Mr. Eisenberg. And that was made by you or under your supervision?
Mr. Frazier. Yes, it was made by me.
Mr. Eisenberg. Mr. Chairman, I ask that this be admitted as Commission Exhibit No. 540.
The Chairman. It will be admitted.
(The article referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 540, and received in evidence.)
Mr. Eisenberg. Is there any reason that you can think of why this Exhibit 139 might be thought to be a 7.35-or 7.65-caliber rifle?
Mr. Frazier. From outward appearances, it could be a 7.35-mm. rifle, because, basically, that is what it is. But its mechanism has been rebarreled with a 6.5-mm. barrel. Photographs of the weapons are similar, unless you make a very particular study of the photographs of the original model 38 Italian military rifle, which is 7.35 mm.
Early in the Second World War, however, the Italian Government barreled many of these rifles with a 6.5-mm. barrel, since they had a quantity of that ammunition on hand. I presume that would be the most logical way of confusing this weapon with one of a larger caliber.
Mr. Eisenberg. And is the 6.5-caliber weapon distinguished from the 7.35-caliber weapon by name?
Mr. Frazier. Yes, it is; it is by the model number. The model 91/38 designates the 6.5-mm. rifle, whereas the model 38 designates the 7.35.