JFK Assassination Hearings - The Weapons Experts Panel (Part I)
JFK Assassination Hearings - The Weapons Experts Panel (Part I)
(13:29:53) PBS funding logo appears (13:30:17) Shot opens of hearing room from the back of the essentially empty gallery, hearings host SANDFORD UNGAR voices over an introduction to the afternoon's hearings and shot soon shifts to him, he introduces his panel Professor JACOB COHEN of Brandeis and DAVID LIFTON, Warren Commision critic, they discuss earlier day's testimony of LARRY STURDIVAN, ballistics expert, and debate the implications of the testimony thus far (13:37:33) Hearing called to order by Committee Chairman LOUIS STOKES and he recognizes Professor G. ROBERT BLAKEY, Chief Counsel, who introduces the afternoon's testimony about ballistics (13:38:07) Blakey gives a detailed history of the events on assassination day that had to do with fire arms and ammunition connected to LEE HARVEY OSWALD and how these connections were made by FBI analysis of the evidence, he also mentions the later critique of the findings of the Warren Commission and the contradictions they raise (13:43:35) Blakey explains the objectives of the new scientific panel formed upon by the House Committee: to identify the character and characteristics of the evidence, to resolve whether or not a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle could be mistaken for a different gun, to determine if all the rifle bullet evidence can be matched to the same gun, and to resolve any nagging Warren Commission criticisms - Blakey goes on to list the panel members names and give their credentials: JOHN S. BATES JR, DONALD E. CHAMPAGNE, DR. VINCENT P. GUINN, MONTY C. LUTZ, ANDREW M. NEWQUIST (13:47:00) The panel as a whole is called forward and sworn in (13:48:04) Chair recognizes Committee Counsel JAMES E. MACDONALD, who asks if the panel has formed a report and gets it entered into the record, he then has the panel introduce itself (13:50:00) The infamous Mannlicher-Carcano rifle is introduced (13:51:25) MacDonald questions Lutz about his experience with the actual rifle (13:53:14) Lutz gives the characteristics of the rifle standing up with the rifle in hand (13:54:11) Lutz is asked if the Mannlicher-Carcano could easily be mistaken for a German Mauser, he answers this utilizing an exhibit chart of illustrations of several different rifles, in giving a detailed description of the similarities of different guns he reveals another chart under the first with each of the guns identified (as if to illustrate the question could you have picked the right one?) (13:58:30) MacDonald asks if you can determine the calliber of a rifle merely by looking at it - Lutz says no and explains why and agrees when asked by MacDonald if the confusion of the guns would be an easy mistake (14:00:10) MacDonald asks Lutz to identify and describe the scope on the infamous Mannlicher - Lutz does so and in doing says that the scope is a cheap and unreliable one, and the gun itself is not intended to have a scope, its mounting is a customized addition, Lutz also tells the committee that the scope is neither left or right handed (14:02:20) MacDonald asks Lutz about the iron sites on the gun - Lutz does so and confirms that an average marksman firing at an average distance could get the same degree of accuracy from this site as from the telescopic one (14:04:00) MacDonald asks if the rifle has a hair trigger - Lutz gives the panel's definition of a hair trigger and says that this rifle does not have a hair trigger (14:05:18) MacDonald begins to question Champagne and introduces new exhibits which Champagne identifies as the three cartridges found in the Texas book depository (14:08:30) Champagne matches one of the cartridges with blown up images of it from different angles (14:10:40) Lutz demonstrates with the rifle how a cartridge is ejected and why it could come out slightly deformed as a result, he gives several dramatic demonstrations of pulling back the bolt, once very rapidly back and forth (14:12:27) Champagne identifies various exhibits and illustrations of cartridges (14:14:30) Champagne gives a detailed explanation of how the cartridges the panel test fired match those found on the floor of the Texas book depository - he uses microscopic photographs to explain which show the similarities in scarring of the cartridges by the rifle's firing pin and ejector mechanism (14:19:40) MacDonald introduces exhibit of unfired cartridge found in the rifle and panel test cartridge, as well as photographic images of the cartridges, Champagne uses these exhibits to verify that the bullet found in the gun matched up with gun, again Champagne does this by showing similar scarring to the cartridge, this time done by the magazine follower (14:24:40) MacDonald introduces new exhibits, among them the infamous "pristene bullet" 399 and begins to question Bates - Bates defines the term "pristine bullet" and says that bullet 399 does not qualify as such (14:27:00) Bates explains what is not pristene about bullet 399 using an image of different photographed angles of the bullet (14:28:22) Tape cuts off at the end of Bate's explanation of bullet 399's deformities