The Three Magic Bullets

[Chuck Robbins]

THE THREE MAGIC BULLETS

Not long after the Warren Commission Report came out in 1964 critics started to accuse the Commission of describing one of the bullets fired by Lee Harvey Oswald as behaving in an impossible manner. The bullet seemed to have zig-zagged through space and gone through two men and broken two bones and yet it was recovered in almost pristine condition. The critics said that the Warren Commission was asking the public to believe in a 'magic bullet'

Years later, defenders of the Warren Commission such as Gerald Posner and Dale Myers came forward and told us that the critics were wrong. The bullet did not have to zig-zag through space and also it was a tough, penetrating, copper jacketed bullet and therefore it could go through human beings without breaking apart. They insisted that there was no magic bullet.

However, if we look in detail at the modern, official view of the assassination I would say that there is not one magic bullet that we are being asked to believe in but three magic bullets!

The three magic bullets are as follows:

The first bullet

From the sixth floor of the School Book Depository Oswald would have had a wonderful view of the Presidential Limousine driving through Dealey Plaza but, for some strange reason, he decided to fire his first shot when the Limousine passed behind a large leafy tree. The bullet then hit a thick tree branch. This tough penetrating projectile then separated into the jacket and the core. The jacket shot down and hit the road behind the Limousine whilst the core flew over 400 feet in the opposite direction and hit a curb near the triple underpass. A piece of concrete was then propelled off the curb and hit James Tague on the cheek.

So this single bullet managed to break apart in such a way as to give the appearance of being two separate bullets striking the ground 450 feet apart.

This is quite a neat little trick for one bullet!

The second bullet

Dale Myers recently produced a 3D computer model of the Kennedy Assassination and used it to show that a bullet fired from the sixth floor of the Book Depository could travel in a straight line and go through the bodies of Kennedy and Connally as decribed by the Warren Commission.

Some would argue that, as the bullet entered Kennedy, it would have to do a little diversion around the cervical spine to avoid colliding with it ( see Pat Speer's thread: 'why I don't believe that CE 399 transversed both Kennedy and Connally') However, this little diversion is nothing compared to the diversion the bullet would have had to take to go through Connally's right wrist as described by the Warren Commission.

Gerald Posner has an illustration in his book 'Case Closed' which shows how a single bullet could pass through the bodies of Kennedy and Connally and also through Connally's right wrist before ending its journey in Connally's left thigh.

This is done by showing Connally's right forearm being held across the upper part of his abdomen with the wrist turned so the back surface is towards the chest. The right hand is above the upper part of the left thigh. The only problem is that Dale Myers's computer model clearly shows that this is NOT the position Connally's right forearm and wrist were in at the time of the shot. The right hand and wrist were just above the upper part of the left thigh with the back surface of the wrist uppermost.

The next few frames of the Zapruder film show the right forearm rise and fall and the hand flick backwards and forewards all within a perfect vertical plane parallel to the adjacent car door. This would be impossible if Connally's arm was drawn across his chest and the wrist twisted. However, it makes perfect sense with the right hand just above the upper part of the right thigh.

So what this all means is that the second bullet went through Kennedy, then through the chest of Connally and then suddenly changed direction so that it was going horizontally and to the left. Having then arrived just above Connally's right wrist it then turned and went down through the back of the wrist and exited the front of the wrist. The bullet then turned and went left across the lap of Connally before finally turning back onto its original course and on into the left thigh.

Obviously, this was a magic 'wrist-seeking' missile!

The third bullet

Officially, the third bullet went through Kennedy's head. A post mortum xray of Kennedy's skull taken from front to back shows a fragment of this bullet. As the front and rear sections of this bullet were recovered from the floor at the front of the Limousine, this must be a fragment from the middle part of the bullet. The xray shows a disc shaped fragment 6.5mm in diameter which represents a thin slice of bullet seen end on just like a slice of baloney seen lying flat on a plate.

