Table of Contents
What is a ball turret used for?
It served a double purpose, defense against bow attacks as well as fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare. Since this turret is of the ball type, the gunner moves with his guns and sight in elevation and azimuth by means of control handles.
What did a ball turret gunner do?
Armed with two 50-caliber machine guns and capable of rotating 360 degrees, the ball turret gunner was responsible for protecting the otherwise-exposed underbelly of the flying fortress.
How was the ball turret operated?
The Sperry ball turret was very small in order to reduce drag, and was typically operated by the shortest man of the crew. To enter the turret, the turret was moved until the guns were pointed straight down. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and then crouched down into a fetal position.
What bombers had ball turrets?
B-17 Sperry Top Turret The top turret on display is one of the first American fully-powered machine gun turret designs. An electro-hydraulic system powered both the elevation and traverse of the turret’s two . 50-cal. M2 Browning machine guns.
How many planes did B 17 Gunners shoot down?
The USAAF claimed they shot down 179 Luftwaffe fighters, broken-down as follows: B-17 gunners claimed 97 and their fighter escort claimed 82. German records show that 66 fighters were lost. The Luftwaffe claimed that they shot down 108 bombers and 20 fighters.
How many b17 are still flying?
Today, 46 planes survive in complete form, 10 of which are airworthy, and 39 of which reside in the United States.Surviving aircraft by manufacturer. Plant Number produced Number surviving Douglas Long Beach (DL) 3,000 23 Vega Burbank (VE) 2,750 14 12,731 46.
What is a Sperry turret?
One of the most unique combat positions of World War Two was the Sperry Ball Turret. The hydraulically operated turret, which could rotate 360 degrees as well as point straight down, contained the gunner, two . 50 caliber Browning machine guns, a Sperry optical sight and two ammo cans with 250 rounds for each gun.
What is the difference between a b17 and a b29?
Due to all of this, the B-29 is much heavier than the B-17. As a result, Boeing was forced to use more powerful engines for the B-29. In turn, the B-29 had a much longer combat range than the B-17. On top of the longer combat range, the B-29 also had a much faster cruising and max speed.
What is the Ball Turret Gunner compared to?
The gunner is compared with a fetus, a baby animal in the womb: “my wet fur froze.” The jackets the gunners wore had fur inside, and thus the double image is created of the young man in the jacket and the infant animal.
What was the life expectancy of a ball turret gunner?
The fighters who attacked him were armed with cannons firing explosive shells. “I later learned that the life expectancy of a ball turret gunner was just a mere 37 seconds.
What is a waist gunner?
The primary duty of the waist gunner was to defend the aircraft against the enemy. Waist gunners were also frequently responsible for checking the aircraft for damage and assisting the flight engineer with repairs if necessary.
Did the B 25 have a ball turret?
The production B-25B, B-25C, B-25D, and some B-25G models did have retractable remote control belly turrets. They were often removed in the field because they were ineffective and disliked by the crews.
What is the Sperry on a plane?
The Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane was a project undertaken during World War I to develop a flying bomb, or pilotless aircraft capable of carrying explosives to its target. Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane Role Missile National origin United States Designer Elmer Sperry Peter Cooper Hewitt First flight September 1917.
What did gunners do in ww2?
Fighter attacks against WWII bombers usually lasted no more than a few terrifying seconds. During that time, the bombers’ machine gunners had to figure out in split seconds the attacking airplane’s speed, range, path of attack, and their own machine gun bullets’ ballistics and trajectory.
How many missions did B 17 crews fly?
On May 13, 1943, the 303rd BG B-17F Hell’s Angels became the first heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions over Europe, four days before the Memphis Belle’s crew. After flying 48 combat missions, it returned to the US for a war bond tour, but not until 1944.
How long did it take to build a B-17?
It would take nearly two decades to complete, but the result is easily one of the coolest homebuilt planes you will ever see. The idea for the Bally Bomber, as it’s known among aficionados, was hatched over a “few adult beverages” shortly before the turn of the century.
How much did a B-17 cost?
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 Flying Fortress Primary users United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force Produced 1936–1945 Number built 12,731 Unit cost US$238,329 (1945) US$2.6 million (in 2016 dollars).
How did B-17 get to England?
The aircraft purchased in the United States by Britain were flown to airports in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, partially dis-assembled and loaded on ships and transported to England where they were unloaded and re-assembled, a process that could take several weeks, not counting repairing any damage to the aircraft.
Why was the B 24 called the flying coffin?
The four-engine aircraft was notorious among aircrews. Officially designated the “Liberator,” the square shaped B-24 could easily turn into a death trap. It was hard to fly with its stiff and heavy controls, and so earned its name by its crews as the “Flying Coffin.”Oct 13, 2014.
Where was the Swamp Ghost found?
Discovery. The aircraft was rediscovered in 1972 in Agaiambo swamp, where it earned the nickname Swamp Ghost. In 1989, the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center planned to recover it. It was salvaged in 2006 and moved to Lae wharf where it lay waiting for permission to be transferred to the United States.
