B-17 Ball Turret, Combat Effectiveness and Interior Systems Review

The intent of this part 3 video is to discuss effectiveness of the WWII B-17’s ball turret as a combat platform and conduct a detailed walk through of the turret’s interior features. It is assumed the viewer has watched the part 1 and 2 of the series.

[@shaggyrumplenutz1610]

My great uncle manned one of these. His plane got so shot up he had to bail out. When he went to pop his chute it malfunctioned. He fell in a farmer's field and left a crater. He hit a lone olive tree and the farmer had plowed his field the day before. He survived, but broke nearly every bone and damaged many of his organs. He became a Baptist preacher and lived to be around 80.

[@blaze1148]

Incredible story !

[@papadopp3870]

I’ll bet he could bring a few folks to Jesus with that story! I cannot imagine what he was thinking as he fell. My Pappy was a co-pilot on a B-24. His pilot was disabled, but he and the navigator kept it flying. He bailed out the crew but by the time he hit the silk, he was under 2000ft AGL. Got a good chute but hit pretty hard. Everybody made it, and he said he was glad he didn’t have much time to think about it on the way down.

[@shaggyrumplenutz1610]

@@papadopp3870 wow! I have wondered that myself many times. Most of us nowadays would die of fear going through that. They were a different breed. My other great uncle also was in a flying fortress, but as the pilot. My dad said that due to the high casualty rate of B-17 pilots he ended up being one of the youngest. He once flew a mission where their plane was torn to pieces. The main pilot was killed and my great uncle had to take over and fly with the former's decapitated head between his feet. It is amazing what those men were able to go through and keep their sanity. I couldn't do it. My grandfather had it worse than both of them, if you can believe that.

[@__-ic7si]

chad

[@shaggyrumplenutz1610]

@@__-ic7si a chad's chad

[@Stalagluft6]

I was a ball gunner on a B17, shot down on my 10th mission,2/22/44, I found it impossible to frame an enemy plane due to the fact that when they attack in mass, they were only a few hundred feet between attacking planes. They were mixed, as one could be an Me109, followed by a Ju88, followed by a Me210. There was no way one could change settings fast enough . And yes I was much too large to fit comfortably as I was 5-11 in,but I had no choice as other crewmen were scared of the turret. I got to like it as I had by far the best view. See flak gun blasts and enemy planes take off of the ground, see where our bombs hit.t. Les

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

You have intestinal fortitude rarely seen these days

[@Stalagluft6]

@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 combat was not nearly as bad as being a POW, starving,severe dysentery, sleeping with no heat,beatings were commonplace.my weight went from 185 to 95 at Liberation

[@TastyTarco]

You are awesome sir, saw your speech too after seeing your comment here, it was great

fun time

[@NJTDover]

I'm surprised you're still alive with an excellent eyesight and fully capable to type your memoirs down as a ball turret gunner. How are you, 100+ yo? Most veterans who fought in WW2 were born in the 1920s and most of them have been passing away due to old age. Bollocks!

[@cannonballer6847]

Thank you so much for this video! My father in law volunteered for military service in WWII, lying about his age, so that he could join the fight against the Nazis. So he became a bottom turret gunner on a B-17 at the age of 17, flying over a dozen suicide missions over German-occupied Europe until he was shot down over Germany and became a POW. He mentioned many years ago before he died that he had to learn a mnemonic phrase in order to extricate himself from the turret and navigate the labryinth inside the plane to get to an exit and jump out with a parachute wrapped around one shoulder as the plane plummeted to the ground in a tail spin. He said that bottom turret gunners would normally sit on their parachutes and flak jackets as added layers of protection against anti aircraft flak. Only he and one other crewman survived. Thanks to this video his sons and daughter can truly appreciate what this war hero had to do in order to execute his duties as a bottom turret gunner. He also mentioned that he acquired the ability to fall asleep in the bottom turret during the flight across the English Channel on the way to his bombing targets in Europe. Throughout his life we all marveled at the way he could just plop down anywhere, take off his stetson and place it over his face, and fall into a deep sleep power nap, and wake up refreshed 20 minutes later. Now we understand how much of a bad-ass kid he was, along with all the other bad-ass kids that were his fellow crew members!!

[@Cal-cf2vo]

Ice water in his veins! I look at the stupid stuff I was doing at 17...