So this magic bullet struck Kennedy in the head and broke into three pieces. The back and front pieces managed to fly out of the front of the head but the thin middle piece came to a complete stop within the skull. This 'baloney slice' piece seen on the xray gives very convenient 'proof' that Kennedy was shot in the head with 6.5mm ammunition.

I can imagine a bullet going completely through a skull and leaving the tail end behind. I can also imagine a bullet going completely through a skull and leaving the tip inside the skull. What I cannot imagine is a bullet going completely through a skull and leaving a thin slice of the middle part of the bullet inside the skull.

Now that's magic!

So, in summary, we have three magic bullets:

(1) The break-up on a branch and double deception bullet.

(2) The wrist-seeking round and magic meandering missile.

..... and finally .....

(3) The break-up in the brain and bit-of-baloney bullet.

Should we accept the official viewpoint ( that Oswald acted alone, that he fired three shots at the President and that there was no tampering with any of the evidence in this case) and then believe that Oswald fired three magic bullets from three shots? Alternatively, should serious students of the assassination accept that there are serious problems with the official viewpoint and reject the idea of Oswald as the 'master magician'?

In event one will concentrate their efforts on the one and only/single "Magic Bullet", the various problems associated with an understanding of the assassination become relatively simple to understand as well as place into proper perspective.

And, since neither CE399 nor the multiple bullet fragments found throughout the limousine and within the brain of JFK appear to possess any magical qualities, I would personally look elsewhere.

Politicians, not unlike magicians, can make things disappear.

Tom

Politicians are also quite adept at espousing their simutaneous belief in two opposite positions when politics

indicate a need for such double-talk.

This might explain the obvious flaw in the magic-bullet theory, which is, the same tough bullet that survived

a journey through multiple layers of skin and contact with several bones is also said to be the same type of

bullet which had fragmented upon penetrating one layer of skin and contacting just one semi-soft bone.

While this may be a brilliant solution for a politician explaining the magic bullet, we, in the real world, know

that you can't have it both ways and still expect to maintain credibility.

[John Dolva]

John, I didn't mean to come across as a nay-sayer. I interpreted your efforts as efforts designed to make people dismiss Tague's statements, so that they could convince themselves the shots came from the front. Something struck Tague. You are correct in pointing out that it has never been proven that whatever struck him first struck the curb.

I find it intriguing, nonetheless, that you seem to be arguing that the bullet drop from Kennedy's head to the curb was too great to have been created by a fragment from the head shot. This is the exact opposite of what most CTs have argued over the years. They claim that that there was no way a fragment could travel so far. I think they're wrong. "A .22 caliber bullet traveling at subsonic speeds has an effective range of a hundred yards or more." The fragment in question was only slightly smaller and traveling only slightly slower. I find it hard to believe such a missile would NOT leave a mark after striking a curb.

Pat, it's the calculations. A .22 range given by you is the effective range. This is a drop of less than a foot. The windscreen is in the way.

The following things are facts, we need not argue about them.

1. Distance, Z313 to concrete curb removal section: Approximately 257 feet.

2. Elevation at concrete curb removal section: 406.2

3. Horizontal deviation from TSDB to Z313 impact point: Curb removal section approximately 41 to 42 feet right of straight line alignment from 6th floor window of TSDB across impact point of Z313 and continuation in this alignment until directly lateral to curb impact point.

4. Street elevation at Z313: 418.48

5. Top of JFK's head at Z313: 422.58

Gravitational acceleration is 32.17fps per second.

The fragnment in question is 46 grains or 3 grams.

the threshold levels for beginning penetration in human tissue are about 0.2J/mm² for bone, 0.1J/mm² for skin, and 0.06J/mm² for eyes.

Now: the fragment has 257 feet horizontally to travel AND 16.58 feet vertically. The vertical travel is due to gravity. If you drop the fragment or shoot it off horizontally the two will travel 16.58 feet down in the same amount of time. IOW the velocity of the fragment is 576 feet per second.

