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Source: Commemorative Air Force

As I've grown older, I take far more notice of the backstory of the gear. As you look around, remember that everything in that aircraft, every screw, knob, and rivet had a sheaf of technical drawings for it.

Now multiply that by the scale of WWII. In just a few short years the US and USSR produced gear at an astonishing pace. It is truly amazing what man can do when they get going.

More ball turret action:
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I read once that the crew member least likely to survive a B-17 going down to battle damage was "the lonely soul in the ball."


A

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sig2340,

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:

Source: Commemorative Air Force

As I've grown older, I take far more notice of the backstory of the gear. As you look around, remember that everything in that aircraft, every screw, knob, and rivet had a sheaf of technical drawings for it.

Now multiply that by the scale of WWII. In just a few short years the US and USSR produced gear at an astonishing pace. It is truly amazing what man can do when they get going.

More ball turret action:






I read once that the crew member least likely to survive a B-17 going down to battle damage was "the lonely soul in the ball."


A

FIFY

There are few , if any , documented cases of a ball turret gunner getting crushed in the ball . My Dad's plane went down twice . He was able to climb out of the ball prior to the " landing " each time .

http://www.457thbombgroup.org/...970_crash_16-35.html My Dad is on the bottom row second from the right . France 1945

http://www.457thbombgroup.org/...eld__2____7-32b.html
Dead stick landing . Ran out of fuel short of the runway .

Designed, converted factories to wartime production, tooled up, manufactured in massive volumes, sent to fight, and won the war in 4 years.

That is what we can do when we have a reason and all of our priorities are aligned. The race to the moon in the 1960's was the same. If you let the people that know how to do things, do them without politics and red tape, it is amazing what you can get accomplished. But you have to get all the useless people out of the way.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:


That is what we can do when we have a reason and all of our priorities are aligned. The race to the moon in the 1960's was the same. If you let the people that know how to do things, do them without politics and red tape, it is amazing what you can get accomplished. But you have to get all the useless people out of the way.

Just look at the private space programs . NASA can't even agree on what their " Mission Statement " should say .

Great videos ... and fine examples remembering our veterans.

Thanks you.

Great stuff. My dad was USAAF in WWII

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Great stuff. My dad was USAAF in WWII

Where and what ?

When you see footage of a B17 going down, its the loss of up to 10 men. This accounts for the high casualty rate for the 8th AF in WWII.

My grandfather survived 32 missions in the ball turret.

I have photos of his crew and hand written notes that he took during missions and then hid them in empty toothpaste tubes.

He is part of the "Lucky Bastards Club".

Incredibly brave and the be grandfather a guy could ask for.

Boz - I bet your grandfather had some incredible stories to share with you over the years.

You need to change the [IMG] brackets to [FLASH_VIDEO] to make the videos viewable.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

Randall Jarrell
1945


From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
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.