B 17 gunner training firecracker

The b17 was developed as a well protected machinegun platform. Until the g model, waist windows on the b17 were open to a 200 mph, 50 below zero, slipstream of air. B 17 belly turret gunner wilbur richardson interview at planes. He ended up as a radio operator and gunner assigned to. I was never a buff gunner but my dad flew 5s and i loved watching the mitos. B17 bomber flying fortress the queen of the skies the crew. The b 17 was designed by the boeing aircraft company in response to a 1934 army air corps specification that called for a fourengined bomber at a time when two engines were the norm. The picture appears to be of the left side gunner, looking aft. Us army air forces gunners defended b17 flying fortress and b24. Behind the makeshift plywood ammo box you can see metal ammo cans piled on the floor. May 30, 2017 b17 flying fortress b24 liberator bomber crew training program stockton, california may 30th to june 1st do you remember watching twelve oclock high or memphis belle.

Presentations to the 8th air force historical society of minnesota including transcripts, photos, video, and audio files. During world war ii, most united states army air forces heavy bomber designs 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 90degree rear arc. Posted november, 2017 in defense by alton c with 18 comments tags. Sep 11, 2009 gunner firecracker vs usmlerx any thoughts. The fact that one spends over 10k skill points in just gunners alone to make them somewhat viable on their own. He is for the complete technical equipment and therefore also responsible for the lives of all crew members in the machine. Trapped in the ball turret of his b17 bomber over germany he. Jun 17, 2007 life as a b 17 gunner on a mission within the main arena of aces high. This b 17, hang the expense, of the 100th bomber squadron of the usaaf rests in an english airfield after being severely damaged by flak over ostend on an aborted mission to frankfurt, germany, 24 january 1944. George lentz was b17 top turret gunner in 8th air force.

Have your ever imagined what it would be like to train for and fly your own mission in the legendary b 17 flying fortress nine 0. He survived 25 missions as a b17 tail gunner, then. Aerial gunnery training started in laredo, texas, where he sat in the rear seat of a t6 and fired a. The more advanced b 29 featured a fire control system that automatically corrected for lead, bullet drop, and parallax between the gunner station and the remote turrets. How to become a ball turret gunner military aviation air. Fortunately, she was used as a training aircraft for the remainder of world war ii, and as a result, escaped the fate of most of her sisters who went to europe, never to return to the united states. B17 tail gunner the aircraft that helped win ww ii. Flight engineer top turret gunner radio operator flexible gunner ball turret gunner left waist flexible gunner. B17e b17 bomber flying fortress the queen of the skies. Jimmy was the tail gunner in a b 17 known as the kaint see it their prayer was that the nazis kaint see it. The tail gun armament and arrangement varied between countries. The photographer is standing about where the right side gunner would be, and the ball turret would be just behind his feet, forward of the two side gun positions.

Apr 01, 2010 this is part of the aaf training movie how to fly a b 17 bomber. How to fly the b17 starting procedure and checks 1943 youtube. Boeing b 17 flying fortress being attacked by flak ammunition and luftwaffe aircraft. Marion bence, world war ii b17 gunner and pow baltimore sun. The tail gunner, roy urick, was blown out but survived and was taken prisoner. The sixweek training course combined classwork in ballistics, range. There were enormous obstacles to meeting such a demand. This is a great army film on a story that follows the exploits of waist gunner sam brady as he was transformed from a raw recruit to a highlyskilled fighter in the u. Many of you are wondering why we invested so much into the new firecracker platform, why we didnt just update gunner training gt and. Additional ammo will be available for purchase at location. We lived a few blocks from the runway at homestead before they sent us to loring.

B17 gunner accuracy realistic battle discussion war. The worst problem about the waist position was not fear of loosing oxygen, rather it was frostbite. Gunner trainingfirecracker for ms1 student doctor network. Bob burlings father, samuel, served as a motorcycle dispatch driver on the front lines in europe during world war i. B17 gunner steals the show as foundation brings bomber to. Training men for the unique physical and mental demands of being an aerial gunner was very complex. I was a b 17 bomber operator during world war iithis is my story. Drawing shows a world war ii gunner, smoking a cigarette and kneeling as he fires guns in a b 17 airplane during the battle of guadalcanal. Title b 17 waist gunner summary drawing shows a world war ii gunner wearing an oxygen mask as he stands before an open slot in a b 17 airplane firing his machine gun during the battle of guadalcanal. The b17 was such a huge change it took a little getting used to, however we survived, and after 9 weeks of training i was a qualified l st pilot. After graduating and getting my wings 43h august of l943, at douglas army air force base in douglas, arizona we were sent to roswell army air force base, roswell, n. Aircraft recognition training helped gunners make the right choice in a. While the consolidated b24 liberator fourengined heavy bomber dropped more war tonnage and was built in greater numbers, the boeing b17 flying fortress fourengined heavy left a longer lasting memory on american military aviation history for its part in world war 2 19391945. Pilot copilot navigator flexible gunner bombardier flexible gunner, chin turret gunner b 17g enlisted men.

