From: schuck@fraser.sfu.ca (Bruce Jonathan Schuck)
Subject: Re: Bullet Velocities
Reply-To: Bruce_Schuck@sfu.ca
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 04:07:14 GMT

mst4298@zeus.tamu.edu (Mitchell S Todd) writes:

>In article <schuck.711957791@sfu.ca>, Bruce_Schuck@sfu.ca writes...
>>One of the componenets of the 'magic' bullet theory is that the bullet
>>slowed down as it made each wound and thats why it was so 'pristine'.

>>This is a table of data from Charles G Wilbers book "Medicolegal
>>Investigation of the President John F Kennedy Murder". Wilber is a
>>forensic pathologist.

>>The data is from the sworn testimony of Edgewood Arsenal Employees.

>>Location of Bullet         Velocity in fps       Energy in foot pounds

>>Muzzle of rifle               2160                      1638
>>At 60 yards                   1900                      1268
>>After passing through JFK     1779                      1111
>>After passing thru rib        1514                       805
>>After passing thru wrist      1432                       720

>	Actually, Wilber contradicts himself here. Edgewood never
>	considered that skin penetration slows a bullet down
>	much more than other soft tissues (this wasn't researched
>	until after the WC). Research, some of which was done by Wilber
> 	himself, indicates that a bullet will decelerate between 120fps
>	and 170fps for each layer of skin it penetrates. Just using the
>	figures for cutaneous retardation, the bullet would lose between
>	240 and 340fps just penetrating the skin on JFK's back and
>	throat. Not even considering the internal tissue, the
>	amount of velocity lost would be considerably less than 
>	Edgewood's estimates. Just considering the skin:

Nice try Mitchell. But since you so obviously doubled up the velocity
loss going through JFK and Connally, already calculated by the
Edgewood Arsenal Employees, we have to go back to Wilber's 360 foot
pounds.


>>After passing through Connally's wrist, the energy of the bullet was
>>720 foot pounds. Wilber says bullet energy is the key factor in wound
>>production.
>>To err on the side of caution, Wilber then cut the 720 in half and
>>compared it to energy levels of other bullets.

>>Bullet                                Energy in foot pounds

>>Bullet entering Connally's thigh             360
>>..45 Army Auto, muzzle velocity               369
>>..38 special, muzzle                          265
>>9 mm Luger, muzzle                           345
>>..44 special, muzzle                          295
>>..22 Winchester Magnum, muzzle                365

>>If the 'magic' bullet theory is valid, the bullet striking Connally in
>>the thigh should have produced a wound similar to an Army .45 fired at
>>at near contact range.

>	So, where is the fragment? the fragment found by Dr Shires
>	is far too small to have caused the 1cm wound, and no
>	fragment was found on the stretcher, or in Connelly's clothes.
>	Further, no appropriately sized fragment was found in the
>	limo that is consistent with Connelly's wound.

The fragments that were found on the limo floor were entirely
consistent with Connally's wounds. They consisted of the top and
bottom half of a bullet extremely mangled and deformed. The fragments
were found on the floor of the limo, exactly where they would be found
if a bullet entered Connally's back going downwards at a 45 degree angle.

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