Privacy Window

[Steve Taylor]

          The pictured Top being placed on the JFK Limo is NOT the top that was installed on the Limo at Parkland Hospital. That Top was stored in pieces inside the trunk of the Limo. Said Top was extracted from the Limo trunk and assembled/installed as the car sat in that Parkland Emergency parking stall.
          Personally, based on All of the 11/22/63 images of the JFK Limo I have seen, I believe that the window that runs entirely across the JFK Limo, (from door-to-door), had been removed.  It could be that anytime they took the top off the the Limo they also removed the window. It could be a vibration issue without the support of the top? Also, if the top is on the Limo and that window is installed & closed, if shot(s) were fired how would a SS Agent such as Kellerman move from the front seat to the rear section of the Limo in order to protect/physically cover the POTUS? SA Youngblood physically did this with regard to LBJ.  SA Hill also did this with Jackie who he was specifically assigned to protect. This makes it obvious as to what is SS Protocol regarding shots fired and the duty of a SS Agent with regard to who they are assigned to protect.

Royall, from what I'm learning, the bubble top is placed on first, then a canvas covering was stretched over it, to correspond to what you are used to seeing.  I think this pic shows the SS installing the canvas.

[Steve Taylor]

Beginning at 1:07...

I don't see any glass between the Connally's and Greer & Kellerman in the front seats.


And again, freeze it at 4:17...

You can see the President's face.  It doesn't appear that there is glass between the camera's position and the President's face.

Bill, the preview image of your movie shows the sun reflected off of the partition.  I see it a few times again in the beginning of the motorcade but its fleeting.

[Michael Walton]

This is an interesting post. IMO - it seems like there's no partition there for two reasons:

1. That day was full of light so you'd expect some kind of reflection off of that glass. I just watched the parade film and it's quite unusual that nothing really stands out.

2. Here's a photo that I found interesting:



Connolly has his hand resting on the seat back or what appears to be where the glass would be. And there is no glare or reflection at all in that photo off of that glass if it was there.

Here's another pretty good photo - appears that there's no glass there.



But of course Jackie Kennedy said it was there so who knows?

[Steve Taylor]

It looks like a vertical line extends near Connally's forehead, right where the edge of the partition should be. You might have to save this photo and zoom-in.

[Tom Scully]

Photographers capture lighting/lens/film interpretations reinterpreted by opinionated pairs of eyes.






Henry Ford Museum, permanent display (altered after 1963 for later use by LBJ).:

[Howard Gee]

It looks like a vertical line extends near Connally's forehead, right where the edge of the partition should be. You might have to save this photo and zoom-in.

Steve, I think I see the vertical line you're referring to, but in my opinion it doesn't extend to the top of the partition and appears to be in front of where the glass would be. My guess is the line you're seeing is actually something closer to the dashboard above Greer's right hand area, but I'm not sure.

[Ray Mitcham]

Steve, I think I see the vertical line you're referring to, but in my opinion it doesn't extend to the top of the partition and appears to be in front of where the glass would be. My guess is the line you're seeing is actually something closer to the dashboard above Greer's right hand area, but I'm not sure.

Howard, for some reason you seem to disbelieve that the privacy window was a two part sliding unit.
What do you think the vertical lines are in this  photo (yellow arrow.

[Tom Scully]

(Pamela Brown wrote that the glass privacy partition was removed three months after June, 1961. See text near bottom of this post.)

Anthony Marsh is credited with locating this 1961 photo.:



On her no longer resolving website, Pamela Brown wrote:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:cU5R6stl8xkJ:ss100x.com/+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ua
....THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY
...From the halcyon days of June, 1961, when the newly-designed car was delivered to the White House, complete with a permanent privacy window in the center partition area, to September, 1961 when the Secret Service ordered numerous changes made to the limo, including the redesign of the center partition area and the removal of the privacy window, to the fateful motorcade in Dallas on November 22, 1963, this elegant vehicle was an integral part of the life of President Kennedy....

....PRIOR TO 11/22/63

This photo was taken in mid-1961. Notice the configuration of the metal frame, and the Continental logo in the side panel window. Compare it with the configuration of the frame in the motorcade photo at the top of this page. Look at the vertical line in the center of the metal frame area. It represents the privacy window. How does it compare with the color photo farther down the page of the limo as it is today. How does it compare with the black-and-white copy below?

The privacy window looked like this in June, 1961. This photo, first located by Anthony Marsh, was part of the publicity package for the limo at the time of its delivery to the White House. It was included in the press release of the Ford Motor Company for the Presidential limo, verifies that the car that became SS-100-X, the primary crime scene of the assassination, was delivered to the White House with a privacy window.

Why was a privacy window installed in the Presidential limousine SS-100-X when it was delivered to the White House in June, 1961 and why was it removed three months later? In September, 1961, the entire center partition area was removed and redesigned, based, apparently, on the recommendations of the Secret Service. The privacy window was taken out, and a removable metal frame was designed with glass side panels to hold the rest of the bubbletop in place. On the day of the assassination, the metal frame was in place, but the bubbletop was in the limo's trunk. Apparently, this configuration was used in case a sudden downpour should start (the early morning had been rainy). Ironically, the bubbletop, though not bullet-proof (nothing on the car was at that time) might have deflected some of the shots, made focusing on the target harder, and contributed to saving the President's life. Vince Palamara has determined that JFK did not order the bubble top off, but that Sam Kinney took responsibility for that fatal mistake. Pamela -Brown brought the research on the second windshield to the community in 1997.
....
....THE SECRET SERVICE AND THE DESIGN FLAW OF SS-100-X
....The significant design flaw of SS-100-X -- the 'stretch' section including the center partition area, were well known to the Secret Service, even upon delivery of the car in June, 1961. Only three months later the limo was restructured and the privacy window removed. And yet, acknowledging the difficulties of communication between passengers and SS agents in a configuration with the top down must have been acknowledged by the SS. And yet, the car was still used as a parade vehicle while the SS knew it was unsafe in an open configuration....