the right side of the neck and of the fascia about the trachea adjacent to the line of the tracheostomy wound. The third point of reference in connecting these two wounds is the apex (supra-clavicular portion) of the right pleural cavity. In this region there is contusion of the parietal pleura and of the extreme apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. In both instances the diameter of contusion and ecchymosis at the point of maximal involvement measures 5 cm. Both the visceral and parietal pleura are intact overlying these areas of trauma."

Thoracic cavity (page 5)
    "The bony cage is unremarkable. The thoracic organs are in their normal positions and relationships and there is no increase in free pleural fluid. The above described area of contusion in the apical portion of the right pleural cavity is noted."

Lungs (page 5)
    "The lungs are of essentially similar appearance the right weighing 320 Gm., the left 290 Gm. The lungs are well aerated with smooth glistening pleural surfaces and gray-pink color. A 5 cm. diameter area of purplish red discoloration and increased firmness to palpation is situated in the apical portion of the right upper lobe. This corresponds to the similar area described in the overlying parietal pleura. Incision in this region reveals recent hemorrhage into pulmonary parenchyma."

Summary (page 6; third paragraph)
    "The other missile entered the right superior posterior thorax above the scapula and traversed the soft tissues of the supra-scapular and the supra-clavicular portions of the base of the right side of the neck. This missile produced contusions of the right apical parietal pleura and of the apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. The missile contused the strap muscles of the right side of the neck, damaged the trachea and made its exit through the anterior surface of the neck. As far as can be ascertained this missile struck no bony structure in its path through the body."

[Pat Speer]

20 minutes ago, Bill Brown said:

Oh Lord, Pat.  Get thee to a library and read  Lattimer's Kennedy And Lincoln: Medical & Ballistic Comparisons Of Their Assassinations.

 

In addition, If you'll have a look at the autopsy report, you'll see that the back wound and the throat wound are connected.

 

From Ken Rahn's website:

 

Back/neck wound (page 3)
    "Situated on the upper right posterior thorax just above the upper border of the scapula there is a 7 x 4 millimeter oval wound. This wound is measured to be 14 cm. from the tip of the right acromion process and 14 cm. below the tip of the right mastoid process."

Throat wound (page 3)
    "Situated in the low anterior neck at approximately the level of the third and fourth tracheal rings is a 6.5 cm. long transverse wound with widely gaping irregular edges. (The depth and character of these wounds will be further described below.)"

Back/neck wound and throat wound again (pages 4–5)
    "2. The second wound presumably of entry is that described above in the upper right posterior thorax. Beneath the skin there is ecchymosis [escape of blood into the tissues from ruptured blood vessels] of subcutaneous tissue and musculature. The missile path through the fascia and musculature cannot be easily probed. The wound presumably of exit was that described by Dr. Malcolm Perry of Dallas in the low anterior cervical region. When observed by Dr. Perry the wound measured "a few millimeters in diameter", however it was extended as a tracheostomy incision and thus its character is distorted at the time of autopsy. However, there is considerable ecchymosis of the strap muscles of the right side of the neck and of the fascia about the trachea adjacent to the line of the tracheostomy wound. The third point of reference in connecting these two wounds is the apex (supra-clavicular portion) of the right pleural cavity. In this region there is contusion of the parietal pleura and of the extreme apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. In both instances the diameter of contusion and ecchymosis at the point of maximal involvement measures 5 cm. Both the visceral and parietal pleura are intact overlying these areas of trauma."

Thoracic cavity (page 5)
    "The bony cage is unremarkable. The thoracic organs are in their normal positions and relationships and there is no increase in free pleural fluid. The above described area of contusion in the apical portion of the right pleural cavity is noted."

Lungs (page 5)
    "The lungs are of essentially similar appearance the right weighing 320 Gm., the left 290 Gm. The lungs are well aerated with smooth glistening pleural surfaces and gray-pink color. A 5 cm. diameter area of purplish red discoloration and increased firmness to palpation is situated in the apical portion of the right upper lobe. This corresponds to the similar area described in the overlying parietal pleura. Incision in this region reveals recent hemorrhage into pulmonary parenchyma."

Summary (page 6; third paragraph)
    "The other missile entered the right superior posterior thorax above the scapula and traversed the soft tissues of the supra-scapular and the supra-clavicular portions of the base of the right side of the neck. This missile produced contusions of the right apical parietal pleura and of the apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. The missile contused the strap muscles of the right side of the neck, damaged the trachea and made its exit through the anterior surface of the neck. As far as can be ascertained this missile struck no bony structure in its path through the body."

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Yes, of course, the doctors surmised that the bullet passed through the body. But they admitted that they did not probe the wound, and that they only came to this conclusion after reading that three shots had been fired, and that the tracheotomy incision obscured a missile wound. 

They assumed the bullet passed through the body. And you know what happens when people assume things. 

P.S. In citing Lattimer's work, are you endorsing his findings, including that the "magic" bullet entered high up on the back of Kennedy's neck?

Edited July 31, 2022 by Pat Speer

[Joseph McBride]

Mary Ferrell told me she thought Lattimer's

book the best on the medical evidence. That

gives you one of the reasons not to trust Mary Ferrell.

[Sandy Larsen]

1 hour ago, Joseph McBride said:

Mary Ferrell told me she thought Lattimer's

book the best on the medical evidence. That

gives you one of the reasons not to trust Mary Ferrell.

 

What is it about Mary Ferrell we should not trust? Her judgement? Her agenda? Her motives?

 

[Sean Coleman]

51 minutes ago, Sandy Larsen said:

 

What is it about Mary Ferrell we should not trust? Her judgement? Her agenda? Her motives?

 

Sandy, I’m with you there, why has MF got such a bad rep? In fact I’m gonna do a new thread so as not to derail this one