Ball Turret Gunner Parachute

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.

Ball turret gunner parachute. With also some air to air between the b 17 and at 6. Alan magee decided to join the us army after japanese attacked the american fleet at pearl harbor. Paratroopers make a big deal about jumping out of planes from 800 feet but u s. And he lived magee was a ball turret gunner in a b 17 named snap.

Pop part of the 360th bomb squadron 303rd bomb group was on a daylight bombing run over saint nazaire france. Because of necessity a ball turret gunner could not be very large. Getting into the ball turret in the b 17 909 while in flight at bomber camp 2015. Pop after the three.

There just wasn t enough room in the turret for a man of much size. If his turret was hit badly he would often fall out into the freezing skies over germany and fall 21 000ft to his death. The occupant had to be stout hearted free from claustrophobia and unafraid to fly without a parachute. The unlucky gunner did not have room in his turret for a parachute.

Ironically post war analysis of b 17 crew fatality records revealed that the ball turret gunner had the safest job on the plane with the pilot having the most dangerous. In almost every case there was not enough room for the ball turret gunner to wear a parachute. A ball turret was a particular form of spherical form altazimuth mount movement manned aircraft gun turret accommodating the gunner with nearly all the needed equipment for defensive firepower except for the ammunition storage mounted either within or onto the spherical shell of the turret structure mounted on aircraft during world war ii the most common one was manufactured by the sperry. Military career and fall.

I had a vision in my head about putting a camera on the end of the 50 cal gun facing the ball turret so you could see the aircraft rotating in the background. Immediately after the pearl harbor attack magee joined the united states army air forces and was assigned as a ball turret gunner on a b 17 bomber. The space inside the turret was very small and cramped. Army air force staff sgt.

He was considered a perfect fit for the b 17 s ball turret. The turret held the gunner two heavy machine guns ammunition and sights. Alan magee fell out of a plane at 22 000 feet without a parachute while the plane was on fire. Therefore the gunner could not escape from his turret.

It was a manned turret as distinct from remote controlled turrets also in use. On january 3 1943 his flying fortress b 17f 27 bo 41 24620 nicknamed snap crackle. The worst fear for the ball gunner was the turret being jammed through loss of electrics or hydraulics.