[@cameronbrainard6043]

Wow! Thanks for that! Hope he rests in peace! God bless you and your hero ! Hope he rests in peace🙏❤️

[@stratocaster1greg]

Truly the Greatest Generation. My Papaws Stetson hangs in my shop. God Bless Us All. I think we need it more than ever.

[@GoingtoHecq]

Taking a nap like that is a great life skill

[@jackshittle]

What an amazing hero & thanks for sharing! 👍

[@olentangy74]

One of my closest uncles was a ball turret gunner in B-24’s. He was with the 44th Bomb Group based at RAF Shipdham. He had two confirmed kills before he was shot down in April 1944 near the French/ Swiss border. He was one of only three crewmen to get out. He was badly burned as he had to crawl through flames in order to escape. He was taken to a Luftwaffe hospital where he spent several weeks. He was transferred to a POW camp in Poland where he spent the rest of the war. I was a kid in the sixties, and was a fanatic of the series 12’o Clock High. I peppered uncle Willy with questions about his time in the Bomb Group, but he would always give a short answer, and after a while I figured out that the war was something he didn’t want to talk about. It was the past for him. Uncle Willy passed away in 1996 at the age of 76. Thank you for this video, and how it helped me learn of my uncle’s “office”.

[@iainhunneybell]

Shipdham? Not too far from me. The landscape around here is peppered with the old A-frame fields of the USAAF and what was the central hospital of the USAAF is just down the road. Being wrapped up in that ball with a very limited opportunity to escape must have been terrifying. And with the plane on fire and going down. Can’t quite comprehend how that must have been

[@gooraway1]

He must have been more worried about his parachute burning than his skin. Amazing bravery.

[@wingmanjim6]

@@gooraway1 No chute worn in the turret, the harness - gunner had to get back in the fuselage to retrieve and snap on a chute before bailing out.

[@olentangy74]

@@gooraway1 Yes. An amazing generation!

[@olentangy74]

@@iainhunneybell Shipdahm is a place I would love to see. I have looked it up on google earth, and it still looks pretty remote. There is a lot of history in that area to tell. As for my uncle, he had already crawled out of the turret because his bomber was already damaged from an earlier flak hit. The second hit is what did them in. He was the last of the three survivors to get out before the plane hit the ground.

[@pforce9]

I am an old fire control mechanic. Back in 1966, I went to Air Force tech school in Lowry AFB Colorado and was trained on the MA8 fire control system for the F 86 Sabre Jet which included a lead computing gunsight like the one in your video. The wingspan setting and the accelerometer and all of that stuff, except the F86 had a simple radar horn in that little nose. My guess would be that the Ball Turret gunner was even more effective than the records show because his presence alone kept a lot of airplanes out of that area. You are much better off shooting down on someone than shooting up at them. No way could you get me in that thing though.

[@Bob-vc6ug]

Yeah, plus you have 10 to 30 other ball turret gunners in your part of the formation firing on the same enemy aircraft coming up from below too, hopefully. At least it was supposed to work that way and did most of the time.

[@DaddyRobotX15]

@@Bob-vc6ug indeed tho I'd much rather hang down there than up top or out back or front when those Hispano 20mm cannon nacelle sparkly bits started illuminating at 28k feet downward from the sun at them. One of those shells could rip those earlier bombers in two at the aft section so ...I'll dangle in armor risking becoming a skidmark

[@patton303]

That’s cool. I actually in Lowry in a former officer’s duplex. My brother was also once stationed here. You’d never recognize it anymore save for a couple of the hangers that are now housing an aviation museum. They did do a great job repurposing a few of the admin buildings. But most of the traces of Lowry as an Air Force Base are long gone.

[@bondjames3146]

Wow… what was the ole western cowboy days like!?

[@alexandermitchell9197]

They really built up Lowry, one of the hangers that they used to work on missiles was turned into a hockey arena and one of the two hangars have been renovated into the wings over the Rockies air and space museum. The other buildings have been either torn down or turned into condos, or storage facilities.

[@thedudeabides3138]

Holy crap….this was FAR more involved than I’d previously thought. Thank you for making such an enlightening video.

[@mkelebay]

I think a lot of the effectiveness and hesitancy of German pilots to engage from below comes from the fact that if you’re a fighter climbing up to shoot at a plane, you’re losing airspeed the entire time and spending a longer time in an exposed slow position for those guns to hit you. Contrast this to the fact in the opposite position, diving from above, you could quickly fly through the formation, minimizing the time the turrets can fire at you.

