When I was young I took a piece of aluminum from a damaged B-17 and fashioned it into this cross and wore it for years. 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. Via: US National Archives. My uncle, Frederick Raymond Restle Jr., was a ball turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator, who served in the 13th Army Air Force in the Pacific.His death is probably due to the design flaw, and inexperience of pilots with the B24. He spent almost a month recuperating and then was grounded for weeks. He was shielded by an armour plate in front of him. As with all roles in the B-17, the ball turret gunner needed to be fearless. Tail Gunner: The pilot and co-pilot. 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 A ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24 bomber. guns firing. Sperry and Emerson Electric each developed a ball turret, and the designs were similar in the nose turret version. Its hard to explain like if you get killed, so what you just dont care.. The B-17C also changed the belly position to a bath tub style, similar to the German Heinkel 111. In many cases, when a stoppage occurred, it was necessary for the gunner to "reload" the gun, which required access to the firing chamber of the guns. These are the same link Ian? The poem uses the job of a ball turret gunner to represent birth, death and their similarities. There was no room inside the ball turret for a parachute. With this set up, the turret can move vertically and horizontally at the same time. "The first in/The last out The most exposed/The least protected. Now as for Rooney - well as a journalist for 30 years, I looked at him as a story teller, and I take his tales with a grain of salt. It was critical that the ball turret gunner assume a particular position for belly landings, otherwise the sphere would hit the ground far before the landing gear and pose a threat to their safety. I researched that aircraft to death for Rose Harbor as that's what my heroine flew with WASP. A few are still flying today. Unfortunately, this was not a very good place for the parachute, as the gunner needed to open the turret door, enter the fuselage and strap themselves in all before the plane crashed. Sign up for a new account in our community. Pintrest. He had to sit on his flak jacket. I dont know what happened to the one on our right, he said. All combat missions were fraught with danger, but Frank spoke of a particular mission to Ludwigshaven, Germany, that became a test of his faith. Two of the engines of the B-17 were stopped, about 3,000 pounds of dead weight hanging from the wings. I would like to know the Bomb Group, the Bomb Squadron. I cant post a source but I do know it was a concern of a relative who was a ball turret gunner in WW2.He flew out of Italy and in B17s.What he stated to me once was he saw a B17 land once with the turret down.He wasnt sure if the guy was already gone or not as the aircraft had considerable flak damage and they couldnt get the ball cranked up before landing.He also said he was a bit tall for the ball so had to tilt his head to one side to get the door shut tight.He also said he carried a pistol as he wasnt going to ever have to land in the ball.True or not it was his story he told me as a young man. It was an enclosure that at any time could become an airman's coffin. Whoops! Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. Der Tod des Kugelturmschtzen") ist ein 1945 verffentlichtes fnfzeiliges Gedicht von Randall Jarrell.Das Gedicht handelt vom Tod eines Bordschtzen in einem kugelfrmigen Sperry-Browning-MG-Turm eines amerikanischen Bombers whrend des Zweiten Weltkriegs.. Jarrell, der selbst in der Army Air Force diente, fgte dem Gedicht folgende . After all, he had trained with them in Biloxi, Mississippi. My Dad relates, "I saw one of our planes -- right next to me -- shot down. He now lives in Lazy River Mobile Home Park in North Port, Fla. Photo provided. It was able to turn on two axis; 360 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Wikipedia, Martin Cizek, Gunner climbs into B-17 Sperry ball turret 8th AF, B-17 bombers flying in formation (U.S. Air Force photo), https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085F4YQ11/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0. So, many were tossed out in parachutes, in the hopes that German troops would give them emergency care before shipping them off to P.O.W. Small windows allowed them to see under the plane, but not above. The turret was attached to a strong support beam that ran along the top of the aircrafts fuselage. Lt. Bill Ennis, pilot of their B-17, picks up the story from there. Thanks for the post, and the personal info. His position resembled the fetal position. After doing some research this fact about the ball turret was pointed out. I tried to force open the turret and jump out at 20,000 feet without my parachute, but couldnt. I figured they must have assigned only short men to the craft. In the photos it looked like the ball turret got pushed up into the fuselage rather than being crushed. According to a 1944 summation from US Air Forces command the ball turret gunners could swing on an attacking enemy fighter whether he attacks from head on, from under one side, or from under the tail. The tail gunners and waist gunners were intended to provide supporting fire with their fifties if the ball turret gunners could not stop an attacking plane right away. 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. B-17 models A and B had blister canopies on the waist section of the fuselage armed with machine guns. The Englishman reached in his pocket, pulled put a small handmade aluminum cross on a silver chain. Staff Sergeant Perez was stationed at Amarillo Army Air Field, Texas, as a B-17 Inspector when WWII ended. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner By Randall Jarrell From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Its movement was controlled by a self-contained, electrically-powered hydraulic system, and could rotate at high speeds important for tracking fast-moving enemy aircraft. Crews on a B-17, fondly referred to as "The Flying Fortress," flew enemy raids against Nazi Germany from 1942 to 1945. A good friend of mine was a flight engineer on B-17s. 