Don zupan, b17 aerial gunner, 8th af, 379 bg, 526 sq. He protected the rear quater of the aircraft with twin. Have your ever imagined what it would be like to train for and fly your own mission in the legendary b17 flying fortress nine 0. Us army air forces aerial gunners of ww2 old films b24 b17. Gunners on world war ii bombers had only a microsecond to estimate an attacking. B17 american bomber crew not lost to history 75 years later. Jack burke and me at moffett field under a b17 wing before battle no one flying in the air corps was drafted to fly. His training took him to various air bases in the deep south, south dakota and arizona. Our b 17f was one of the hundreds to leave the boeing factory in seattle in february of 1943. B17 ballturret gunner had a birdseye view of world war ii aerial. My question is how beneficial would it be for me to go along with gt as i go through my classes starting in first year. The b 17 s tail gunner targeted enemy planes through this small window in the tail of the flying fortress.

Watch the bombs fall, the enemy circle in and ultimately ending in disaster. When i asked to be a gunner, the co was madder then hell because i was in an air depot group in alabama and he had to process the paperwork. Did the gunners aboard b17 bombers in wwii manage to shoot. The graphics arent very good, but its overall very fun. It is not as if i have all of gunner banked or memorized but i have been using it a lot with class and like. Don zupan, b 17 aerial gunner, 8th af, 379 bg, 526 sq. Tail guns on the b17 the aircraft that helped win ww ii. B17 flying fortress bomber crew training program the. So if you were in the air, you had volunteered to be there. We, we trained in 24s, went over in 24s, and i had tail gun turret in the 24s, but when we switched to 17s, then i was tail gunner on a 17, basically just to protect the rear end of the plane.

B17 bomber pilot training film inflight engine fire youtube. Aerial gunner, b 17, browning m2, math class on tfb today. When enemy fighters first apprached the e model b 17, they were met with a nasty surprise. B17 waist gunner defending his aircraft, wwii, 1944. In this video the pilots go over the emergency procedures for an inflight engine fire. How effective were machine gunners in large bombers in wwii. Big tail the first of the big ass b17s arrived england to equip the us 8th air force in july 1942. Gunners national museum of the united states air force display. Then he wasnt so sure, but it was too late to change his mind. He didnt get to see combat because of a crash during a training flight. Sep 14, 2017 on thursday, chuck richardson took his first ride on a b17 since he was a gunner and radioman aboard a similar world war ii airplane doing bombing sorties over germany 73 years ago.

I was looking over the threads for gunner training firecracker and this seems to be the tool for step1 prep along with fa, etc. Radio operator reported smoke coming into the cabin but the source was not found. The next month he received basic training in miami, florida, followed by radio operator school in south. He flew 29 combat missions as an engineer and top turret gunner in a b17 flying fortress at the end of the war from a base near ipswich in southeast england. A ball turret was a sphericalshaped, altazimuth mount gun turret, fitted to some americanbuilt aircraft during world war ii.

B 17 flying fortress b 24 liberator bomber crew training program stockton, california may 30th to june 1st do you remember watching twelve oclock high or memphis belle. 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. I dont know if its worth pulling the actual, specific numbers because it is pretty accepted that the actual tallies were probably overstated a bit imagine you have 4 gunners flying in a b 17 all shooting at 1 aircraft which then catches fire and goes down each gunner might claim to have downed a plane, resulting in 4 kill claims where only 1 of them actually got the kill shot. How to become a ball turret gunner to learn to shoot from a bomber, world war ii airmen went to the movies. The b 17 flying fortress was famous for its durability. Inside a b17 the aircraft that helped win ww ii pictures. I was a b17 bomber operator during world war iithis is.

America had no experience to draw on, and only a handful of newly trained instructors were available. The older b 17 s were being cycled back to the us for repair but if theyd fly theyd often get used for training. Veteran world war two tail gunner recalls his days in a b 17. When stevens was asked if he wanted to be an airplane gunner, he jumped at the chance, but that evening, august 18, 1943, he saw the headlines in the paper. The boeing b17 flying fortress is a fourengined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for. The ball turret, like this one on a b17 in england in 1943, was designed small to. The german sky was so dangerous that the usaaf doubted that the very formidable b29 could survive combat much better than did the b17, and from mid1944 b24. Enemy pilots gained a healthy respect for the tail guns. Veteran world war two tail gunner recalls his days in a b17. Whats is an average b17 gunner accuracy being based on. In summary, being an aerial gunner on a b17 was a very difficult and dangerous job. It was a manned turret, as distinct from remotecontrolled turrets also in use.

B17 flying fortress bomber crew training program the collings. Nov, 2017 early war bombers such as the b 17 and b 24 required each gunner to be an organic ballistic computer. A component of the training was learning to fly in tight formation almost wing tip to wing tip with other bombers and this dangerous proximity led to the loss of more than 2,800 airmen during fatal training mishaps. This is a small town tv station interview with jimmy rue from 2008. Bob served two years, four months and 10 days as part of a b17 bomber crew in world war ii, and his son, robert, served with the 1st cavalry in vietnam. This world war ii aerial gunner training film distilled the mathematics of a deflection shot into an informative and entertaining cartoon. The turret held the gunner, two heavy machine guns, ammunition, and sights. The performances of the gunners determine all the effectiveness of the b17. All the planes had been modified with enlarged gun windows and 0.