B 17 Ball Turret Gunner Trapped

One of the poems the death of the ball turret gunner.

B 17 ball turret gunner trapped. A courageous young world war ii gunner and aspiring cartoonist trapped in the belly gun of a b 17 aircraft with the landing gear destroyed has only his imagination as a force that might be able to save him. The ball turret gunner was one of the most dangerous assignments in world war ii. The turret held the gunner two heavy machine guns ammunition and sights. In the following clip from wing and a prayer.

It was a manned turret as distinct from remote controlled turrets also in use. Jarrell who served in the army air forces provided the following explanatory note. Ball turret gunner s tale it was their second mission in berlin special a b 17 flying fortress their four engine bomber was part of the 92nd bomb group 407th squadron of the 8th air force flying out of an airbase near podington a tiny farm village some 40 miles northwest of london during world war ii. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted there was no hiding from enemy attack.

Inspired me to compose some music. It was an enclosure that at any time could become an airman s. At a later date i put together a video to go with it the video was taken from news footage of the time. With kevin costner casey siemaszko kiefer sutherland j j.

A ball turret was a plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a b 17 or b 24 and inhabited by two 50 caliber machine guns and one man a short small man when this gunner tracked with his machine guns a fighter attacking his bomber from below he revolved with the turret. The sperry ball turret meant for ventral defense needs on aircraft was used on both the b 17 flying fortress and the b 24 liberator as well as the united states navy s liberator the pb4y the sperry ball turret was very small in order to reduce drag and was typically operated by the shortest man. Closeup view of sperry ventral ball turret on a b 17 flying fortress. Hunched upside down in his little.

Told the story of a gunner trapped in the ball turret. Ball turret gunners on b 17 bombers were protected only by a glass bubble jutting out from the bowels of the plane. A ball turret was a spherical shaped altazimuth mount gun turret fitted to some american built aircraft during world war ii the name arose from the turret s spherical housing.