[@papadopp3870]

Exactly! Same goes for the fighters attacking formations from 6’o’clock low or level. I’m reminded of Bf110, 109 and FW camera footage from behind and below Liberators and Fortresses. The strategy seems to disable the tail guns first as it almost always appear the tail positions on a straggling areoplane are hanging uselessly from the turret (B-24s) or tail gun position (B-17) whilst he fighters sit and kick the rudder(s) back and forth for what seems ages, pasting the bomber. If they drop below level, the ball turrets fire back. If the fighter’s slip becomes a turn, waist gunners come to the party. Otherwise, if the Luftwaffe pilot stays level and disables the rear gunner first on a cripple, it’s only a matter of time. It wouldn’t work against bombers in formation.

[@JonatasAdoM]

You're also more or less flying in a straight angled line towards the plane aiming at least 2 guns at you.

[@peterbach1126]

as opposed to them being cowards ? what do you mean ? of course they were deterred, it's an awesome defense when flying in formation.

[@ihavetruth4314]

exactly what I think... there is always a need to interpret the data in connection with related factors

[@bostonrailfan2427]

isn’t there a risk of stalling if you go at too steep an angle trying to shoot?

[@franosbornblaschke3694]

Cool! Thanks! My dear dad was trained as a ball turret gunner in WWII Pacific theatre. Fortunately, he saw no combat action but flew with his new crew to Hawaii before becoming part of the Occupation of Japan at Tachikawa air base. He LOVED his time in the ball turret and the B24. He died last May, 2021, at 95.

[@RubyBandUSA]

Maybe if he saw combat action in the ball, the war would have ended a month or two sooner?

[@dontcare7086]

@@RubyBandUSA are you trying to make fun of him? The draft lottery meant you could be drafted at various times during the war. There were a bunch of exemptions for jobs and various sections of the civilian sector. I was watching a video about a kid who was 18 that wasn't allowed to join because the paint the company he worked at made was used by the military after the civilian sector converted to making products to support the war effort. Same type of situation happened to him. By the time he was allowed to join the war was over and he was sent to Germany as part of the occupation force.

[@melotone3305]

The complexity of all of the subsystems that make up the whole gun turret unit is absolutely amazing. 💯!

[@johnlee1297]

It's really cool to see how it actually worked and what the gunner had to learn. And they had no digital assistance whatsoever.

[@dabberdan3200]

My grandfather flew 34 missions over Germany as a ball turret gunner.it takes a man with courage and a huge sack to constantly run the turret.

[@irritated888]

My grandfather was a ball turret gunner in a B-17. Loved his war stories.

[@gregoryselner7261]

Thanks for sharing this information. My Dad was a ball turret gunner in WW2 on a B17. He did not talk much about it and I always wondered what his job was like.

[@ruthparker1140]

("Sgt.J.") "I, knew a nice older guy. That was a tail gunner on s B-17." "I, think i, asked a few ppl about the underneath ball turret. One of the few things i, remember... They didn't seem to want that assignment. Lol. I, think i, agree. But! No insult. I, was a track commander on a M-113. A-1. &, 2. I, admit i, can see where i, am going. I, am behind a 50 cal. But... No cover. I, noticed that when you, ask... Keep listening. Evan if they use jargon out dated. If they think your, fading off. You, can ask what is a FPL? Browning M-2.or, back then, The 50. M-2. Lol He/They. Were using 2. The waist gunners were wrestling with one. They may not tell you, again. Feel blessed. 😃✌️🕊️🍻🍻☕☕

[@keithcurtis166]

Nicely done, My father was a navigator on a B-17, he flew 25 missions & was shot down twice over France. I can’t imagine climbing back in to one of those planes after being shot down, let alone climbing in to a ball truant. Thanks for putting this together, reminds me of Dad & those who fought for our freedom. God bless America & those who are willing to fight to keep her free & independent.

[@SelectCircle]

I read a book once that said all the navigators were Jewish. It was just automatically assumed all Jewish kids were good at math and made navigators. So every bomber had on board one particularly ballsy kid - with no hope of survival if he were ever captured.

