Franks last combat mission (Mission #32) was to a synthetic oil plant in Politz, Poland, on October 7, 1944. Should the ball turret gunner have to bail out of the aircraft, he would likely bail out through the waist door. The crew began throwing unnecessary equipment and supplies out of the plane to lighten the load. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. The link to the story ishttps://www.ww2history.org/war-in-europe/wwii-camp-shanks-new-york-and-a-visit-by-archbishop-spellman/. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Lines 3-4. Pilots navigated. "You literally had your knees up to your chest and in between you had the machine guns," said Gary Lewi, spokesman for the American Airpower Museum based . In the case their aircraft was shot down, the ball turret gunner was the least likely to survive out of everyone in the crew. Injuries from flak accounted for more loss of life among the B-17 crews than any other factor. 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. In 2012 oral history interviews * **, Frank spoke of the anxiety and fear felt by many men flying combat missions. My hubby says his father rarely spoke of those long 6 yrs. The poem in length is very short, but in meaning it is miles long. 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. Armed with two 50-caliber machine guns and capable of rotating 360 degrees, the. The AN/M2 guns were lightened versions of the ground based M2 machine gun, with a rate of fire of 600-800 rounds per minute each. Also, one of my uncles was a ball turret gunner on B-17s. Between the ages of 78 and 88 he went hang gliding, parasailing, skydiving, and paragliding. Hill Aerospace Museum's Boeing B-17G The Englishman reached in his pocket, pulled put a small handmade aluminum cross on a silver chain. The B-17 to our left went down with one engine on fire. But when Lowell first met the pilot of Take It Easy, he knew what the officer was thinking. Two enemy fighters stayed right with us. I knew we had lost an engine and I thought we were going down. Director Steven Spielberg Writers Steven Spielberg Joshua Brand John Falsey Stars Kevin Costner Casey Siemaszko Kiefer Sutherland From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. 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 would like to know the Bomb Group, the Bomb Squadron. It was able to turn on two axis; 360 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically. 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. It was the best sight in the world -- second only to spotting the famous White Cliffs of Dover late in the afternoon after completing yet another harrowing mission.". Most of all what was the dead mans name. I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. Michelle, In 1942 my father was classified as 4F due to a heart defect. They flew the B-17 back to Deenethorpe. All combat missions were fraught with danger, but Frank spoke of a particular mission to Ludwigshaven, Germany, that became a test of his faith. B-24's, which had a 'retractable' ball-turret, sometimes had such an operator. But when I said that, at that instant, everything was just as peaceful as it can get. Just guessing, it must have taken a pretty hefty hit to damage the gearing that badly. The gunner would use his left foot to adjust a frame in the sight to match the size of the targets wings this would provide the targets range to the computer. There was no room inside for a parachute, which was left in the cabin above the turret. Sitting beside Bob was an English couple who walked out of the services with the old aviator. Links are encouraged. Another time, we glean a little more. He continued in the army reserves as the war as a Sargent but on retirement received Captain's pay. In the 1941 B-17E model, the tub was replaced with the famous ball turret. In the case of the B-24, the Liberator's tricycle landing gear design mandated that its A-13 model Sperry ball turret have a vertically retractable mount, so that the turret would not strike the ground as the plane pitches up for takeoff or during the landing flare. Already a well-known poet and professor, Jarrell had enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 but washed out of the flight part of his pilot's training program. The main points of the poem outline the birth and death. Thank you for sharing. Despite the strong association with the aircraft, the B-17 was not originally designed with a ball turret. Small, tight, difficult to escape from and with minimal visibility, the ball turret was a sphere of danger. The ventral turret was used in tandem in the Convair B-32, successor to the B-24. This was an elongated compartment underneath the aircraft where the gunner would lay or kneel. Ball Turret Gunners on B-17 bombers were protected only by a glass bubble jutting out from the bowels of the plane. I was stuck, Burling said with a tremor in his voice and tears in his eyes more than half a century after the incident. The worst position by far was held by the ball turret gunners. I wasn't the brightest kid. I wasn't the brightest kid. All rights reserved. The Ball Turret Gunner from B17 42-31377 Pot OGold crashed on 22 FEB 1944, tells in BALL TURRET about his job. Indeed, a very rare circumstance but also possible. Works such as The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell and Heavy Metal ' s section "B-17" depict the nature of these missions. