Wwii Ball Turret Gunner
From my mother s sleep i fell into the state and i hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Wwii ball turret gunner. Waist gunner with ammo feed. The ball turret gunner had to assume a fetal position with his shoulders and head against the rear wall the small of his back and buttocks on the turret s bottom his legs held up by straps with a pair of 50 caliber machine guns stuck between them. An air gunner of 264 squadron wearing a gq parasuit or rhino suit august 1940. Magee s friend don jenkins also a veteran of wwii said that being a b 17 gunner was not an easy job during wwii.
One of the highlights at this fall s big sandy shoot was a vintage ww2 ball turret with twin 50 cals that spectators could shoot. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted there was no hiding from enemy attack. Nasm si 80 20353 aerial gunnery training had a make do try anything quality resulting in the design of 16 types of outdoor ranges. Just wanted to share some cool pics of ball turret gunners from the 388th bomb group.
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. It was common knowledge among soldiers that the b 17 ball turret gunners had a very high casualty rate. It was an enclosure that at any time could become an airman s. Although it s not uncommon to see unique and rare guns and.
The ball turret gunner was one of the most dangerous assignments in world war ii. The ball turret like this one on a b 17 in england in 1943 was designed small to reduce drag so its gunner usually was the shortest man in the crew. It is about the death of a gunner in a sperry ball turret on a world war ii american bomber aircraft. Russian gunner in.
I have been doing tons of research on ball turret gunners over the last few years and im interested in acquiring any items related to ball turret gunners during wwii especially photos and i d d medals. The turret held the gunner two heavy machine guns ammunition and sights. Ball turret gunners on b 17 bombers were protected only by a glass bubble jutting out from the bowels of the plane. Sgt is top turret gunner on a b 24 of the 8th air force in england.
Hear the story of how william carter was drafted into wwii and became a b 17 ball turret gunner. This was mainly because german fighters would target the gunners first.