[@skyrizione8811]

Your father was a war criminal

[@HQBergeron]

@@SelectCircle I have no idea who would have made up that fable about Jewish navigators, though I’m sure their were some. My uncle was a B-17 navigator and was not Jewish, just a smart man good at college level math with leadership skills. He and his crew flew 28 missions in 1944 as the quota was raised a few times. Their 28th was to be their last and was actually a volunteer mission which was not required of them. Sadly, their engines failed over the Channel and they could not make it back to England, going down in the icy cold water. My uncle was the only crew member still alive when he was recovered, but he perished from the cold and injuries soon after being gotten into a rescue boat. He and another member had decided to parachute out though they were too low, perhaps trying to lighten the load even more after they jettisoned their bombs, or perhaps just trying to survive. The other man was also recovered, all the remainder were not. One of the original crew was not on that mission and survived because he had flown an extra mission with another crew a few months earlier. He lived into his 90s. My uncle was the only boy in a family with 9 children, so my mom and 7 aunts would honor him every family reunion which we held every other summer. All including my mom have passed away except one now, and she is 96. By the way, my uncle was said to have shot down 5 German aircraft along with performing his navigation duties. He grew up on a homestead in the Oregon hills, shooting a dear whenever the family needed meat and was a fine shot. He also rowed a boat full of his sisters across the McKenzie river each school day. If you have never seen that river, especially in the winter, it is a miracle any of them survived to adulthood, so he must have had some serious rowing skills. When he went to college, my one aunt who is the one still alive took over the rowing duties for her younger sisters! All eventually went to college and worked their way through as the family was dirt poor. This could not be done today.

[@HQBergeron]

God bless your father’s service as a B-17 navigator, including being shot down twice. Having researched my uncle’s similar service, those men had a very difficult life while doing their missions. They were critical to the war effort and the likelihood of them surviving their tour of duty was very poor. My uncle was so close to making it, but yet did not. I am so glad your father survived. That could not have been easy to get back somehow after each time they were shot down. They are heroes for getting in those B-17s.

[@SelectCircle]

@@HQBergeron I've read it in more than one air war books. Don't ask me which ones because this was decades ago. Jewish boys who wanted to fly were made navigators instead. It was automatic. Maybe there weren't enough to go around. But if you were Jewish and wanted to fly - you were made a navigator or you didn't fly at all.

[@SMOBY44]

Myself and a friend took a walk through tour of a B-17, mind you I'm 6' 3" and he's 5' 3". The tour began back by the ball turret and the guy there commented to my friend "You would have been in here" pointing to the ball turret. Then he looked at me and said "And you wouldn't have even been on this plane". I found out why on board, not a single spot I could stand up straight.

[@ArcFixer]

Interesting. My uncle flew Navy fighters and he was 6' 4". Flew combat missions in Korea. Surely he would fit in B-17.

[@wilfredwayne7139]

I'm 5'8 and I can tell you right now I wouldn't have been in that ball turret.

[@janetruggles8708]

He was wrong, my Dad was a belly gunner on a B-17 durning the Burlin Air Lifts. He to never talked about the war. All I ever heard was him talk about when they first arrived they were told to move fast away from the planes and the buildings, be cause of snipers. They thought it was s joke, till they tryed to leave the plane.

[@janetruggles8708]

O, and Dad was a kid of 6'2" from Bluejacket Okla.

[@SMOBY44]

@@janetruggles8708 About 5 years ago I had the opportunity to attempt to get in a B17 ball turret. Had three people helping but I could not get all the way in.

[@techienerd5451]

