WW II B-17G bomber ball gunner II by danapommet
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Description
I am going to try and answer questions from site mails and E-mails with this posting. This series is about the B-17 “Flying Fortress” World War II bomber. The plane that I was able to crawl around and through is a model G and is owned by the Collings Foundation, Stow, Massachusetts. The B-17G is the 7th model upgrade, from the original model built and first flown July 28, 1935. Of the original 12,731 that were built, there are only 53 airframes left worldwide. Only 15 are still flying, 9 on static display, 2 undergoing restoration to fly, 3 undergoing restoration for display, 5 in storage and 19 partial airframe hulks.
The 1st posting, in this series, was of the “ball gunner’s turret” or “belly gunner”. In the early models, the gunner entered the turret, from under the plane, prior to take off. If the wheels could not be lowered for landing, at the end of the mission, this gunner had no way to exit the turret prior to crash landing. Enough said. So I am posting the top of the “ball gunner’s turret” from inside the plane. You can see the 12 x 18 inch (30.48 x 45.72 cm) hatch, marked with an “X”, where the gunner could enter or exit the “ball”. My shoulders are 20 inches (51 cm) wide so I could not get into the ball. We won’t even factor in the size of my butt, in this example so the ”belly gunners” were short and thin. He is sitting down there for up to 8 hours, wearing an oxygen mask and responsible for defending the underbelly of this 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m) airplane – all by himself. I interviewed a veteran “belly gunner”, right there, where this photo was taken. This photo was taken January 22, 2010. Some data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft and/or Wikipedia.
Thanks for stopping by, taking a look and for all your previous comments and favs.
Dana
Comments (18)
Faemike55
No thank you! I will pass on applying for that position... Great shot and wonderful information.
beachzz
Wow, tight quarters there--ty for the great info!!
zil2008
Wow this is great. My sister in laws father was a gunner in WWII for the Canadian Airforce in the RAF Halifax bomber. There is the only on left that was restored and sits in Trenton , Ontario. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Halifax http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=1463 Great shot Dana and thanks for the info to go with it.
whaleman
Interesting shot and story! I should mention that it was not uncommon for them to have gear problems when returning.
lucindawind
very interesting ...my father was a Tailgunner in WW2
thecytron
Great shot!
kbrog
Great POV and capture!
jendellas
Great shot & info Dana, Thankyou. What they had to go through in the war & what they have to now!!!!!
mgtcs
Amazing photo and a priceless information my friend, well done!
JaneEden
Great photo Dana and very interesting intro!! hugs Jane xx
goodoleboy
Excellent POV of the belly gunner's milieu, Dana. Definitely not for claustrophobics. Good information on this one. There were really no soft spots in the interior of this aircraft. Everything was hard and sharp. Incidentally, several years ago, Steven Spielberg made a sci-fi television drama about the fate of gunner trapped in the belly ball of a B-17, whose landing gear had failed to deploy for a landing after being shot up.
Richardphotos
outstanding shot and info.I was privileged to walk through one myself
Chipka
My legs are cramping thinking about the dimensions of the belly defense ball! WOW! What a shot and what information. Warfare seems so exaggerated and glamorized today, and it's great to see a different view of this, though I have to admit to a particular fascination as well. This is a great shot...almost abstract since what you've captured here exists so far outside of my field of experience. Okay, I've slept in medieval gatehouses with no electricity or plumbing, but I've never been in a warplane. WOW! This is amazing!
MagikUnicorn
BIG BULLET ;-)
flavia49
fantastic capture!!! extraordinary info!!
sandra46
SPECTACULAR!!!!!
mariogiannecchini
Posizione piuttosto scomoda ! E nemmeno tanto sicura !Meglio altro lavoro ! Bella foto e ottima descrizione ! Rather uncomfortable position! And not even so sure! Much better job! Beautiful pictures and excellent description!
jocko500
I never get in even when I was 18. Too tall and shouders to big. wonderful shot