A straight line

[Jack Trojan]

- A lateral angle of 9 to 10.5 degrees.

- The bullet struck Kennedy at 2 inches to the right of his midline.

- the distance that the bullet travelled through Kennedy's neck was 6.5 inches

- The straight on (shortest) distance from the front of Kennedy's neck to Connally's back was about 24 inches.

- Connally was recessed further into the car than Kennedy 6.4 +/- 2.2 inches   -- pages 43 - 47 of "John Kennedy Assassination Film Analysis", ITEK corporation, May 2, 1976

- The thickness of Connally's torso, from the very back of his spine to the front of his sternum, was about 9 inches.

- Connally's torso was rotated to the right by 30 degrees.  (HSCA Appendix to Hearings - Volume VI, "The Trajectory Analysis",  prepared under the direction of Thomas N. Canning, with the assistance of Clyde C. Snow and C.S. McCamy.)

Even with a 12 degree angle (2 inches right of his midline), how did the MB travel thru JFK's spine and exit nose first then in 24 inches tumble into Connally?

At z224, his hands are not at his neck.

Was Connally's body in the correct position at z224 to receive all the MB wounds?

[Andrew Mason]

Even with a 12 degree angle (2 inches right of his midline), how did the MB travel thru JFK's spine and exit nose first then in 24 inches tumble into Connally?

It is not that difficult to re-create the positions of the car and occupants using the zfilm and using an accurate model of the limo.  From the SN, the angle to the car direction at z195 was about 13.5 degrees.  At z224 it was 9 degrees.  The separation between JFK and JBC was about 24 inches.  The wound in JBC's right armpit was 20 cm or 7.9 inches from his midline.  The exit wound in JFK's throat was .5 cm left of his (JFK's) midline. 

Do the math. The bullet traveling in a straight line from JFK's exit wound on a 9 degree angle will travel 3.8 inches or 9.5 cm farther left before it strikes JBC.  So for the bullet to strike JBC's right armpit, his right armpit had to be 10 cm farther left than JFK's midline.  So JBC's midline had to be about 30 cm farther left than JFK.  Even if his shoulders were turned quite a bit more than he appears to be turned in z225 and even if he was sitting 21 cm inboard of JFK (ITEK said it was probably 10.7 cm and that puts him right in the middle of the jump seat), that is not enough.  And that assumes the shot was at z225, an assumption that conflicts with a lot of consistent evidence.

On the other hand, if the first shot struck JFK (as 20+ witnesses recalled) and if it occurred between z191-z202 (which is where all the evidence places it), then with JBC's midline 4.2 inches or 10.7 cm left of JFK and with JBC turned about 60 degrees which moves his left shoulder/armpit forward by 17 cm (6.8 inches) and to the right by 10 cm (4 inches).  So the bullet travels 18 cm farther left after exiting JFK.  All JBC has to do is lean a bit forward in his seat and the bullet just missed his back on the left side. What does it strike?  What part of JBC's left side was struck?

Was Connally's body in the correct position at z224 to receive all the MB wounds?

No. His body was never in a position to receive all the wounds.  Besides, James Tague said he was struck by something on the second shot. That bullet was not CE399.

[Tim Nickerson]

Even with a 12 degree angle (2 inches right of his midline), how did the MB travel thru JFK's spine and exit nose first then in 24 inches tumble into Connally?

That's the T1 vertebrae.The single bullet passed above that level. You need to find an image of C7. Also keep in mind that Kennedy's torso was rotated about 5 degrees to the right and his head was turned about 60 degrees to the right. With a lateral angle of 9 degrees the bullet would have exited Kennedy about 1 inch to the right of his midline.

Was Connally's body in the correct position at z224 to receive all the MB wounds?

Yes it was.

[Tim Nickerson]

It is not that difficult to re-create the positions of the car and occupants using the zfilm and using an accurate model of the limo.  From the SN, the angle to the car direction at z195 was about 13.5 degrees.  At z224 it was 9 degrees.  The separation between JFK and JBC was about 24 inches.  The wound in JBC's right armpit was 20 cm or 7.9 inches from his midline.  The exit wound in JFK's throat was .5 cm left of his (JFK's) midline. 

Andrew ,using a lateral angle of 9 degrees, the exit wound in JFK's throat would be about 1 inch to the right of his midline, not 0.5 cm to the left.

The bullet entered at the base of Kennedy's neck at 2 inches to the right of his midline (Clark Panel).  Approximating the length of the path through Kennedy to be 6.5 inches:

tan(9 degrees) x 6.5 = 1.03

2.0 -1.03 =0.97 inches

Do the math. The bullet traveling in a straight line from JFK's exit wound on a 9 degree angle will travel 3.8 inches or 9.5 cm farther left before it strikes JBC.  So for the bullet to strike JBC's right armpit, his right armpit had to be 10 cm farther left than JFK's midline.  So JBC's midline had to be about 30 cm farther left than JFK.  Even if his shoulders were turned quite a bit more than he appears to be turned in z225 and even if he was sitting 21 cm inboard of JFK (ITEK said it was probably 10.7 cm and that puts him right in the middle of the jump seat), that is not enough.  And that assumes the shot was at z225, an assumption that conflicts with a lot of consistent evidence.

tan(9 degrees) x 24 = 3.8

As you said, between Kennedy and Connally, the bullet moves 3.8 inches to the left.

3.8 - 0.97 = 2.83

If Connally had been directly in front of JFK and facing fully forward, the bullet would have struck him 2.8 inches to the left of his midline. Moving Connally 7 inches to the left , which the ITEK analysis allows me to do, the bullet strikes at 4.2 inches to the right of midline.



By rotating 30 degrees to the right, Connally moved the entry point on his back 3.25 inches to the left.

With Connally rotated at 30 degrees, the bullet strikes at 7.45 inches to the right of his midline. And I still have 1.6 inches to spare.

[Gary Craig]

[Jack Trojan]

That's the T1 vertebrae.The single bullet passed above that level. You need to find an image of C7. Also keep in mind that Kennedy's torso was rotated about 5 degrees to the right and his head was turned about 60 degrees to the right. With a lateral angle of 9 degrees the bullet would have exited Kennedy about 1 inch to the right of his midline.

Yes it was.

Nope, you just don't get it. The angle I posted was based on the autopsy photo and your contention that the back wound was 2 inches right of the spine. The bullet's trajectory gives us JFK's body position. You have to live with this angle, which is untenable, but fill your boots.

ps sez you the bullet entered above T1. Show me using my laser experiment. Do this for the head shot and the MB and then get back to us. But I won't hold my breath.

[Jack Trojan]

This must be wrong, T3 is WAY too low for Oswald to be a LN! In at T3 and 17 degrees later out at C7? Sorry, that just doesn't work for my world view.

[Tim Nickerson]

Nope, you just don't get it. The angle I posted was based on the autopsy photo and your contention that the back wound was 2 inches right of the spine. The bullet's trajectory gives us JFK's body position. You have to live with this angle, which is untenable, but fill your boots.

You got an angle of 12 degrees from looking at an autopsy photo? Really? Which one? How exactly did you come up with 12 degrees? Did you not understand what I posted?

The image that you posted was an axial view of T1. The single bullet passed through above the level of T1. Find an axial view of a C7 image and then try to make a case.