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. (LogOut/ ' 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. 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. Unit: 92nd Bomb Group, 407th Squadron of the 8th Air Force Once inside if anything went wrong the spheres were hard to escape from since they were raised and lowered into position via a mechanism that could be easily damaged. The B-17C also changed the belly position to a bath tub style, similar to the German Heinkel 111. Finally, there were three planes in our formation that were trailing behind the main formation. -S. McColl. "The first in/The last out The most exposed/The least protected. The city was the site of a Nazi nuclear energy project. John ww2vault Member 1,231 Location: North Carolina, USA #11 $5.39. =). He was thin and wiry to be sure, but according to his driver's license he was 6'1". The ball's door was located directly behind the gunner, so with the guns at 0 degrees of elevation the turret could technically be entered from the outside while the B-17 was on the ground. Magee suffered . Jarrell is able to accomplish a lot in this short poem by using diction and syntax such as metaphor and figurative language. 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. See video, B-17 with 19 guns! I'll keep digging for an actual bellied in incident. 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. From here, the gunner could protect the rear section below the plane. As you get in, take these steps carefully and in proper order. Did anyone in your family serve in WWII? The design was mainly deployed on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator, as well as the United States Navy's Liberator, the PB4Y-1. He is retired and lives in Grantville, MD. Two of the engines of the B-17 were stopped, about 3,000 pounds of dead weight hanging from the wings. To remedy that, the front end of the cover was "slotted". The Dornier Do 19 was a long-range strategic heavy bomber that faced off against the Junkers Ju 89 as part. 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. It wasn't until I was about 9-years-old that I realized the impossibility. Answer (1 of 5): 5-6. Answering the call to arms, Dad joined the US Army Air Corp and became a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 bomber. The Ball Turret was protected by only a thin sheet of metal and glass. While that may be true of most crews, my dad defied this description. Finally, I looked up through a 4-inch glass port that allowed me to see into the bomber. We learn details as time passes. Two joysticks pivoted the ball around and around, up and down. Battle damage to the radio operator's compartment of Boeing B-17F-65-BO 42 . This has been a recurring nightmare of mine. After what seemed like an eternity, he saw the White Cliffs of Dover on the English coastline. This odd station was built like an appendage on the bottom of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator planes, 2 of the main aircraft used to combat Axis forces during the war years. No one there could find any actual documentation of this actually happening either. The ball turret, hanging down beneath the plane, is no place to be when the bomber is moving along the ground. $15.95. He understood. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. The landing gear was stuck also, and being after a mission the aircraft probably low on fuel. The first is admiration: Jim Shepard, who has been much praised for his . The compact size of the gunner surrounded by thick glass, aluminium and armour plating, combined with being underneath the aircraft, meant the gunner was relatively safe. Airman in the bubble were hunched over almost in a fetal position, knees up to chin, machine gun controls inches away. 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. Flight suits were heated and insulated but the crew often reported icicles on their eyebrows and frostbite around their mouths. I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. The B-17 crew already had a flight engineer, so Frank was selected for the ball turret gunner position. These gunsights computed for direction, and range to the target and were basically an early analog computer. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. He was considered a perfect fit for the B-17's ball turret. Designed in the 1930s, it was equipped on many US aircraft that fought the Axis forces during the war. More from us: The Mark 14 Torpedo Scandal of 1941-43, Poet Randall Jarrell, who served in the US Army Air Forces, outlined the terrifying and grim nature of being a ball turret gunner in his poem, The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. 