My Father flew 50 missions as a ball Turret gunner on a B17. Enjoy one of his stories right here: RELIEF WAS JUST 30,000 FEET AWAY. The Boeing Aircraft Company in Seattle, Washington built the B-17 bomber, known as the Flying Fortress. It was called that because it was equipped with 13 fifty caliber machine guns. Two of these were located in the ball-turret, located under the belly of this wondrous machine. The ball-turret was where fate decreed that I spend my time in World War Two. Absolutely nobody wanted any part of this fine piece of equipment, which was electro-hydraulic operated. It would go round and round, and up and down. Any German fighter plane that ventured within it’s 1500 yard range was what my mama called “A blowed-up Jew.” Of course, mama didn’t know there were no Jews in the German Air Force. The people at Boeing did the best they could to furnish us with a place to pee. They came up with a funnel and a piece of rubber tubing which ran outside the plane. With me being in the position I was in, with my feet above my head, and wearing an electrically heated suit, a pair of long-handle drawers and a heavy flight suit over all that that, peeing was out of the question. Once, on an especially long rough 10 hour mission, I peed in my pants. All three pair. I had to use a fifty caliber shell to pry my pants loose from the seat. I kept that to myself. To make matters worse, at 30,000 feet, the temperature was often 65 degrees below zero. Everything liquid froze. The waist gunners, whose positions were just above me, also had these useless funnels with a rubber tube. They could, however, stand on an ammunition box and pee out the open window. Actually, with the temperature being what it was, they just broke it off and threw it out the window. There’s no telling how many German troops on the ground were fatally wounded by pee icicles coming down from 30,000 feet. What the pilot and co-pilot and the engineer did, I don’t know. They were in about as dire circumstances as I was. They were not my worry. The bombardier and the Navigator usually peed in K-ration boxes and dropped them out the hatch so they hit my ball-turret while still in a liquid state. We often had words about this. The tail-gunner, I guess, peed anywhere he wanted. Nobody cared where he peed, being where he was. Fear, for some reason or other, increases the urge to pee. While waiting to take off on a mission, we often peed over about 40 acres of Italian soil. Still, the minute we left the ground, the urge returned. When the first burst of flak hit our plane, the urge tripled. Flak, for those who don’t know, was what the German anti-aircraft gunners fired at us. It was a large shell filled with scrap-iron. It also put out one hell of a big puff of black smoke which scared hell out of us and drew our spinchter up to the size of a shingle nail. I won’t go into what a spinchter is. A good question for “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” Boeing, other than their bathroom facilities, did a great job. The B-17 usually brought us safely back to Italy, sometimes on only two engines. Of course, the first thing we did when we were on the ground was to pee. Then, we peed some more.

[@Flussig1]

Thank you, great story !

[@lordofdunvegan6924]

wow...what if you had to have shit???? Great story...well worth the time to read. Thank you. (darn...now I have to use the toilet....lol)

[@stephengreen3367]

@@lordofdunvegan6924 I'm guessing pre-flight nerves probably took care of that particular problem. Those guys were probably pretty empty of solids by time they took off. I know I would have been.

[@shadeburst]

Drink beer contains Vitamin P.

[@graham2631]

Thanks for that. Growing up l fished with a guy also a ball turret gunner. He told me my first dirty joke which l didn't understand he said "you'll get it when older" he was right. My favorite of his stories was the description of the boat ride home the poker games ect. I remember he was fond of hunting trains on the way home. Miss you big Jim.

[@MECH-MASTER]

Wow, that has to be the most chilling feeling to be exposed to enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Amazing bravery. Thank you. 👍

[@OCPyrit]

As a former ball turret operator I can tell you that this was very combat effective.

[@TheGhostHAG]

Thank you good sir

[@th3d3vil08]

When? What bomber? You must be ninety yrs old? Thanks for helping crush Nazi aggression! 🤘🤨

[@ReallyBigBadAndy76]

@@th3d3vil08 he’d be 92 even if he managed to sneak into the service at 15 and fly in a ball turret in the final year of the war. Much more likely, he wasn’t a ball turret operator anywhere, let alone in WW2.

[@th3d3vil08]

@@ReallyBigBadAndy76 exactly, dudes all cap.

[@waterheaterservices]

As a US Mall Marshal I proved to be very combat effective. Men fear me, women want me.

[@kikupub71]

Very informative. My father in law wanted to be a crewman on the b17 but he was too tall at 6’5”. Instead he was put in charge of the quartermaster corp. counting beans and bulotts

[@sheila9358]

yes but he survived the war

[@kikupub71]

@@sheila9358 I am so thankful because he fathered my future wife of 51 years!

[@looseunit1615]

Lucky they didn't put him in the infantry.

[@brhbrh6326]

Incredible level of detail. Told in an informative and never dramatic fashion. I have never seen such a comprehensive explanation of how this iconic gun turret was operated. Thanking you from an aviation admirer in Iceland. Father was ex RAF, and great uncle was in Wellingtons then Halifaxes. If only the RAF had persevered with their underside belly turrets to counteract the deadly Schräge Musik attacks. And maybe added larger escape hatches to the Lancaster!

[@coffeebot3000]

Fascinating video. I never realized how complex the ball turret was. I always imagined the gunner just got in, controlled the ball with his feet, and fired the guns. It's amazing how hard it sounds to do.

