Gov. John Connally Grips His White Stetson Hat at Z-272

[Andrew Mason]

The NOVA program which somebody recently posted in another thread included an excellent segment showing what happens when a Carcano bullet exits a body. It does tumble and they proved that by firing the Carcano through ballistic gel and ballistic soap with a board in front that matched the distance from JFK to JBC. The bullets consistently tumbled and made an elongated entry through the board almost the exact length of the Carcano bullet.

But the wound on the skin Connally’s right armpit was elliptical, not bullet shaped. The bullet was a cylinder rounded at one end. And how did a bullet striking sideways make a small tunnelling wound?

[Tom Graves]

But the wound [place missing word here] Connally’s right armpit was elliptical, not bullet shaped. The bullet was a cylinder rounded at one end. And how did a bullet striking sideways make a small tunnelling wound?

Choose one: "In" or "Near"

[John Corbett]

But the wound on the skin Connally’s right armpit was elliptical, not bullet shaped. The bullet was a cylinder rounded at one end. And how did a bullet striking sideways make a small tunnelling wound?

The entrance wound was elongated. That is an indication the bullet was tumbling as it entered JBC's back. As for you other question, you should ask an expert on wound ballistics which I am not.

[Andrew Mason]

Choose one: "In" or "Near"

[Tom Graves]

You don't "get" it.

[Andrew Mason]

You don't "get" it.

"Near" not accurate and is vague. "In" is more correct but does not tell you a location because the armpit is a large area. I wanted to be precise so I provided Dr. Shaw's statement. 

Shaw also said (7 HSCA 330): "Lateral to the scapula on the right posterior thoracic wall was a small wound".

My understanding is that the lateral edge of the scapula is the axillary border.  The axillary fold is the muscular, fatty surface of the lower armpit behind it. 

But the wound was not a single point. It had dimensions.  It was about 1.5 cm by .8 cm with the long dimension in the long axis of the body (Shaw 7 HSCA 331). So it appears to have been located in the right armpit extending .8 cm from the posterior border of the right armpit.

As far as the orientation of the bullet is concerned, since the bullet was exactly 3 cm in length I agree that this is not a sideways strike. Shaw said: "The wound in the back was shaped as if the bullet had entered at a slight declination" (Shaw 7 HSCA 331).

[Robin Unger]