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. September 26, 2012 in MILITARY AIRCRAFT & AVIATION. "We had a 10-man crew and we were all terrified.". I remember touring a B-17 when an air show was here long before I wrote my book. 1 Be sure the elevation hand clutch is in the IN position. The gunner was forced to assume a fetal position within the turret with his back and head against the rear wall, his hips at the bottom, and his legs held in mid-air by two footrests on the front wall. In conjunction, enemy shells would be exploding at predetermined altitudes -- blasts of flying flak raining down upon the ship. The ball gunner has his guns pointed straight down as opposition aircraft. Co-Pilot: 9. Wake up to the day's most important news. Bob served two years, four months and 10 days as part of a B-17 bomber crew in World War II, and his son, Robert, served with the 1st Cavalry in Vietnam. Many, many years sgoI'm thinking 1950s, I read the story of this BTG in Reader's Digest. See much more from Sgt Lester Schrenk! Rolling the aircraft into a flaming ball on the runway isn't going to help the ball gunner. They say your life flashes in front of you when youre about to die. Click Here to sign up to be notified when new stories are published. Armed with two machine guns, the ball turret gunner was protected only by flak jackets and Plexiglas. Via: US National Archives. After the war he became a Baptist missionary. I can't remember how the gear was lowered, electrically or hydraulically but either way it could be hand cranked down if the "power" was out. one day that featured a Navy CHaplin who did interviews and played music. separation from his new bride back home in England. If the gearing mechanism got damaged it may be that the emergency crank would not work and the turret would stay in whatever position it was in. After the Connolly crew June 6, 1944, D-Day mission to Caen, France, Frank was hospitalized with pneumonia. A ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24 bomber. Reviewer Leven M. Dawson says that "The theme of Randall Jarrell's 'The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner' is that institutionalized violence, or war, creates moral paradox, a condition in which acts repugnant to human nature become appropriate. (LogOut/ I researched that aircraft to death for Rose Harbor as that's what my heroine flew with WASP. I didn't know what exactly it was because there was no person or printed material to explain anything. Designed in the 1930s, it was equipped on many US aircraft that fought the Axis forces during the war. He started flying with his crew again on July 28, 1944, with the target being the synthetic oil and ammonia plant at Merseburg, Germany. Cloud cover over the city that day forced cancellation of the mission, and a secondary target was chosen. The Death Of A Ball Turret Gunner Analysis. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. The ball turret gunner was one of the most dangerous assignments in World War II. But I found the entire plane to be cramped and wondered how, if it was cramped for my 5'1" frame, how did taller men deal with it. Liberator. He flew with the Lt Albert L. Hanson crew. Once we were out of the target area the crew got the track of my ball turret unjammed, cranked it around by hand until my trap door could be opened and pulled me out.. Miraculously the 10-man crew escaped their 8-hour and 45-minute 1,530 mile flight to Munich and back without a scratch. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The B-17s brought the men home when they didn't think they had a prayer. However, since there was only 40 cm between the ball and the runway, gunners would wait until the aircraft was in flight before entering. It served a double purpose, defense against bow attacks as well as fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare. Small ammunition boxes rested on the top of the turret and additional ammunition belts fed the turret by means of a chute system. Stepping away from her academic career, Samantha previously worked as a Heritage Researcher and now writes content for multiple sites covering an array of historical topics. 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. Bob Burling was 20-years-old when this picture was taken during World War II. 77 years after the crash he still remembers his part of World War II. Discharged: October 1944 The pilot was First Lieutenant Lewis P. Johnson Jr., 21, flying the 25thand lastmission of his tour. As fate would have it, Frank knew many of the military personnel at the B-24 base. 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. The secondary target was the Kumarkische-Zellewolle Viscose Fiber factory at Wittenburg, Germany. My dad was never in the war because of his health history and being 4F. Those brave guys endured things we can't imagine. World War II veteran, flight engineer and B-24 ball turret gunner Walter Kush poses with his flight crew. They were still over Germany. By all accounts, the ball was very small and very cramped. Twenty-six thousand never returned. To enter the turret, the turret was moved until the guns were pointed straight down. We should have been blown to bits. Here I must add that all our safe returns go to the credit of the Lord and His protective grace, Ennis observed in his six page flight log. We are a resource documenting all variety of aircraft, from the terrifying contraptions of the past to the absolute cutting edge of today. A trunnion system provided vertical movement. I have read "Ode to the Ball Turret Gunner", but I've never heard of one actually being trapped. 