>>>IF<<< it is to clear obstructions >>>AND<<< strike the curb 257 feet away::: >>>IF<<< <<<AND<<<

OK? That is the optimum trajectory for the fragment to have the most energy when hitting the curb. Vary this and you reduce the needed velocity. Lower the trajectory and you will hit the windscreen, ie impact speed at curb is 0, it odesn't happen. Raise the trajectory and you, in order to drop to the curb, the velocity drops.

As the velocity drops, it drops and drops. That's the nature of a missile passing through air. It's not a linear drop.

Tom correctly states that the ballistics coefficient is unknowable, however one can confidently say that for the fragment to travel from the headshot to the curb it need to have a low one the greater the initial velocity is. Whichever way you look at it, the fragment MUST clear the screen and probably the crossbar. For it then to drop 16+ feet it must have the low velocity which gives it insufficient energy to crack the concrete and send a fragment another 20 feet in an upwards direction. It does not add up. No way.

Then this fragment must have sufficient energy to break skin.

Further the suggested muzzle velocity of the fragment is 'almost 1000 fps' If that were so there is absolutely no way it could drop the required amount over that distance. I don't know what the problem is. Could someone who has a thorough grounding in ballistics explain this. Am I even right here? Maybe I completely misunderstand this.

_______________________

and then::

the threshold levels for beginning penetration in human tissue are about 0.2J/mm² for bone, 0.1J/mm² for skin, and 0.06J/mm² for eyes.

the 3 grams fragment hits the curb with 0.157 N of force,

...that needs then to break concrete

...send a chip up against gravity and across to Tague.

...break skin

At no point does it gain energy, it's only progressively lost.

which brings us back to Tony's observation, here possibly quantified: will an initial strike force of 0.157 Newtons of lead (soft and hot), break concrete and propel a concrete chip up against gravity to Tagues cheek and break the skin, which requires 0.1 Newton.meters per millimeter squared. Energy total is constant. Is there sufficient for this fragment to do this work and impart energy it to a chip of concrete to then do its work? I doubt it.

Edited October 27, 2006 by John Dolva

[Pat Speer]

John, did you factor in that the limo was heading down a 3 degree grade? I'm pretty sure that Kennedy's head was on the same level as the top of the windshield. Another factor to consider is that the presumed fragment was irregular in shape. This would slow the bullet's speed anb drive it off course. I suspect the only way we'll know for sure if such a fragment could chip concrete would be to perform some tests. Tom, you've got some rifles. Is there something you can shoot into that will simulate a skull? If so, you can use a painted concrete wall as a backdrop and see if any of the bullet fragments go on to chip the wall. You can then inspect the surrounding area to see how far the painted concrete chips flew from the wall. Just an idea.

[Thomas H. Purvis]

John, did you factor in that the limo was heading down a 3 degree grade? I'm pretty sure that Kennedy's head was on the same level as the top of the windshield. Another factor to consider is that the presumed fragment was irregular in shape. This would slow the bullet's speed anb drive it off course. I suspect the only way we'll know for sure if such a fragment could chip concrete would be to perform some tests. Tom, you've got some rifles. Is there something you can shoot into that will simulate a skull? If so, you can use a painted concrete wall as a backdrop and see if any of the bullet fragments go on to chip the wall. You can then inspect the surrounding area to see how far the painted concrete chips flew from the wall. Just an idea.

Having been on the receiving end of a .22 fragment which entered the chest after having struck gravel rock and fragmented, I can assure that it is for all practical purposes impossible to state ABSOLUTELY what can or can not happen after such an event occurs.

No one could believe that this could happen due to the direction of fire and my position. Yet, only a single shot was fired and I received a portion of the lead.

Nevertheless, your point is quite valid in that the size and damage as demonstrated by the curb strike, is not indicative of what a soft lead fragment will do to concrete.

In fact, it is not even indicative of what a full bullet with full velocity would do.

[John Dolva]

Yes, I did factor that in. The head was not level with the windscreen >>>except<< on on the elm street incline.

