This is a photo my uncle took when he was piloting a B-26 Marauder, not sure of the year. Looks like the ball turret was on top of the Marauder.
He was 23 when he was shot down and killed.
Posted on 11/11/2023 3:08:55 PM PST by Retain Mike
I had a father-in-law that was small in stature. He was solicited to transfer from the army to the army air corp. He turned it down because he didn’t want to become a ball turret gunner. He slogged ashore at Normandy instead.
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
—Randall Jarrell
(A great poem worth proper formatting)
I am technically challenged when I post. Thanks.
Back in the 80s I attended an airshow near Rochester, NY with several older guys. As we walked around the B24 Liberator one of them stood and silently stared at the front end of it; and then softly said, “At the time we nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I was in training to be a nose gunner in a Liberator. When Japan surrendered, that was no longer necessary.”
You’re welcome!
I had three requests to make. I asked for an auxiliary ship, West Coast, and operations. The outcome was perfect. I got a Far East ship, engineering, and an amphib (LST).
I had three requests to make. I asked for an auxiliary ship, West Coast, and operations. The outcome was perfect. I got a Far East ship, engineering, and an amphib (LST).
Being a ball gunner ranks up there with being a tanker in the “no thank you” job in the army.
I’d peel potatoes in Leavenworth for the duration.
I was thinking of that poem today. God be with all who served.
I read your post and have tried for at least thirty minutes to formulate a reply. The only thing I can contribute is a quote from General Patton, whose birthday is today:
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.
— George S. Patton Jr.
I saw an interview with a former ball turret gunner. He said he didn’t feel particularly vulnerable in the ball turret because there were no safe places on a B-17.
I vaguely recall reading that the ball-turret was (counter intuitively) the “safest”, or nearly so, position in the B17 or B24. It presented a relatively small target, and the plexiglass is about 2” thick.
The gunner I saw mentioned those things and added that the two .50 caliber machine guns were big chunks of steel that also offered some protection from flak. That said, nothing on a B-17 could stop a 20mm cannon shell or a direct hit from an 88, so everyone on board faced the same threats.
This is a photo my uncle took when he was piloting a B-26 Marauder, not sure of the year. Looks like the ball turret was on top of the Marauder.
He was 23 when he was shot down and killed.
There was no safe place on an unarmored airplane.
Just an 8mm ball round could go in one side of the plane and out the other. Too bad if you happened to be in the way.
June 4 marks the miraculous 1942 naval victory at Midway. Assembling possible resources included the improbable conversion of Army B-26 bombers into Navy torpedo aircraft.
Early B-26’s were considered “Widowmakers”. To avoid fatal touchdowns, pilots maintained final approach speed at 150 mph and landed at 120-135 mph; excessive speeds compared to contemporary planes.
The Mark XIII aerial torpedo was equally unforgiving by tasking pilots to hit a 30-knot aircraft carrier with a 33-knot torpedo. They were required to fly low, straight, and slow through intense fighter and anti-aircraft fire and launch at less than 1,000 yards. Most torpedoes failed when released at over 50 feet altitude and at speeds exceeding 126 mph; speeds at which B-26’s often stalled and crashed.
Army Captain James Collins led four aircraft to attack the Japanese carriers, though the pilots had never before attempted to use torpedoes. The B-26’s obtained no hits, and two of the four aircraft with their seven-man crews perished. Captain Collins with another crippled bomber returned to crash land on Midway.
This dedication was typical of about 550 airmen who lost over half their number killed when flying into concentrated anti-aircraft fire and fighter attacks to destroy four heavy carriers and defend Midway. Such courage and sacrifice by the Army, Navy, and Marine flyers permanently seized the initiative in the Pacific from the Japanese.
If you have Prime video, watch a few episodes of 12 O’Clock High. All the B-17’s you can handle.
“Safe” is relative ...
This is a top turret:
This is a man in a ball turret:
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