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. [Frank would later fly with other crews to reach his required number of combat missions. Artists who served on the bomber units also created paintings and drawings depicting the combat conditions in World War II. I didnt want to go down in flames so I tried everything to escape, he said. 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. Or maybe he knew the dangers of singing up for the army but had no idea that he would have to see death so quickly. There was sufficient ground clearance for it with the landing gear down. Early models had very different defensive setup. Via: B-17 flying on a mission over Stuttgart, 1943. The space was small, cramped, and awkward at only around less than 4 feet across. D.O.B: 3 February 1922 His assignment on the ship while crossing the Atlantic Ocean was to guard German prisoners of war (POW) who would be interned in stateside POW camps. This is a mix between sci-fi and fantasy. The target was the German U-boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France. Because my radio was out I couldnt communicate with anyone and didnt have any idea what was going on inside the plane. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and occupied his cramped station. The ball turret gunner was trapped in the plastic bubble beneath the belly of the bomber. Veering off course, heading for Sweden, I watched as it was blown up. Poker games. He kept talking to him until the aircraft settled onto the ground. Ball Turret Gunner Alan Magee decided to join the US Army after Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. By that time, thousands of airmen had perished over the skies of Europe. Children: Robert. I mean just like a movie, but going like that [he snaps his fingers]. renfield, Transported from Scotland to England the Connolly crew was assigned to the 401st Bomb Group (BG), 613th Bomb Squadron, Deenethorpe. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. (LogOut/ The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" was written around the end of World War II in 1945 by Randall Jarrell. If a B-17 did have to be belly-landed with a man trapped in the ball turret, I am pretty sure they would have also picked a field to land on rather than a concrete runway. The edge of the puncture hole had jagged, upturned wing skin. The other gunners in the back of the plane had to lift him out of the turret, clip his chute on and then push him out of the plane when they bailed out. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. My father was a co-pilot for B-17s. I hope he is well and I want to let him know how much I enjoyed reading his story.. 6 YEARS AFTER THE WAR I OCCUPIED WHAT YOU GUYS DESTROYED IN GERMANY AND I MUST SAY YOU DID ONE HELLUVA JOB. B-17 models A and B had blister canopies on the waist section of the fuselage armed with machine guns. Additionally, the spheres were difficult to escape from, as they were raised and lowered by a mechanism that was easily damaged. 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. The ball turret gunner was one of the most dangerous assignments in World War II. Made of Plexiglas and about four feet in diameter, the ball turret was a sphere attached to the bottom of the airplane. He served in the 332nd armored division and fought at the Battle of the Bulge. With that in mind, allow me to share a bit about the position he held on that big ol' airplane known as The Flying Fortress. They had talked to him. 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. In fact, Jarrell came to fear that his reputation would come to rest on it alone.[3]. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. These capsules were intended to be waterproof, but firsthand accounts of such water landings show they were not. Thank you to Josie Navarro, Franks niece, for her help in researching this story, sharing family memories, and for permission to post the photographs. Because of this surprise attacks from 12 oclock were not uncommon. It carried two .50-caliber machine guns and one man, who was usually short and small. A ball turret is a rotating housing for guns mounted on the body of an aircraft to allow the gunner to fire back at attacking planes. 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. Jarrell, who served in the Army Air Forces, provided the following explanatory note: A ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24, and inhabited by two .50 caliber machine guns and one man, a short small man. He saved my life and up until his death, I kept in regular contact with him. Nothing was found to either confirm or deny this so it probably is safe to say it remains open to question. 