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. Among the earlier designs was the Martin 250SH bow turret of the PBM-3 twin-engined patrol flying boat which had many points of similarity in design and action. Kuhl was a ball turret gunner. By all accounts, the ball was very small and very cramped. Ball turrets were eventually abandoned in later aircraft in favour of remote controlled systems, and then radar aimed turrets in aircraft like the B-52. It lost two engines and couldn't keep up. During this time period, Jarrell wrote many poems and novels about the army and the war while he was a celestial training navigator (Pritchard). Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. After that: three hours of circling the airfield to get in formation -- an absolute necessity to protect themselves against German counter attack. I hope someone can post a source other than Andy Rooney. The turret also rotated 360-degrees, allowing the gunner to locate targets and stay on them, regardless of their position. Development of the spherical Emerson was halted. But when I said that, at that instant, everything was just as peaceful as it can get. I got one round out of each of my .50-caliber machine guns and that was it. 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. Another time, we glean a little more. The gunner held two joysticks in either hand, one to pivot the ball and the other to trigger the firing mechanism for the machine guns. Ball Turret Gunners on B-17 bombers were protected only by a glass bubble jutting out from the bowels of the plane. It was a manned turret, as distinct from remote-controlled turrets also in use. They could be raised or lowered with hand cranks. The space inside the turret was very small and cramped. In the tulips were spelled out the words, "Thank you Yanks. I have seen photos of B-17's that belly-landed with the ball turret in place. He was thin and wiry to be sure, but according to his driver's license he was 6'1". Via: B-17 flying on a mission over Stuttgart, 1943. The link to the story ishttps://www.ww2history.org/war-in-europe/wwii-camp-shanks-new-york-and-a-visit-by-archbishop-spellman/. He prayed, Well, God, if this is the way it has to be, let it be. Frank said, I was under tension and wanted to live. Thank you to Josie Navarro, Franks niece, for her help in researching this story, sharing family memories, and for permission to post the photographs. By the first sign of daylight, the flying fortresses were on their way. And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. It was a manned turret, as distinct from remote-controlled turrets also in use. Change). This young crewman of a US Navy "Dumbo" PBY rescue mission has just jumped into the water of Rabaul Harbor to rescue a badly burned Marine pilot who was shot down while bombing the Japanese-held fortress of Rabaul. :pinch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxG-3SiMObs;feature=fvwrel. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. He flew with the Lt Albert L. Hanson crew. 77 years after the crash he still remembers his part of World War II. On the show World War 2 in HD The Air War 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. See video, B-17 with 19 guns! The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner Randall Jarrell - 1914-1965 From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Armed with two .50-caliber machine guns and capable of rotating 360 degrees, the ball turret's gunner was responsible for protecting the otherwise-exposed underbelly of the flying fortress. It had black and yellow check designs on its engine cowling and tail. For defence, two Browning AN/M2 .50 calibre machine guns were squeezed into the turret either side of the gunner. I know he flew in both.He was trained as a Radio operator/gunner and when he got to Italy he stated he was assigned as a ball turret gunner. ' The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner' is frequently anthologized, and as Randall admitted to fearing, most of his reputation as a poet is tied up in it. The bomber was so badly damaged that, on landing, the airplane's structure failed from battle damage and it broke in half. In order to fit inside the turret, the gunner had to assume a fetal-like position, with their knees bent close to their body. I had it transferred to reel tape and eventually onto CDs.I sent a copy of all the cds to Buffalo college in New York to Dr. Lydia Fish and I should still have a copy in my originals. After testing in mid-1943, the ERCO ball turret became the preferred bow installation in the US Navy's Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator and PB4Y-2 Privateer patrol bombers although other types continued to be installed. A bombers ball turret position is often looked at with fear in ones eyes, being suspended underneath a bomber with 30,000 ft between you and the ground. Veering off course, heading for Sweden, I watched as it was blown up. Often soldiers who were smaller in stature were selected for this gunner job since it would have been even more uncomfortable for a taller or bigger person to fit in this awkward space. There were over 3,500 bullet and shrapnel holes. It was their second mission in Berlin Special, a B-17 Flying Fortress. Their four-engine bomber was part of the 92nd Bomb Group, 407th Squadron of the 8th Air Force flying out of an airbase near Podington, a tiny farm village some 40-miles northwest of London during World War II. I have spoken to Bob in the past. A trunnion system provided vertical movement. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. separation from his new bride back home in England. Faith in God was of great importance in the hearts and minds of many people, both militaryand civilian, who livedthrough WWII. And that was it that belly-landed with the Lt Albert L. Hanson.. 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