IOW a flat trajectory, horizontal >>IF<< it took that small widow of opportunity between the sunshades. Otherwise the trajectory is above the cross bar. Those figures are for the best possible outcome for 'the fragment struck the curb'

The equivalent test is to use an air-rifle and jack it to about 600 fps MV and try to shoot a curb at about 45 degrees strike angle from 257 feet using a low BC pellet. A hefty slingshot would probably do.

[John Dolva]

speculation: The purpose of the curb strike is to insert a 'yes, but what about he Tague shot' into all considerations.

Here Buddy and "Blond Agent" (Harry?) pick up a lead weight. How many lead weights are recorded as being picked up. My guess is none. The result being that until now the curb strike has gone unrecognised for what it really is.

from macadams site quoting garrison: Trail of assassin:

"another group of pictures taken at Dealey Plaza shortly after the assassination by Jim Murray of Blackstar Photo Service and William Allen of the Dallas Times-Herald . . . Deputy Sheriff Buddy Walthers is shown looking down at a bullet* while a neatly dressed blond man is reaching down to pick it up. . . . The bullet* was never seen again. The Warren Commission did not ask Walthers about the bullet* or the blond man . . . and he did not volunteer anything about them. Walthers subsequently was murdered, so it is safe to conclude that this bullet* will remain on the long list of missing or destroyed evidence. (p. 209)"

* read : wheel balancing lead weight

Edited October 28, 2006 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

Mistake number one:

Vertical:: since gravity's acceleration is constant the velocity is 32 fps after one second, we know that it has averaged 16 ft/sec for the entire distance, which, after one second, is 16 feet which is the verticl distance here

IOW it travels 257 feet horizontal in one second ie. average velocity of 257 fps. (Interesing that no-one spotted that one.)

So that means we have even LESS energy at strike. And this is optimum which is statistically un likely and is even more subject to wind anyway.

[Frank Agbat]

John,

This site contains an good collection of classical mechanics equations which you might find useful. (I've linked to the specific page on trajectories, etc, but there are many more pages if you click the "Index" link).

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/traj.html#tra2

Of course, these are for "perfect" (i.e. frictionless + vacuum) conditions, but the equations represent the starting point of any trajectory computation. Likewise, when three dimensional conditions are brought into play, the additional axis must be considered, but the concepts are the same.

[John Dolva]

Thank you Frank.

Here I've used Ralph Wilsons shareware trajectory plotter for a 45 grain bullet using the atmospheric conditions of the day, assuming a horizontal muzzle between the sunshades under the crossbar.

it strikes the edge of the rounded concrete where most of the damage is on the vertical face. From there it's supposed to send concrete chip flying up to Tagues cheek. This is assuming it drifts in against the wind.

Edited October 28, 2006 by John Dolva

[Frank Agbat]

Thank you Frank.

Here I've used Ralph Wilsons shareware trajectory plotter for a 45 grain bullet using the atmospheric conditions of the day, assuming a horizontal muzzle between the sunshades under the crossbar.

it strikes the edge of the rounded concrete where most of the damage is on the vertical face. From there it's supposed to send concrete chip flying up to Tagues cheek. This is assuming it drifts in against the wind.

Intriguing and thought-provoking as always, John.

If I'm reading the plot correctly, this seems to indicate that a 45-grain projectile fired from a horizontal muzzle placed between the shades and the crossbar with a muzzle velocity of 1000fps would actually miss the curb on the high side, while the same with a lower muzzle velocity (257fps) would not even reach the curb when fired. Am I interpreting this correctly?

{edit, as more thoughts came to me} It seems that you could work backwards and find the necessary muzzle velocity for a 45-grain projectile to strike the curb given the limo position, etc. It is obviously going to be closer to 1000fps than 257 fps... Once you have that value, you could calculate a reasonable terminal velocity, compute a reasonable value for kinetic energy at impact, and see if that is enough to chip concrete of a composition similar to that used in Dallas... {end edit}

I honestly don't know what to make of this particular hypothesis yet, but I encourage it and others like it. When things that have long been assumed to be fact are called in to question, growth and understanding often occur.