[@smally8499234]

Just found your channel randomly, The B17 has been my favourite plane ever since I watched Memphis Belle as a child.

[@garybiggs4614]

Fascinating. I never knew how complicated it was to operate a ball turret. Thanks for explaining it in such knowledgeable detail.

[@femtoeclipse860]

Is crazy that an airman got in there for such long periods of time i cannot imagine what went through their heads during those long and dangerous mission the mortality rate in those missions was staggering for bomber crews. Also the harsh environment the crews had to deal with while fighting the enemy frostbite, lack of oxygen, flak, add to that ear drum reaping exploding shells near the aircraft, fatigue, and fear which cause many men severe disorders. War is frightening and devastating hats off and respect to those who fought and to the ones fighting today and their families in all branches of the arm forces.

[@samadams2203]

Shockingly complex and advanced piece of equipment. I always imagined the ball being very simple and barebones, but it was clearly thoroughly thought out and developed.

[@michaelchristensen5421]

You forgot to mention when you talked about the gunner entering the turret at 9k feet. They also got out of the turret on bomb runs that involved flak. They didn't have to worry about fighters attacking during the flak, so this made for an easier bail out if they were hit and were going down.

[@halporter9]

Incredibly informative and effective in conveying the essence of a lived experience

[@hoytoy100]

Completely fascinating!! Sort of hands on detail I’ve looked for in over 50 years of curiosity!!

[@Grimpy970]

I just found your channel and it's amazing! You clearly put in a lot of effort to make these videos, and it pays off. You have extremely clear scans of original documents that I've never been able to find! You make graphs. You're a legend, dude. Keep it up! I'm looking forward to what you're 'cooking up' for the future!

[@kjarnberg]

Thank you for making these "university-level" video's. Amazing job.

[@0836whimper]

Amazingly informative with zero overused 'stock' footage and in such little time. Top work.

[@davidward5794]

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. If it is not bad enough cramming yourself into such a vulnerable position it is extremely complex trying to do your job. I naively thought they pointed the guns and pulled the trigger. I never realised they had to use a sperry gunsight, whilst everything is happening so fast and being shot at as well. My late uncle was rear gunner in a lancaster, I have a greater understanding of what he had to do. Will check out other vids. Thanks

[@salvagedb2470]

When you break it down they were kept real busy , a lot to be learned in these Vids , the thinking and attention to Engineering / Design is incredible .

[@ler3968]

Nice job on this! Man, I am sure if I had to get in a turret I would only last 15 seconds before I would bolt out due to claustrophobia. I always thought this was the toughest position in the WW2 bombers.

[@elvinrogers6656]

There are no adequate words to describe the courage and skill of a WWII bomber’s turret gunner.

[@mootpointjones8488]

Your videos are very much appreciated and are excellent. I live in London and recently visited the US Military Cemetery at Madingley near Cambridge where many B17 aircrew are buried. These videos are very useful to understanding the air crew's role and missions flown from England during WWII. Thank you. I have subscribed.

[@Josh-xr1xu]

Wow!! Thanks for creating this video. I've always wondered what was involved in operating a ball turret. Those were some tough and brave airmen. God Bless our military service men past, present and future!

[@johnt.4947]

Fascinating. Thank-you for such a detailed description, all 3 parts.

[@flemhawker9134]

Fascinating, really really interesting & informative. I really appreciate these well edited & brilliantly produced Mini documentaries. My Mother & Three of her sisters came across from Ireland to England to become nurses during the war, my Mum was just 17 when she arrived in Portsmouth in 1941 during the worst of the German bombing in that city. Her oldest sister, Hanna my Godmother was a nurse in Northampton & was courted by a young USAAF airman from New York, the relationship came to an end when he was invalided home with respiratory problems. But whilst they were together she met Captain Clark Gable on several occasions. He was credited with five combat missions but it was understood that he flew many more. He was a waste gunner & filmed some of the missions as well. He was twice the age of most of his young crew members. My Father, a Royal Navy engineer didn’t seem to care for Americans much, possibly because my Mother & sisters talked of them often, so personally I crew up being really interested in these young flamboyant men & their contribution & sacrifice during the war. It’s never left me. Last May (2022) I stopped off at Kessingland in Suffolk to Pay my respects to the simple but moving memorial in the Village church yard that was dedicated in 2010 to 10 crew members of a B24 shot down just a few miles from their base as they returned home from a raid. It was a long time ago, but they are not forgotten here. A.T.H Southern England.

