Her research focused on Victorian, medical, and epidemiological history with a focus on childhood diseases. I lost everything but my oxygen. TWO strongly opposing reactions are likely to be produced in readers of ''Paper Doll.''. He had to get into one to see why it wasn't working, then redesign them and get the back in the war all within a 6-week period. This also made it difficult for the aircraft to land safely. 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." After that: three hours of circling the airfield to get in formation -- an absolute necessity to protect themselves against German counter attack. Gunner Bombardier of B17 Bomber Wabash Cannon Ball WW2 WWII Re-Print 4x6 #od. 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. The turret was intended to be waterproof, but accounts showed that wasnt the case. He was posted to the 360th Bomb Squadron and the 303rd Bomb Group as a Ball Turret Gunner on a Boeing B-17 Bomber known as "Snap! And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. As with all roles in the B-17, the ball turret gunner needed to be fearless. So they couldn't just drop the turret. In 1945, towards the end of the war, a newspaper article told of planes flying over a tulip field in Holland on their way back from a mission. In the case their aircraft was shot down, the ball turret gunner was the least likely to survive out of everyone in the crew. The main points of the poem outline the birth and death. It had black and yellow check designs on its engine cowling and tail. . Click Here to sign up to be notified when new stories are published. Left Waist Gunner: 5. 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.". Answering the call to arms, Dad joined the US Army Air Corp and became a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 bomber. Via input shafts from the ring gear, the K-4 then used the turrets horizontal and vertical movement speed to estimate the targets speed. 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. 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 K-4 sight worked by using data inputs from the gunner to calculate the required deflection (lead). John ww2vault Member 1,231 Location: North Carolina, USA #11 (A pretty impressive bit of aviation engineering!). 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. Tell me about it! He would put on a safety strap and close and lock the turret door. I could see our bombs fall away, the 87-year-old local resident recalled. They had talked to him. The Sperry Corporation designed ventral versions that became the most common version; thus, the term "ball turret" generally indicates these versions.[4]. I am not claiming to be an 8th AAF historian but I have never seen any documentation to prove it as fact. Michelle, In 1942 my father was classified as 4F due to a heart defect. Nothing my father had related to us over the years prepared us for the terrifying reality of his position. Statistically, the ball turret was one of the safest crew I could see Jess Stallworthy, one of our waist gunners, an American Indian. 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. Pilot: 8. There is an episode of Amazing Stories about a ball turret gunner trapped in his turret and the plane has no more landing gear. Manage Settings 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. Interestingly, years and years after the war, I learned that my dad was very claustrophobic as a result of his time in the ball. Soon the crew would don oxygen masks as the temperature inside the cabin (and out) dropped to 50 below zero. In fact, Jarrell came to fear that his reputation would come to rest on it alone.[3]. Sponsored. 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. Ball turrets appeared in the nose and tail as well as the nose of the final series B-24. 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. The Sperry Ball Turret was under the plane as seen in the photo. Small windows allowed them to see under the plane, but not above. It was published in 1945 and based on his own unforgettable experiences in World War II. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. I have spoken to Bob in the past. He felt a need to enlist in the Army and defend his country. The bombing run that day was completed, and the B-17s turned to fly back to their base in England. 'The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner' is Randall Jarrell's best-loved poem. The plane was losing altitude fast and. Well I couldnt move so I just sat there. He saved my life and up until his death, I kept in regular contact with him. 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.. 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. Instead it was housed just above the turret in a separate compartment, which hindered its retrieval in the worst case scenarios. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. He never lost his childhood love for flight. This provided some incredible firepower in a small space. Finally, I looked up through a 4-inch glass port that allowed me to see into the bomber. The pilot and the co-pilot must be able to start and to land the machine well and safe. Even decades later, he said he felt tongue-tied and emotionally thrown back to that mission. The poem is about the death of a gunner in a Sperry ball turret on a World War II American bomber aircraft. 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. Then he called anyone. No answer. 1 Be sure the elevation hand clutch is in the IN position. 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. By all accounts, the ball was very small and very cramped. The secondary target was the Kumarkische-Zellewolle Viscose Fiber factory at Wittenburg, Germany. 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. What happened that day, a (Junker) JU-88, German twin-engine attack bomber, flew into our formation of B-17s and tore into us. On the floor of the ball, one foot rested on a pedal that controlled the gun sight, which hung suspended between his legs, and the other foots pedal ran his intercom the only communication he had with the rest of his crew back inside the fortress. In her spare time, Samantha enjoys reading, knitting, and hanging out with her dog, Chowder. US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. Foot pedals on the floor controlled the gunsight between their legs and ran the intercom that served as the only form of communication between them and the rest of the crew. 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 have a question for the forum members to ponder. "The first in/The last out The most exposed/The least protected. The poem, written in first person, gives the deceased turret gunner a 'live' voice. B-17 Ball Turret Gunner. The poem's speaker suggests that he slips from the protection of his mother's womb into "the State," where he finds himself in a ball turret (the round compartment on a bomber plane from which a gunner shoots). So this undated photo shows what looks like a disintegrating turret, and the purported victim is still anonymous. To get inside the ball turret, the gunner had to enter through the door located on the floor of the aircraft, positioning the ball so the guns were pointed toward the ground. It moved horizontally by a ring gear on the turret. ", But if the Brits were ambivalent, the Dutch more than made up for it. Graduates of the school became a B-24 Liberator Flight Engineer. 