Edited October 28, 2006 by Frank Agbat

[John Dolva]

"Intriguing and thought-provoking as always, John.

If I'm reading the plot correctly, this seems to indicate that a 45-grain projectile fired from a horizontal muzzle placed between the shades and the crossbar with a muzzle velocity of 1000fps would actually miss the curb on the high side, while the same with a lower muzzle velocity (257fps) would not even reach the curb when fired. Am I interpreting this correctly?

{edit, as more thoughts came to me} It seems that you could work backwards and find the necessary muzzle velocity for a 45-grain projectile to strike the curb given the limo position, etc. It is obviously going to be closer to 1000fps than 257 fps... Once you have that value, you could calculate a reasonable terminal velocity, compute a reasonable value for kinetic energy at impact, and see if that is enough to chip concrete of a composition similar to that used in Dallas... {end edit}

I honestly don't know what to make of this particular hypothesis yet, but I encourage it and others like it. When things that have long been assumed to be fact are called in to question, growth and understanding often occur."

Thank you Frank.

"If I'm reading the plot correctly, this seems to indicate that a 45-grain projectile fired from a horizontal muzzle placed between the shades and the crossbar with a muzzle velocity of 1000fps would actually miss the curb on the high side"

yes, this is it. And almost 1000 fps has been suggested as the necessary initial speed in order to do the damage. Impossible trajectory.

"while the same with a lower muzzle velocity (257fps) would not even reach the curb when fired."

it would reach it. The program plots within about a foot and a half deviation from horizontal, so I didn't extrapolate to 16 feet. I can see it may be misinterpreted so here it is extrapolated.

(image)

"work backwards" .. in one of the inital posts a page or two back I suggested just that. What I've done to get the 257 fps muzzle velocity is to use the gravitational acceleration to work out that if one wants the fragment to drop 16 feet when fired horizontally, one must realise that a fragment fired horizontally and a fragment just dropped will both fall 16 feet in just about the same time and this is 16 feet in one second.

Therefore an initial velocity of greater than 257 fps will overshoot, and less will not reach the curb. There is of course a margin of error and fragment ballistic coefficients etc to consider, but I thought using what I understand to be optimal parameters is best and one can speculate from there.

Edited October 28, 2006 by John Dolva

[Bernice Moore]

John & Tom :

A Question please...

I have been following this thread, and it appears to me that you are basing the Tague curb shot, trajectories with the Z 313 head shot, re the Zapruder film....from the TSBD..

But at the same time, Tom has posted previous information that the head shot occurred 30 feet further

down Elm Street, than what we see within that film....and John you agreed with his information, I believe.

If so. this study would therefore not be of any use, as the findings based on Z 313 would all be in error.

E.J.Hoover's report, was that this shot had not come from the TSBD, but from the Dal Tex or another

building....

Thanks B..

[Thomas H. Purvis]

John & Tom :

A Question please...

I have been following this thread, and it appears to me that you are basing the Tague curb shot, trajectories with the Z 313 head shot, re the Zapruder film....from the TSBD..

But at the same time, Tom has posted previous information that the head shot occurred 30 feet further

down Elm Street, than what we see within that film....and John you agreed with his information, I believe.

If so. this study would therefore not be of any use, as the findings based on Z 313 would all be in error.

E.J.Hoover's report, was that this shot had not come from the TSBD, but from the Dal Tex or another

building....

Thanks B..

1. The first shot to the head of JFK was at Z313. (Second shot fired) Stationing 4+65.

2. The second shot to the head of JFK was some 30+feet farther down Elm St. in front of Mr. Altgens. (Last/third shot fired) Stationing 4+96.

3. The Z313 shot is the one that fragmented the bullet.

[John Dolva]

John & Tom :

A Question please...

