What calibers were found in JFK's limousine, stretcher, and autopsy specimens?
Executive summary
Official investigations and later forensic projects consistently link the bullets and fragments recovered from the limousine, the Parkland stretcher, and autopsy material to 6.5×52mm ammunition used in the Mannlicher–Carcano rifle found in the Texas School Book Depository: the stretcher bullet (catalogued CE 399) and two limousine fragments were ballistically matched to that Carcano, and autopsy/X‑ray evidence describes two bullets striking Kennedy (one neck wound, one fatal head wound) with fragments recovered from the limousine and autopsy specimens [1] [2] [3] [4]. Reporting and later technical work (including INAA and NIST preservation projects) add that the material is consistent with two Carcano bullets and fragments — though some forensic methods and interpretations have been questioned subsequently [5] [2].
1. What the official records say about the calibers and matches
The Warren Commission and later panels documented that the ammunition tied to the evidence was the 6.5×52mm type used in a Mannlicher–Carcano rifle; a nearly whole bullet found on Governor Connally’s gurney (the “stretcher bullet,” CE 399) and two fragments recovered from the presidential limousine were ballistically matched to the Carcano rifle recovered on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository [4] [6] [1]. The autopsy and forensic panels concluded President Kennedy was struck by two bullets, and ballistics testing linked key fragments to the Carcano ammunition [3] [4].
2. The specific items and their catalogue identifiers
Modern archival and preservation work identifies items by catalog numbers: CE 399 (FBI C1) is the stretcher bullet found on Connally’s hospital gurney, and fragments CE 567 and CE 569 (FBI C2/C3) are fragments associated with the fatal head shot; those items and others were digitized and preserved by NIST at the request of the National Archives [2]. The NIST photo essay explicitly labels the “stretcher bullet (CE 399 FBI C1)” and two fragments from the fatal headshot (CE 567 and CE 569) in its collection [2].
3. Forensic composition and number-of‑bullets findings
A 1977 neutron-activation analysis (INAA) commissioned by the House Select Committee on Assassinations reported that the bullet-lead specimens fell into the concentration ranges of a specific manufacturer’s bullet lead (WCC/MC) and the specimens showed evidence consistent with only two such bullets being involved — supporting the thesis that two bullets (and their fragments) produced most of the recovered lead evidence [5]. The HSCA’s forensic pathology panel also concluded JFK was struck by two bullets, each entering from the rear [7].
4. Autopsy evidence: wounds, fragments and interpretation
Autopsy material and X‑rays — central to official conclusions — describe one bullet entering Kennedy’s upper back and exiting below the neck and a second bullet entering the rear of the head producing a large exit and extensive cranial fragments; fragments consistent with the headshot were recovered and later identified in the limousine and autopsy collections [3] [4]. The Warren Commission and subsequent panels used those wounds alongside ballistic matches to connect the Carcano ammunition to the injury and fragment record [4] [7].
5. Technical caveats, later re‑examinations, and disputes
Later technical critiques and re‑analyses complicated parts of the forensic picture: courts and forensic practitioners have since questioned the reliability of some bullet‑lead comparison methods that were used historically, and the NAS/other reviews led to changes in how such evidence is treated in court [8]. The 1977 INAA produced more definitive compositional results than earlier FBI work, but debates about how many projectiles and exact trajectories remain in the literature and in public controversy [5] [7].
6. What the available sources do not settle or do not mention
Available sources do not mention any authoritative change in the basic identification of the recovered projectiles’ caliber away from the 6.5×52mm Carcano type; they also do not provide an uncontested, single‑sentence inventory tying every fragment to an unequivocal passage through a single bullet rather than deformation and fragmentation across shots [1] [2] [5]. Some later commentators and lone forensic voices dispute aspects of trajectory and entry direction, but those alternative claims are not adopted by the major official panels summarized here [9] [7].
7. Bottom line for the question asked
The mainstream, officially archived record and subsequent forensic preservation work identify the stretcher bullet CE 399 and two limousine fragments as 6.5×52mm Carcano ammunition matched to the Mannlicher–Carcano rifle recovered in the Depository; autopsy and X‑ray evidence describe two bullets striking Kennedy (one neck wound, one fatal head wound) with related fragments catalogued and preserved [1] [4] [2] [3]. At the same time, methodological critiques of bullet‑lead analysis and continued disagreement among some researchers mean the forensic story has evolved and remains debated in detail [5] [8].