In uly 1934 John Dillinger was shot by FBI agenst outside the Biograph theatre in Chicago. What caliber was used to bring him down in a barage of bullets?

Hard to tell.

Do know that he was fired at by three agents, hit three times, at least two of the hits were fatal (one though the neck/head and one that clipped the heart). None of the three were singled out as having fired "the" shot. Believe on of those three was killed going after "baby face" Nelson a bit later on. Melvin Purvis's only action of the day was to light his cigar as a signal to his agents (there was at least one other team staking out a different theater).

So..three shooters...three hits...and weapons standardization wasn't required back then (although a lot of agents seemed to like the .38ACp/38super).

The caliber used was a 38 special and the 1 bullet sited for his death was the one that struck him in the head.
That gun sold for $25,000 in a California auction.

Ironically the same gun was used by the same agent (Purvis) to commit suicide years later.


"When they exited the theater that night, Sage tipped off the FBI agents who opened fire into Dillinger's back, killing him. Dillinger was struck three times, twice in the chest, one actually nicking his heart, and the fatal shot, which entered the back of his neck and exited just under his right eye. According to Purvis, Dillinger died without saying a word."

Government is often wrong, and this is from the FBI site:

The Agents who fired at Dillinger were Charles B. Winstead, Clarence O. Hurt, and Herman E. Hollis. Each man was commended by J. Edgar Hoover for fearlessness and courageous action. None of them ever said who actually killed Dillinger.