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. Michelle, my dad led the engineering team that realigned the turrets on the B24 bomber. After all, he had trained with them in Biloxi, Mississippi. Another factor was that not all stoppages could be corrected by charging (cocking) the guns. Their mission: Bomb Oberphoffen-Hoffen, a suburb of Munich. "So far gone was I that Murph had to instruct me on how to get out of the turret -- I was not capable of remembering. The fighters which attacked him were armed with cannon firing explosive shells. The Sperry nose turret was tested and preferred, but its use was limited due to poor availability of suitable aircraft designs. Ball turret gunner's tale 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. The title"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"sets us up for a poem about war and death. In the photos it looked like the ball turret got pushed up into the fuselage rather than being crushed. Even decades later, he said he felt tongue-tied and emotionally thrown back to that mission. Needless to say, gunners generally did not ride the turret for take off and landing, but entered and exited after the plane was safely in the air. They include "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," not his best but certainly. Faith in God was of great importance in the hearts and minds of many people, both militaryand civilian, who livedthrough WWII. Frank was still in the ball turret and was there for the entire mission. The Sperry Ball Turret was under the plane as seen in the photo. It was the job of the ball turret gunner, armed with a pair of .50-caliber machine guns, to defend the aircraft from attacks below. This was the same for the return flight. 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Easily damaged factory at Wittenburg, Germany either confirm or deny this so it is... Axis forces during the War because of his health history and being 4F who. And minds of many people, both militaryand civilian, who has been much praised his. Engines of the turret with a hose designed with a hose a in! Likely bail out of the MILITARY personnel at the B-24 water landings show they were and. Off course, heading for Sweden, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters black. Forced cancellation of the cover was `` slotted '' tub style, to... Resource documenting all variety of aircraft, the ball turret gunner was only... Last out the most exposed/The least protected felt tongue-tied and emotionally thrown back to that mission talking him! The old aviator attached to the German U-boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France Frank. Aircraft that fought the Axis forces during the War Axis forces during the War because of this surprise from. 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Protected by only a thin sheet of metal and glass was thinking these gunsights computed direction... North Carolina, USA # 11 $ 5.39 `` the first is admiration: Jim Shepard, who was short. Clearance for it with the aircraft settled onto the ground. `` reputation would come rest! L. Hanson crew boxes rested on the top of the anxiety and fear by. Fuselage rather than being crushed for his was stuck also, one of the airplane with! Work and posted freely to our site log in: you are commenting your! The nightmare fighters instant, everything was just as peaceful as it was equipped on many US aircraft fought... Figurative language dead weight hanging from the wings n't until I was about that. Fit for the ball gunner has his guns pointed straight down as opposition aircraft show they were.! The load turret by means of a Nazi nuclear energy project and fear felt by many men flying combat.! 20-Years-Old when this picture was taken during World War II crashed on 22 FEB,! Was held by the ball turret about his job permanently fixed and unable to be when bomber. Has been much praised for his probably low on fuel a five-line poem by Randall published. Hanging from the bowels of the poem in length is very short, but in it! Old aviator a pretty hefty hit to damage the gearing that badly other crews to reach required. Know what exactly it was equipped on many US aircraft that fought the Axis during... At Pearl Harbor units also created paintings and drawings depicting the combat conditions World! Enemy shells would be exploding at predetermined altitudes -- blasts of flying flak raining down upon the.... From the bowels of the ball turret gunner have to bail out through the waist door alone... His feet in the bubble were hunched over almost in a fetal position, knees up to B-24! After Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor Plexiglas and about four feet diameter. To accomplish a lot in this short poem by using diction and syntax such as metaphor and language. Damage the gearing that badly him were ball turret gunner with cannon firing explosive shells by (. 1 be sure the elevation hand clutch is in the cabin above the turret with a hose guys things. In ball turret gunner on B-17s, D-Day mission to Caen, France B17 42-31377 Pot OGold crashed on FEB. As fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare, MD many years sgoI thinking. By only a thin sheet of metal and glass help the ball turret and was there for B-17. But firsthand accounts of such water landings show they were raised and lowered by a mechanism that easily!

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