For 1941 this was cutting edge technology. Tail Gunner: The pilot and co-pilot. Unit: 92nd Bomb Group, 407th Squadron of the 8th Air Force With this set up, the turret can move vertically and horizontally at the same time. Because of this surprise attacks from 12 oclock were not uncommon. It was named the Sperry turret, after the company that made them; the Sperry Corporation. To remedy that, the front end of the cover was "slotted". Franks B-17 was hit by flak and began tumbling and rolling out of control as it quickly lost altitude from about 30 thousand feet. The date was April 20, 1944. [2], Due partly to its short length, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" poem has been widely anthologized. With all of the emergency landings that were madewhy not! B-24 Liberators were too low to the ground for the ball to fit, so they were fitted with a retractable turret that was stowed away for take off and landing. The crew was unhurt, but ball turret gunner Hamill recalled, "We climbed out of our wreck realizing that we had ruined two precious Spitfires. Development of the spherical Emerson was halted. The ball turret gunneroften one of the smallest crew memberscrouched in a fetal position in this small, cramped space during the flight, although not during takeoff and landing. This provided some incredible firepower in a small space. Two of the engines of the B-17 were stopped, about 3,000 pounds of dead weight hanging from the wings. B-17 Ball Turret Gunner (Dangerous Jobs in History) Simple History 4.23M subscribers Join Subscribe 4M views 1 year ago Stay warm in our b17 bomber hoodie design: https://teespring.com/SH-b17. Frankwas very active in his church and his community. Designed by the Sperry Corporation, the ventral ball turret was a hydraulically-operated addition to the two main aircraft that housed it: the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator. He recalls at the B-24 base that they ate out of mess kits unlike Deenethorpe where they ate from plates. He was a staff sergeant and ball turret gunner who contorted himself to squeeze into the clear, plastic bubble on the underbelly of the massive aluminum bird. Last edited on 15 February 2023, at 01:43, "On "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Death_of_the_Ball_Turret_Gunner&oldid=1139421417, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 01:43. That trauma changed him and the course of his life.Thanks for sharing a bit of your family history. While that may be true of most crews, my dad defied this description. B17 Flying Fortress Waist Gunners #1010 Crew Print WW2 WWII 4x6* $0.99 He started flying with his crew again on July 28, 1944, with the target being the synthetic oil and ammonia plant at Merseburg, Germany. I'm the proud daughter of a World War II veteran. More War Movie Content: https://www.youtube.com/johnnyjohnso. This has been a recurring nightmare of mine. He can look out of his porthole straight down for almost six miles, while battling incoming aircraft, sealed inside an aluminium ball without a parachute. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Then a Focke-Wulf-190 fighter attacked our ship and the other five bombers at the tail end of the 1,200 bomber armada and shot down three of the six planes bring up the formations rear, Bob Burling of Lazy River mobile home park in North Port, Fla. recalled 65 years later. He knew what they had to do. Interestingly, years and years after the war, I learned that my dad was very claustrophobic as a result of his time in the ball. As a child, he spent time in Los Angeles, where his grandparents lived, and he would later write movingly about the city in The Lost World, one of his best-known poems. And my father wasn't traipsing around Europe on foot in the Infantry, anyway -- he was a ball turret gunner in The 8th Army Air Corp, operating in a confined space. Kush is at the left end of the front row. After doing some research this fact about the ball turret was pointed out. I got one round out of each of my .50-caliber machine guns and that was it. Co-Pilot: 9. We were very shortly looking into the faces of a dozen or more unhappy British pilots." Two Ton Tessie underwent repairs, and resumed combat operations on May 18. This was only possible to accomplish in daylight. The ball-turret gunner was caught in a plastic cage. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. The turret was a small, cramped place to be, often operated by the smallest men available. And often did. "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" is a five-line poem by Randall Jarrell published in 1945. Designed in the 1930s, it was equipped on many US aircraft that fought the Axis forces during the war. Normally, the gunner accessed the firing chamber by releasing a latch and raising the cover to a position perpendicular to the gun but this was not possible in the ball turret. Pilot: 8. At only four feet across, the ball turret was rather small, but it still packed a punch. Andy Rooney tells the story of a B-17 ball turret gunner traped in the turret and crushed to death when the plane was forced to make a wheels up landing. I remember touring a B-17 when an air show was here long before I wrote my book. This left him positioned with his eyes roughly level with the pair of light-barrel Browning AN/M2 .50 caliber machine guns which extended through the entire turret, located to either side of the gunner. My father was a co-pilot for B-17s. I could see our bombs fall away, the 87-year-old local resident recalled. My father-in-law served in the pacific at the end of the war and it wasn't until recently when my son, an army veteran, researched his unit and where they fought. I hope someone can post a source other than Andy Rooney. fortunately I had my radio in my locker recording the base station while I was working and caught it. The conventional landing gear of the B-17 allowed for a non-retractable mount, but if the plane was required to do a belly landing (such as in the case of landing gear system failure), the ball turret would likely be destroyed due to the lack of clearance, meaning anyone occupying the turret would be in a precarious position if unable to escape. I had been born in August of 1947, years after the war was over. 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. The Sperry Corporation designed ventral versions that became the most common version; thus, the term "ball turret" generally indicates these versions.[4]. Out of that new war in the air came the most anthologized poem of the war, the only World War II poem most readers know, "Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," by Randall Jarrell. In 1999 Bob Burling and the remaining members of the 92 Bomb Group who could make it were invited back to Podington for a 55th Reunion. Via: B-17 flying on a mission over Stuttgart, 1943. It's easy! There was a pre-recorded show on A.F.T.N. One of the unique features of the B-17 bomber was the ball turret. While a terrifying position to be in, statistically the ball turret was one of the safer places to be on a B-17. The pilot and the co-pilot must be able to start and to land the machine well and safe. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and occupied his cramped station. I grew up believing the tale my father told me -- that I had spent World War II being toted around on his back. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. These are the same link Ian? This copyrighted material may not be republished without permission. He always had a passion for life and considered every day a blessing. The spherical manned ball turrets, deployed mainly on the bottoms of B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers, were very small in order to . I want you to have it., On the flip side of the cross molded into the aluminum is one word and a number: Boeing 1-18630., Name: Robert Burling If you need to flag this entry as abusive. The ball turret offered a panoramic view and a precarious target for German fighter planes. Once training was complete, aerial gunners were sent out to operational bomber units as crewmen, serving as waist gunners, tail gunners, or most physically demanding, as ball turret gunners. The ball turret was the most accurate and deadly turret on the B-17 & B-24 mostly due to it's advanced computing gunsight which was state of the art at that time. A reflector sight was hung from the top of the turret, positioned roughly between the gunner's feet. He handed it to me, Bob said. "We had a 10-man crew and we were all terrified.". It is a truly monumental poem that in its simplicity there are so many hidden values. Made of Plexiglas and about four feet in diameter, the ball turret was a sphere attached to the bottom of the airplane. ", My Dad says "I saw the tulips spelling out 'Thank You, Yanks.' There is an episode of Amazing Stories about a ball turret gunner trapped in his turret and the plane has no more landing gear. "Airmen badly wounded from flak would die without immediate medical attention at that altitude due to shock. In the case their aircraft was shot down, the ball turret gunner was the least likely to survive out of everyone in the crew. Click Here to sign up to be notified when new stories are published. my family my kids my grandkids will never forget the sacrifices you brave couragous young men and women of the 40s made for your country where the hell did you guys come from i cant answer that but i can tell u this i know where u all will be on judgement day and that will be in paradise with my lord and savior jesus christ love and respect for all veterans past and present you are always in our prayers and thoughts we thank you for the life style we enjoy everyday and its only because of men and women of the armed forces that such as it is today america is and will always remain the greatest country in the world. Our servicemen, past and present, are amazing people!!! A trunnion system provided vertical movement. Director Steven Spielberg Writers Steven Spielberg Joshua Brand John Falsey Stars Kevin Costner Casey Siemaszko Kiefer Sutherland Frank sailed home to the United States (US) after completing his required combat missions. The gunner in these turrets had to be in a reclined, almost fetal position. To enter in flight, the gunner had to manually traverse the turret so the guns were pointing directly down, which provided access to the door at the rear of the turret. Frank died January 16, 2015, two days after his 91st birthday. I'll keep digging for an actual bellied in incident. Franks last combat mission (Mission #32) was to a synthetic oil plant in Politz, Poland, on October 7, 1944. No answer. Some gunners had to maintain this position on missions of up to 10 hours. All rights reserved. Commendations: Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, campaign ribbons with three battle stars representing the Normandy Invasion, Northern France, European, African and Middle Eastern Theatre and the Air Offensive in Europe. He spent almost a month recuperating and then was grounded for weeks. SMITH FLEW HIS FIRST MISSION on May 1, 1943, as a ball-turret gunner on a B-17F Flying Fortress known by the last three digits of its tail number, 649. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. One of the fighters flew so close to our bomber its wing was under our wing tip. He said the boy inside was not just killed, he was destroyed. Once training was complete, aerial gunners were sent out to operational bomber units as crewmen, serving as waist gunners, tail gunners, or most physically demanding, as ball turret gunners. Sitting beside Bob was an English couple who walked out of the services with the old aviator. The Englishman reached in his pocket, pulled put a small handmade aluminum cross on a silver chain. [1] The name arose from the turret's spherical housing. Gunner Bombardier of B17 Bomber Wabash Cannon Ball WW2 WWII Re-Print 4x6 #od. There are three elements employed by Randall Jarrell in his poem, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," which illustrate the cycle of life and death of the gunner. Spouse: Frances This story was first printed in the Charlotte Sun newspaper, Port Charlotte, Florida on Monday, January 4, 2010 and is republished with permission. This however quickly flips when the aircraft is shot down, as the gunner has to turn to the turret to the exit position, climb out and put on his parachute, all while the aircraft is falling out the sky. So this undated photo shows what looks like a disintegrating turret, and the purported victim is still anonymous. The primary target was Oranienburg, Germany. Liberator. Camps. This was an elongated compartment underneath the aircraft where the gunner would lay or kneel. Still, you had to be 'not Large', and fairly nimble & flexible to slide into 'the death Ball', or 'other-tailwheel. A crewman poses with the Sperry ball turret of a Royal Air Force B-24, Burma, c.1943-1945, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Development of Aircraft Gun Turrets in the AAF, 1917-1944, "My Dad Was A Ball Turret Gunner In World War II", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ball_turret&oldid=1144521269, This page was last edited on 14 March 2023, at 05:34. Arose from the wings well and safe a plastic cage -- that i had my in. `` We had a passion for life and considered every day a blessing of most crews, dad... My locker recording the base station while i was working and caught it designed the. Of my.50-caliber machine guns and that was it his cramped station Sperry Corporation pilot and the has. 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