Did the B-17 have a tail gunner?
Did the B-17 have a tail gunner?
On the B-17 was a 10 man crew plus room for passengers; 2 Pilots who had no weapon control, a Bombardier who operated the Norden Bomb Sight and also served as the Nose Gunner, a Navigator who operated the cheek guns in the nose of the plane, the Engineer who operated the Top Turret Gun, a Radio Operator, a Ball Turret …
What was the life expectancy of a tail gunner in WW2?
The Rear-Turret Gunners were in the most vulnerable position on the Plane. The life expectancy of a WW2 Rear-gunner varied but was never high, mostly about just 5 Sorties.
Did b52 have a tail gunner?
It did not involve a B-17 or a B-24 facing off against a Luftwaffe attack, or a B-29 defending itself in the Korean War—Turner was a tail gunner on an aircraft still flying but not usually associated with machine gun defense: the B-52. Today the B-52 is one of the most versatile and long-lived airframes in history.
Which ww2 bombers had tail gunners?
During the Second World War, the majority of United States Army Air Forces heavy bomber aircraft, such as the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Boeing B-29 Superfortress, used a fixed gunner position with the guns themselves in a separate mounting covering an approximately 90-degree rear arc.
Who was the tail gunner on the B-24?
Field jacket and bag owned by Sgt Larry Gardner, a Fifteenth Air Force tail gunner. During his tour, he had a finger shot off, and his B-24 was shot down over enemy territory. Fortunately, Gardner was rescued by Italian partisans.
Who was the ball turret gunner on the B-17?
In May 1943, enemy flak and fighters set ball turret gunner SSgt Maynard Smith’s B-17 afire over Brest, France. For more than an hour, Smith alternated between tending to a wounded crewman, battling flames, and firing the waist guns against enemy fighters.
What did the Gunners do in a bomber?
Typically, gunners made up half of a bomber crew, manning a top turret, ball turret, two waist guns, and a tail turret. Some other crewmembers also operated defensive guns as a secondary duty. Early heavy bombers only had hand-operated flexible guns in the nose, leaving them vulnerable to frontal attack from enemy fighters.
What kind of tail guns did the B-17 have?
Later versions of the B-17 (top photo) and B-24 (left) had more effective, powered, twin-gun nose turrets like those pictured here. The B-17 (left) had hand-operated tail guns with a limited field of fire while the B-24 (right) had a powered tail turret that covered a wide area.