related question, did they have higher casualities than the rest of the crew on the plane? After the war, Magee did not discuss his ordeal or his survival story with anyone. The ball turret gunner was crushed to death when a mechanical malfunction trapped him inside his plastic cage and a damaged electrical system made it impossible to lower the plane’s wheels. eg a rock outcrop could be hidden in the grass … There has to be more details out there other than Andy Rooney’s accounts and anecdotal information. Also to escape from the turret there were any amount of things necessary before one could leave. Magee plunged almost 22,000 feet, falling unconscious before crashing into the roof of the St Nazaire railway station. Magee’s friend, Don Jenkins, also a veteran of WWII, said that being a B-17 gunner was not an easy job during WWII. 43-37995 crash landed with one fatality. Magee was 5-foot-7 and could barely fit into the small space inside the turret. The ball turret was a feature of the bomber aircraft, a B-17 or B-24, made of plexiglass and set into the belly of the plane. Crushed ball turret gunner Sign in to follow this . The ball turret job can be exciting. To enter the turret, the turret was moved until the guns were pointed straight down. With Kevin Costner, Casey Siemaszko, Kiefer Sutherland, J.J. Cohen. Here’s an old discussion on a veteran’s forum. He was considered a perfect fit for the B-17’s ball turret. A crewman poses with the Sperry ball turret of a Royal Air Force B-24, Burma, c.1943-1945. 11 comments. 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. Saved by Julie Gault. This happened while Andy Rooney was in England reporting a news story. I can’t imagine that the Air Force would subject the family with the knowledge that their loved one died such a gruesome death. The US Army lost 75 airmen, along with 7 planes, while 47 planes were badly damaged. One would think that the crew could break the plexiglass and get the guy out. Alan Magee decided to join the US Army after Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/12001. Magee stayed in various German camps as a Prisoner of War. This thread brings remote turrets to mind. A ball-turret gunner, sits in his position on a B-17 "Flying Fortress" shortly before take off for a mission into Germany, 1943. Crackle! It looks like the gunners didn’t sit that far from their weapons, basically they had a small plexiglass bubble to look out of with the (complicated looking) gunsight mechanism to aim with. Recommended Posts. He felt a need to enlist in the Army and defend his country. Here’s one potential remedy…[link to video on Vimeo]. A made-for-TV drama from the 1980's was built around that scenario, but it was by and large fictional. The ball turret gunner was usually the shortest crewmember. Saved from ww2incolor.com. The American writer Randall Jarrell published "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" in 1945, the final year of World War II. People die. The poem, written in first person, gives the deceased turret gunner a … Ball Turret Gunner. [Via]. The gun turrets themselves were relatively nearby and they were also fairly low profile. His frame of 5-foot-1 was perfect for the assignment which is considered as one of the most dangerous during World War II. One fellow gunner had his turret cut off by the wing of another plane during a mission. Who was this gunner? Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. There were over 3,500 bullet and shrapnel holes. The space inside the turret was very small and cramped. I’m sure there were bomber veterans who were haunted by leaving a ball turret gunner behind. From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. I suspect it was the placebo effect - it looks good and it is reassuring to think that Rob will shoot down any nasty fighter that comes along. Here’s an article on the B-29 superfortress’s remote gun turrets. Appears that this was done to keep drag down since you don’t need a large turret to fit both gunner and guns. According to The Washington Post, Robert Brooks enlisted in 1944 as a “belly gunner,” in a B-17 bomber ball turret. On the day Magee went on the mission of his lifetime, he left his parachute on the bomber’s deck because there was not much space inside the turret. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. The ball turret gunner would be hunched, legs bent, with his feet in stirrups on each side of the 13 inch diameter armored glass panel. S/Sgt. On August 4, 1944, Douglas A-20G-30-DO Havoc (SN 43-9502) of the 644th Bomb Squadron, 410th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force, receives a direct flak hit in the tail section, completely severing it whilst on a mission to Rouen, France.
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