I have been following this thread, and it appears to me that you are basing the Tague curb shot, trajectories with the Z 313 head shot, re the Zapruder film....from the TSBD..

But at the same time, Tom has posted previous information that the head shot occurred 30 feet further

down Elm Street, than what we see within that film....and John you agreed with his information, I believe.

If so. this study would therefore not be of any use, as the findings based on Z 313 would all be in error.

E.J.Hoover's report, was that this shot had not come from the TSBD, but from the Dal Tex or another

building....

Thanks B..

1. The first shot to the head of JFK was at Z313. (Second shot fired) Stationing 4+65.

2. The second shot to the head of JFK was some 30+feet farther down Elm St. in front of Mr. Altgens. (Last/third shot fired) Stationing 4+96.

3. The Z313 shot is the one that fragmented the bullet.

Bernice, thank you for your comments.

What I'm trying to do is to show what would happen to a fragment assuming it's from z313 wihout favouring the outcome. I think it shows that a fragment from z313 is unlikely if not impossible to strike the curb and if it did, is unlikely to cause the surface of the curb to break and send fragments to Tagues cheek.

I don't agree with Toms conclusions about the last shot, AND I don't disagree with them either, I'm following his explanations to the best of my ability.

Whatever, the method is really the important thing, and can be applied to any situation. Also I haven't had (I hope someone will) any confirmation (or denial) of the methodology. I already found one mistake (however that mistake when corrected made the curb strike even more unlikely). I have very little doubt that the mark on the curb is a curtate cycloid* wheel weight balance strike and it looks like the "blond Agent'# palmed a wheel weight and not a bullet. I know that wasn't in the same place, but the likelyhood, given the trochoids* on the small section of curb cut out and Tom's accounts from his youth et.c. makes no lead pieces collected and identified as wheel weights unlikely ie. >>>they were found, and for some reason not logged as what they were. I theorise that this is to confuse things and make the Tague strike credible because if it didn't strike the curb bur rather took the more credible downward trajectory to him, the fragment would have gone skipping across any number of vehicles behind him and there is no report of anything like that. IOW they needed it to rise up as a ricochet and the curb damage fitted the bill. Now subtract the Tague strike and the field is ripped wide open. No more 'but what about Tague?'. So it's important to get this right.

*

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...ost&p=78733

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...ost&p=78802

# (image)

[Bernice Moore]

John & Tom :

A Question please...

I have been following this thread, and it appears to me that you are basing the Tague curb shot, trajectories with the Z 313 head shot, re the Zapruder film....from the TSBD..

But at the same time, Tom has posted previous information that the head shot occurred 30 feet further

down Elm Street, than what we see within that film....and John you agreed with his information, I believe.

If so. this study would therefore not be of any use, as the findings based on Z 313 would all be in error.

E.J.Hoover's report, was that this shot had not come from the TSBD, but from the Dal Tex or another

building....

Thanks B..

1. The first shot to the head of JFK was at Z313. (Second shot fired) Stationing 4+65.

2. The second shot to the head of JFK was some 30+feet farther down Elm St. in front of Mr. Altgens. (Last/third shot fired) Stationing 4+96.

3. The Z313 shot is the one that fragmented the bullet.

Tom:

From what I have studied the head shot in front of Mr Altgens is the one that fragmented and blew outward..Z 313..

The second entered ( third shot ) within a fraction of a second, of the first..( second head shot),almost simultaniously.....I believe according to Dr.Mantik's and other's studies.

Harold Weisberg, put the first shot further up Elm towards the TSBD..and the last shot down further past

the steps, as not seen in the Zapruder film.

Re Hoover, according to his report the trajectory was not to the TSBD......the Tague curb hit was to Hoover an annoyance

he really could not be bothered with such.....at least he acknowledged a curb hit..

And Tague, being present that day, stated in his information the shot that he received the small frament hit to

his right cheek from, was from a different location and further up towards the corner of the fence and the overpass...

Thanks B..

Edited October 28, 2006 by Bernice Moore