JFK Assassination Hearings - E. Aschkenasy & Mark Weiss, H.B. McClain
JFK Assassination Hearings - E. Aschkenasy & Mark Weiss, H.B. McClain
(01:00:57) Opens to Representative CHRISTOPHER DODD questioning acoustic experts ERNEST ASCHKENASY and MARK WEISS about areas of lee-way in their analysis, in particular Dodd is concerned about moving the concluded location of the grassy knoll shooter - Weiss responds that the shooter could move only within a radius of five feet from the concluded location and that after that matching wave patterns cannot be produced (01:04:45) Dodd has Aschkenasy explain with the chalk board as an illustrating surface what sort of movement of the knoll shooter's concluded location would make a wave pattern that does not resemble that recorded on the tape (01:08:20) Representative FLOYD FITHIAN brings up earlier committee review of photographs that show suspicious characters and objects around the grassy knoll, Chief Counsel Professor ROBERT BLAKEY jumps in and says that these photographs had been discounted by committee panels as inconclusive, however he then explains an exhibit of a photo of the motorcade going by the grassy knoll and points out the picket fence and area where Weiss and Aschkenasy have concluded a shot to have been fired from (01:11:20) Fithian asks how the limited sensitivity of the microphone which recorded the assassination and the fact that it was obscured in it's recording by the motorcycle windshield effected Weiss and Aschkenasy's conclusion that it was in fact a gun shot that was recorded - Weiss reponds that these factors were of little significance to their conclusion (01:14:15) Fithian quotes from Dr. JAMES BARGER's earlier testimony about his acoustical analysis of the assassination tape, Fithian wants to know how Weiss and Aschkenasy accounted for what Barger called false alarms or noises that resembled gun shots - Weiss responds that their analysis was done with a much smaller window of error and this allowed them to be certain the noises they were analysing were gun shots (01:16:54) Committee Chairman LOUIS STOKES recognizes Representative ROBERT EDGAR, Edgar discusses with Weiss the effect that different temperatures would have on his and Aschkenasy's conclusions - Weiss says it would really be negligible (01:20:22) Edgar asks if the two men's analysis wasn't done in a test tube, that it didn't consider all the factors impacting the enviroment at the time of the assassination: temperature, wind , people, etc. - Weiss responds that he feels that they accounted for all factors that they needed to (01:24:00) Edgar asks about the possibility that the shot in question was not an acoustical mirage or the the refraction/reflection of one of the other shots - Weiss responds that if it was it would have had to have some how come from the grassy knoll area, furthermore he adds these mirages occurr over much larger physical spaces (01:26:34) Stokes recognizes Fithian, Fithian confirms with the two men that it would have been easy for a police officer to accidentally turn on his microphone, Achkenasy tells a little anecdote about this - Fithian then asks if there were any changes to Dealey Plaza over the years that would have effected the echo structure - Weiss reponds no (01:29:57) Stokes recognizes Edgar, Edgar tries to make some analogies between falsely diagnosed sounds and ships being misdirected by beacons, they plummet in laughter - Edgar then ends up getting into a detailed discussion with Aschkenasy about how the two men can securely conclude the sound wave they examined was from a gun shot, Aschkenasy uses sound wave graphs to explain this (01:38:24) Edgar and Weiss discuss the 95% probability that their results are accurate - Weiss says this number is based solely on whether or not what they have idenitified as a gun shot is actually a gun shot (01:41:52) Dodd asks if they can be 95% sure that it was a rifle shot - Weiss and Aschkenasy respond that their main concern was the location of the muzzle blast and that they were less concerned with the particular kind of shot, other than that it produced a shockwave and thus was a supersonic shot (01:44:30) Weiss explains the sound and physics of a shockwave (01:45:10) Upon Dodd's request Blakey and Deputy Chief Counsel GARY T. CORNWELL describe what tests were done to determine if the possible shot from the grassy knoll was that of a rifle or pistol (01:48:32) Stokes recognizes Delegate WALTER FAUNTROY who confirms with Cornwell that a pistol could fire at or above super sonic speeds (01:49:50) Various requests are made by committee members of the two witnesses (01:51:15) Stokes recognizes Asckenasy and Weiss' opportunity to suppliment their testimony - Weiss thanks everyone (01:52:37) Stokes recognizes Professor Blakey, Blakey gives a long explanation of the work of the acoustics committee which investigated based on the tape of the assassination the question of how many shots Oswald could have gotten off within the diagnosed time frame, Blakey then segues to calling the next witness by explaining how the acoustics committee also wanted to figure out the location of the motorcycle which recorded the assassination, H.B. McClain was the driver of that motorcycle and Blakey introduces him (01:58:24) Stokes calls and swears in McClain, Cornwell is recognized to question McClain, Cornwell confirms McClain's background and that he was part of the 1963 motorcade (01:59:53) Cornwell introduces an exhibit, it is the plans for the police motorcycle escort of JFK's motorcade, Cornwell then discusses extensively with McClain McClain's and the escorts positioning relative to themselves and the motorcade