[@mankuzos1473]

The engineering on this is amazing

[@TheMrmmkkpro]

Keeping the memories alive of our greatest generation. Thank you for posting.

[@timgore829]

Fascinating series of videos! I learned a lot.

[@macmcleod1188]

This was very well done. I learned many new interesting facts about the ball turret and watched the entire video start to finish. Thank you!

[@williamashbless7904]

Very good info and presentation.

[@minustaco42zero24]

This was very cool and very interesting. Please keep up the good work. We are losing ww2 troops due to time and their stories should never be forgotten.

[@johnplaid648]

You are incredible! Thanks for the video. It is amazing how well designed all the particulars of the B-17 and all war planes are. I have the gunsmithing DVD for the Browning 1919 and yeah you gotta crank it to jack a round and crank it once more to cock it. Then a symphony of mechanisms take place!

[@johnkress2360]

Excellent video

[@novkorova2774]

Just discovered your channel, love it. Keep up the great work!

[@MorganBrown]

Solid work and very good informative! Some incredible engineering

[@stevecausey545]

Thank you so much for these vids!

[@WWIIUSBombers]

My pleasure!

[@justaguy4real]

Great video. Great ingenuity of ww2 creations and war in general. And the sacrifices and tight squeezes these guys lived thru is incredible

[@M29WeaselDriver]

Good video! Very informative

[@igorkovcin7112]

Extreme danger and inverted controls to move the turret. Crazy. I can't even realise how though and dangerous this stati on was. Big respect and honour to all those guys being inside.

[@michaelesplin529]

Very informative! You answered questions I never thought of.

[@kevindolin4315]

That was an interesting bit of information about the difference between dealing with a fighter coming up from below and one diving. Very well explained.

[@Longo556]

Super interesting! Thanks!

[@lewishudgens]

Great video!!!

[@ernestweaver9720]

Never seen that much detail. Too Cool! Thank you. Excellent video on all three.

[@WWIIUSBombers]

Glad you liked it!

[@bruceringrose7539]

Excellent video! I don’t doubt for a second that the gunner activated those safety switches as soon as they entered France. I believe the good batting average for the ball turret was due to the fact that attacking fighters had fewer options on how they approached; plus they were climbing, not diving, so air speed was lower. These factors made it easier for the gunner to track the incoming fighter.

[@bruceringrose7539]

@The Silenced Agreed, to me the key is maintaining the eye-to-ring sight distance. The waist gunners would have a very difficult time with this req't.

[@Bob-vc6ug]

@The Silenced This same video producer just put out a video about the top turret gunner recently, and the sights are very similar except for how they controlled the sights.

[@wingmanjim6]

@The Silenced Top ( dorsal ) turret gunners had the same sight. Early nose, tail, and waist gunners had fixed ring and bead sights. In the late "Cheyenne" tail position, I'm believe the computing gunsight was used and I've seen later waist guns so equipped as well.

[@shadeburst]

The fighter attacks from above at high speed and pulls up to attack the belly of the target. Even with a speed differential of two-fifty knots the fighter would be in range for ten seconds or so. Thus the Luftwaffe changed tactics to head-on attacks.The 8AAF countered by adding a chin turret to the B-17.

[@alexanderwaite9403]

My dad did a couple of missions in the ball turret and he hated it. He was 6' so he was cramped for hours. He also complained about the heated suits didn't work all the time.

[@motobelo]

Well done.

[@dickgenitalia1506]

Fantastic job. Thanks for this.

[@WWIIUSBombers]

My pleasure!

[@dahlbergt]

Well done, very well done! Thank you for sharing!

[@patrickbass3542]

I once worked with a former WW II ball-turret gunner...he was a mean, nasty SOB...but, I believe that he was that way before any war experience.

[@donbrashsux]

What a great vid ..loved it

[@sophisticatedphilistine]

Awesome. More!

[@josephonesto5956]

Very interesting and well done !

[@whitewolf6605]

Love the video man! keep the history alive!

[@WWIIUSBombers]

Thanks! Will do!

[@aaronunroe5267]

Very cool video. I watched Memphis Belle a lot growing up and I remembered a lot from the movie that was spot on accurate to what you were describing. Very cool. Thanks for the video bro :)

[@ruperterskin2117]

Right on. Thanks for sharing.

