Wow!...an excellent post Mitch.....You've raised many debatable points and I think that's great!
Let's start with you last statement first.....
Revill always maintained that Hosty told him that the FBI knew LHO could be a threat. Hosty maintained until his death that Revill's accusation was simply untrue.
Revill immediately wrote a memo to his boss Captain Gannaway after Hosty imparted the information to him at about 2:50 pm . I seriously doubt that Revill would have immediately notified Captain Gannaway if Hosty hadn't told him exactly what Revill said he did. Revill was one of the good cops on the DPD, while Hosty worked for the most corrupt and evil monster (JEH) that ever held high office in the US..
Like I said, it comes down to what Hosty actually told Revill, and by extension how Revill related that to Gannaway. The point of contention in Revills memo is pretty non-specific: "they [FBI] had information that this subject was capable of committing the assassination of President Kennedy." Exactly what that means is anyone's guess. In one sense, anyone this side of Stephen Hawking would be "capable of committing the assassination." Only Hosty and Revill really know. The original point is that the subject that Curry backed down on wasn't what he'd said in the press conference, which was that the FBI hadn't told the DPD that Oswald was in town.
Now to the part of your post that has me most excited....
"a 7.65 Mauser bolt-action rifle which loads from a five shot clip which is locked on the underside of the receiver forward of the trigger guard. The metal parts of this rifle were of a gun metal color, gray or blue, and the rear portion of the bolt was visibly worn. The wooden portions of this rifle were a dark brown color and of rough wood, apparently having been used or damaged a considerable extent. This rifle was equipped with a four-power 18 scope of apparent Japanese manufacture. It was also equipped with a thick, brown-black leather bandolier type sling."
It seems clear to me that Weitzman actually had a 7.65 Mauser in his hands as he examined it and described it. He's NOT describing the 6.5mm Carcano that was discovered beneath the boxes on the sixth floor of the TSBD. It appears that Weitzman was handed a 7.65 Mauser and asked to describe it.
Where did Weitzman ever say that he was handed, or ever held, the rifle? Where did anyone else not named Roger Craig ever said they saw Weitzman handed, or ever held the, rifle? Who claimed that they saw two rifles found in the depository?
Let's parse Weitzman's description.
"a 7.65 Mauser bolt-action rifle which loads from a five shot clip which is locked on the underside of the receiver forward of the trigger guard."
A five shot clip .... The Carcano uses a six shot clip...... And it does NOT lock on the underside of the receiver. The Carcano six cartridge clip loads from the top of the receiver.
To begin with, "clip" in itself isn't a particularly specific term. Using "clip" in the sense of "en bloc clip," Mausers simply don't use them. The Carcano uses a clip that locks into the magazine somewhere below the receiver. When the last round is chambered, the sides of the clip collapse inwards, unlocking it and (hopefully) allowing it to fall through the hole in the bottom of the magazine. Doesn't always work that way, but that's the design. This usage fits, combines with the Carcano's operating system fits Sawyer's description of a "clip which is locked on the underside of the receiver forward of the trigger guard."
Using "clip" in the sense of "stripper clip," yes, Mausers use those, but they don't lock into anything, especially on the underside of the receiver. There's a guide notch for it cut into the top of the receiver, but that's at the top, not the bottom. And it doesn't lock anything in place. This usage, combined with the Mauser operating system, does
not fit Sawyer's "clip which is locked on the underside of the receiver forward of the trigger guard."
Finally, there's "clip" in the sense of "a magazine from which ammunition is fed into the chamber of a firearm," as Mirriam-Webster says. Quite a few people use the term this way. As I've already mentioned, the Mauser model 91's have a magazine that is definitely "locked" and very conspicuously located "on the underside of the receiver forward of the trigger guard." That fits a model 91 Mauser very well, and (again) the underslung magazine is a feature that the Carcano shares.
Of the three possibilities for the definition of clip, the "Mauser-only," stripper clip explanation is the one that just doesn't work. Myself, I find it interesting that of all of the rifle's mechanical features that could be brought out, it's the magazine that gets emphasized. That strengthens the "clip=magazine" conclusion quite a bit.
