Wouldn't Henry Lee Oswald need a spotter to assassinate JFK?

Wouldn't Lee Harvey Oswald have need a spotter?
I thought that all snipers work in groups consisting of a shooter and spotter, if Oswald was a lone assassin how is it possible he can hit a moving vechile at an angle, straight at jfk's head ?? I have searched for this topic on google and nothing really came up and same on this forum.


[edit on 25-10-2008 by SonsOfAnarchy]

The spotter, as the name implies, has the role to spot the target for the sniper. This wouldn't really be a problem, since the route for the motorcade was preplanned. No need for someone to point out what you know is there.

Originally posted by SonsOfAnarchy

Henry Lee Oswald

Try Lee Harvey Oswald instead. Maybe you'll get more hits.

So I'm guessing the driver must have had something to do with it since I know he slows down after the first shot I believe but the spotter usually tells the sniper the wind speed which way it blows and other things which even if he knew where the car was going to be I think would be a difficult shot from his angle and to shoot someone in a moving car.

The shot that killed Kennedy could not have been made by the rifle in question. That has been proven time and again. You cannot work the bolt action and bring the rifle to bear on the target in the time that the shots happened. To place shots accurately would have been double impossible. Oswald's model was a carbine, which means it had a shortened barrel and lacked the accuracy of the already inaccurate longer barreled version.

[edit on 10-25-2008 by groingrinder]

reply to post by SonsOfAnarchy


Real life isn't a videogame, sorry.

I saw a purple dog one time, is every single dog in the world purple?

[edit on 25-10-2008 by alaskan]

Behind Fatal Shot: William Robert Greer

reply to post by SonsOfAnarchy


Traditionally yes, snipers work with spotters. They tend to rely on them for coefficients, suggested loads based on current conditions, windage, distance to target, they keep track of humidity, barometric pressure, an entire suite of conditions that would affect a one shot kill.

However, if a sniper is confident in that he or she can calculate all of the variables necessary to fly solo, then certainly he or she doesn't NEED a spotter.

As a side note, I once had a friend Henry Lee Oswald he was forever getting confused with Lee Harvey Oswald; perhaps you knew him too?


AB1

[edit on 25-10-2008 by alphabetaone]

reply to post by alphabetaone


yea lol sorry for that typo for some reason I always do that with his name. But I guess hitting two out of three shots with a rifle that from I know wasn't too good, he must have been pretty darn good.

reply to post by alaskan


In a video game you don't have a spotter so I'm not really sure how you see that comparison...but ok I guess. lol

Well the motorcade route was changed at the last minute to bring Kennedy's mortorcade past the depository. Nevertheless, assuming it was a conspiracy, then Oswald probably wouldn't have required a spotter because he would've known of the change.

Having said that, though - considering the target in question and the magnitude of the operation - I don't think it would be unreasonable to assume that there were spotters in Dealy Plaza. Aside from merely spotting the target, the spotters (after the hit was made) could've doubled as police officers or Secret Service agents making it easier for the shooter(s) to escape.

But I'm still not fully satisfied as to why Oswald (supposedly) waited for the motorcade to turn on to Elm when he had a clear frontal shot on Kennedy when the motorcade was on Houston. A good spotter would've told Oswald (or whoever it was on the 6th floor) to take that shot and not wait for it to turn on Elm.

Then again, I'm not a marksman or anything. So maybe I'm missing something.