[@johnvaluk1401]

Wife’s uncle was a ball turret gunner in a B-17. He was rather tall. Amazing

[@realMaverickBuckley]

I read a book by a Radio guy on a B17. He wanted to have a go on the various gun positions and on various flights was allowed to. He was 6'1 and said although if you were really tall, he never said what that was, then it could be very uncomfortable but he said it was more about build. If you were slim the ball turret and even the tail gun positions were apparently fine and were for him.

[@dennisseger6717]

Holycrap think of the minds that designed just this part of the plane- amazing

[@Trojan0304]

Thanks for all your research. Best on KZbin 👍👍👍

[@rossmain9120]

Great video, very informative. Thank you very much. 👊🏻

[@dunebuggy1286]

Awesom video. I'd like to see moe in depth of the ball turret. Very interesting.

[@craiggomez5101]

The tech knowledge you contributed here is unrivaled. Frankly, I wasn't that interested in the ball turret gunner role until I heard how insanely difficult, And Important it was. I wanted to see the tech part without the fluff and this video hit the spot.

[@tommygun333]

Great vids, great, advanced equipment

[@Ostsol]

Another good reason to not attack from below is energy loss. Diving from above, the fighter attacks with a higher velocity.

[@jamesogara2219]

Absolutely fascinating

[@ralphkerbey7599]

Wow very informative well done !

[@danielphipps888]

My dad was a bomb loader during WW2 in the Marines in the Pacific. I dug this video. hope to see more like this. WAS VERY COOL. THANKS!

[@artofnoly9754]

Very informative. Tx for sharing.

[@B17FlyingFortress]

Thank for the very informative video. I have learned a lot about the Ball Turret. Never known before, that the food range peddles were used for gun sight and framing the enemy fighters. So, when I remember the Memphis Belle movie, when the ball turret was jammed, it was useless to push the peddles :D

[@rippervtol9516]

Unless they were intending to show him trying to shake the turret to unstick it, from the movie I had assumed the foot pedals controlled rotation. Good to know what they actually did.

[@user-yr4yb4xh1z]

My dad flew 33 missions as a ball turret gunner in a 17 in 1943. Lived to 98 and very seldom talked about it, Air medals, Purple Heart with 2 stars, medals from the Polish Government for air drops to assist their liberation and the Chevalier from the French Government. If I live to be half the man he was I’ll feel I lived a good life.

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

Well done! A much-neglected topic, the ball turret. You presented a lot of information in a very short video, I had to watch it twice to get it all.

[@shitchops]

Very interesting !

[@tootired76]

Thanks for this! Very informative. Especially it seemed you were reading the procedures out of a tech manual.

[@TaZ101SAGA]

What an excellent video, thanks very much.

[@SunTzu2024]

Well thank you for giving me a detail instruction on how to run this entire Ball Turret

[@jacks6423]

Well done!

[@mabbrey]

great vid

[@Nigel2Zoom]

Interesting information.

[@percyfaith11]

Fascinating.

[@penumbraenigmatica3252]

You guys just popped up on my list... that was a COOL look at the underbelly of a machine that I have dreamed of from a young age...!! Great show, fellas...!!

[@AdrianArthurBray]

A surprising but impressive degree of engineering complexity. Good explantation.

[@ChannelClosed1346]

Exellent channel with interesting content ! Subbed!🙂👍

[@markmcewen3959]

Thank you for this.

[@user-yv1fh3fc8y]

Surprisingly abundant technology. Superheroes!

[@garychristison763]

I watched a show on the B17 and a gunner said when he volunteered, the casualty rates were so high they were taking about anybody. That moved me. I assumed gunners got the luck of the assignment draw but this guy said, put me in, I'll go. The mechanisms are more complicated than I imagined. Very interesting video.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The Book "Tail End Charlie" recorded one US bomber crewman saying that they accepted even the colour blind as gunners due to high casualties. Colour vision was tested with coloured balls of wool but if somebody did not recognise the colour they would be given a hint of what it was.

[@bumfit5491]

Nice! Having seen your video, if ever called upon I feel more qualified then most to be ball turret gunner !

[@xs-1b415]

Inverted controls. Imagine not being able to reverse that. This is unbelievable, smart men, brave men.