Now, on the to the five-round vs six round thing. Is it a Mauser because Weitzman saw five rounds in the magazine, or did Weitzman first decide that the rifle was a Mauser,
therefore it had a five-round capacity? The first possibility leads to something of a problem: if the magazine held five rounds, and Fritz ejected on from the chamber, then that rifle couldn't have fired a shot. And where did anyone say Weitzman or anyone else emptied the magazine? Or, in an alternative silliness, Did Weitzman just happen to have a fistful of ammunition of the proper caliber, and decided to top the rifle off to determine it's capacity? Neither of those "five rounds first" scenarios are satisfying. Nor is there any evidence to support them: who claimed that anyone did anything to check the magazine capacity on the rifle? The only explanation still standing is the Mauser-first one: Once Weitzman decided the rifle was a Mauser, then it held five rounds
because Mausers hold five rounds. And that means the number of rounds described simply isn't probative.
The metal parts of this rifle were of a gun metal color, gray or blue, and the rear portion of the bolt was visibly worn.
The metal of the TSBD carcano is a very definite dark blue......And the rear portion of the bolt is NOT visibly worn. However the metal of a mauser is gray colored.
Here I am bursting your bubble:
"Gun metal color, gray
or blue" comes from Sayers' 11/23 report. Boone's 11/22 report says the rifle was blued. Weitzman was asked by the WC whether it was gray or blue, and he replied "blue."
So we have gray or blue, blue, and blue. That doesn't add up to gray. However, you're wrong about Mausers being gray. On '91's, the barrel, receiver, trigger, trigger guard, and magazine are all blued. Only the bolt was left au naturel. Most Mausers I've seen are that way. The exceptions that I've seen are K98K's made during WWII, and that may be due to the good ol' wartime finish, especially later in the war. My '91 was definitely blued at the factory.
The wooden portions of this rifle were a dark brown color and of rough wood,
The wood of the TSBD Carcano is NOT rough.....The wood is not highly polished but it's not "rough" The carcano has an oil finish.....
apparently having been used or damaged a considerable extent.
You've seen photos of the TSBD carcano.....Do you think the stock is beat up, does it appear to have scratches or gouges?
Lt Day thought the rifle's wooden parts were rough: "I noted that the stock was too rough apparently to take fingerprints."
One of the best high resolution photo sets of CE139 that I know of are maintained by the National Archives, and are stored here:
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/305134. It's a javascript page, so I can't directly link the images. However, you have the advantage of being able to pan and zoom as much as you want.
Another JS-limited page is here Getty:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/passport-rifle-bullets-and-other-items-belonging-to-news-photo/50681899?adppopup=true https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/passport-rifle-bullets-and-other-items-belonging-to-news-photo/50681902?adppopup=trueAnother couple, that I can link directly to:
The wood definitely looks rough, dinged, and scratched to me, especially near the butt ends of the stock. And the wear on the edges of the safety lever at the end of the bolt knob is apparent, as well as the wear on the bolt knob.
This rifle was equipped with a four-power 18 scope of apparent Japanese manufacture.
This bit doesn't mean much.....except for the fact that the Scope on the TSBD carcano was CLEARLY marked as Holly wood Optics, having been manufactured in Japan ...so there would have been no reason to speculate.
It's not "Hollywood Optics" It's:
4 x 18 COATED
ORDNANCE OPTICS INC
HOLLYWOOD CALIFORNIA
010 JAPAN
Anyway, my point is that "4x18" and "JAPAN" are prominently printed on the scope in nice white letters on a black background. Easy to read without needing any real study.
It was also equipped with a thick, brown-black leather bandolier type sling."
The TSBD carcano was NOT equipped with a thick "brown black" leather sling.....and it was NOT a bandoleer type sling ....
On the leather bandolier rifle slings I've seen, the bandolier part is a fat piece that is attached to the sling proper. Like what these guys sell:
https://brassstacker.com/Rifle-Sling-and-Cartridge-Bandolier-1.htmlI figure that's because the sling has to be able to be comfortably wrapped around you forearm, and a leather bandolier would be too bulky and stiff to do that. I figure someone saw the fat oval part of the "sling" and took it from there to bandolierland.
I hope you will accept my post in the vein intended....I'm certainly not attacking you....I'm merely pointing out that it looks to me like Weitzman was describing a 7.65 Mauser.
Well, honestly, it's nice to be appreciated.
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