Warren Commission (02 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (02 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
But in addition to that, one must wonder if that rifle is capable of
the performance which the prosecuting authorities allege that it gave
on that day. An Olympic rifle champion, Hubert Hammerer, said that he
doubts that it could be done.
Mr. RANKIN. Could you give us his address?
Mr. LANE. He is not in the United States. The story appeared in the New
York Times. I don't have the exact date.
Representative FORD. What nationality is he?
Mr. LANE. I don't know.
Representative FORD. Do you know when he was Olympic champion?
Mr. LANE. No, I don't know that. I do know it probably was some time
after the Italian carbine was manufactured, since it is an extremely
old weapon, manufactured back in 1938, as I recall. There seems to be
an agreement that the period of time was between 5 and 6 seconds from
the first shot to the last shot.
There is a serious question in the minds, I think, of persons who have
fired that pistol--that rifle--first of all, as to its ability to be
fired that quickly accurately with a telescopic sight, and secondly, in
reference to the ammunition which is available. Various persons have
tested various lots of ammunition. Someone from the National Rifle
Association told me that he tested more than 30 rounds, a little over
30 rounds of the Italian 6.5----
Mr. RANKIN. When you refer to these people, will you tell us the names
of any of them that you can? It might be of help to us.
Mr. LANE. I should remember this gentleman, because I just spoke with
him. That is another name I am going to have to supply for you.
Mr. RANKIN. Thank you.
Mr. LANE. He is a member of the board of directors of the National
Rifle Association. He purchased for one of the television networks some
30 rounds, a little over 30 rounds, and told me that 20 of them did
not fire at all, and 6 of them were guilty of hanged fire, which is a
phrase I don't know anything about, but he tells me that means it did
not fire fully, and, therefore, could not be accurate. Therefore, a
very small percentage of the ammunition was of any value.
Mr. Ed Wallace talked about making a similar test in the New York World
Telegram and Sun, in a feature article, and I think he said that he
went with an expert, and they got 20 rounds of this ammunition, and of
those 17 did not fire--only 3 fired. It was very old ammunition.
Representative FORD. Who is Ed Wallace, and who is the individual that
Ed Wallace referred to? Do you have that information?
Mr. LANE. I believe Mr. Wallace indicated that he was present when the
test was made. But it was an article appearing in the New York World
Telegram and Sun within a week after the assassination--from the 23d to
the 30th of November. And I can secure and mail to you a copy of that
article, if you prefer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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