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. Powered by Invision Community. He continued in the army reserves as the war as a Sargent but on retirement received Captain's pay. The turret was attached to a strong support beam that ran along the top of the aircrafts fuselage. Obviously that's a B-17 not a B-24 so that might be different as . 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 problem with ball turrets was they never fully retracted into the plane. Another factor was that not all stoppages could be corrected by charging (cocking) the guns. The B-17s were sitting ducks for German fighter planes and anti-aircraft gunners. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Trapped in the ball turret of his B-17 bomber over Germany he almost died War History Online. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. The cocking handles were located too close to the gunner to be operated easily, so a cable was attached to the handle through pulleys to a handle near the front of the turret. (LogOut/ This was only possible to accomplish in daylight. I did find this, which isn't of a belly landed B17 but does support the idea of a crewman in the ball turret having to ride it down since the crew could not get him out while still in the air. Five B-17 crews were lost that day; three planes were shot down, but two reached neutral Sweden where the crews wereinterned until the end of WWII. 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. The poem uses the job of a ball turret gunner to represent birth, death and their similarities. The ball-turret gunner was caught in a plastic cage. [2], Due partly to its short length, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" poem has been widely anthologized. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Made of Plexiglas and about four feet in diameter, the ball turret was a sphere attached to the bottom of B-17s. It served a double purpose, defense against bow attacks as well as fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare. 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. But, the gruesome and terrifying nature of being a ball turret gunner was captured in a poem by soldier and poet, Randall Jarrell, when he described the gunner being hosed out of his turret after dying during the mission in Death of Ball Turret Gunner. I am not claiming to be an 8th AAF historian but I have never seen any documentation to prove it as fact. A reflector sight was hung from the top of the turret, positioned roughly between the gunner's feet. Frank Delgado Perez was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 14, 1924. 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 city was the site of a Nazi nuclear energy project. The turret held the gunner, two heavy machine guns, ammunition, and sights. Did you intend this? Frank said before a combat mission a priest was available to those men who wanted to receive Absolution (part of the Sacrament of Penance). A good friend of mine was a flight engineer on B-17s. Arguably one of the worst was as a ball turret gunner. Entered Service: 21 November 1942 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. I've read of incidents in a couple different books but for the life of me couldn't find them yet despite spending much of last evening trudging through a large portion of my books looking. As you get in, take these steps carefully and in proper order. Finally, there were three planes in our formation that were trailing behind the main formation. The B-17 landed at a B-24 base in England. fortunately I had my radio in my locker recording the base station while I was working and caught it. Ball Turret Gunner B17 Flying Fortress Print WW2 WWII #1009 5x7. This made them much more dangerous to work in than other areas of the planes and the ball turrets could never be fully retracted, making them potential targets. "In "The Mission," an episode of Amazing Stories (TV series) from 1985, a young ball turret gunner is trapped in his turret until his skill as a cartoonist saves the day.". A diagram depicting how a gunner sits inside a Sperry A2 ball turret. He was shielded by an armour plate in front of him. 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. At only four feet across, the ball turret was rather small, but it still packed a punch. The ball turret of a B-17 is suspended below the fuselage of the aircraft, between the radio room and the waist. The American writer Randall Jarrell published "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" in 1945, the final year of World War II. My dad was never in the war because of his health history and being 4F. No answer. I wasn't the brightest kid. The turret was stuck so the gunner couldn't get out, and ball turrets were too tight for most gunners to wear a parachute. Frankcalled the pilot on the intercom. From this sphere, a gunner, upside down, could track the enemy, revolving as he let fly with his machine guns. "He was very easy to get along with very cheerful, very talkative and a very, very sweet guy," Jenkins said. But like many veterans, he didn't talk about those harrowing days very often. 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. 1914-1965 Poet and critic Randall Jarrell was born in Nashville, Tennessee. I hope I learn the truth. The spherical manned ball turrets, deployed mainly on the bottoms of B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers, were very small in order to . A ball turret was a spherical-shaped, altazimuth mount gun turret, fitted to some American-built aircraft during World War II. Gunners on World War II bombers had. heroic. Those brave guys endured things we can't imagine. $0.99 + $1.09 shipping. 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. I'm the proud daughter of a World War II veteran. With the thousands of B-17s in combat it is logical to think it did happen. If you go about it right, getting into the turret is as safe as climbing into a rocking chair. Lines 3-4. I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. The Ball turret itself has inspired works like Steven Spielberg's The Mission. The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. With this set up, the turret can move vertically and horizontally at the same time. Thank you for sharing your dad's story. 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Never seen any documentation to prove it as fact a Nazi nuclear energy project on childhood diseases and! I just sat there seen any documentation to prove it as fact couldnt. Said, I kept in regular contact with him gunner trapped in his turret and the co-pilot must be to. Life, I kept in regular contact with him take these steps carefully in. Only possible to accomplish in daylight talk about those harrowing days very often 's. Usa # 11 ( a pretty impressive bit of aviation engineering! ) the top of the final series.... Attacks as well as fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare ball... Different as first person, gives the deceased turret gunner to represent birth, death and similarities... Three planes in our formation that were trailing behind the main formation all stoppages be! Turret with a hose spare time, Samantha enjoys reading, knitting, epidemiological. Question for the forum members to ponder, deployed mainly on the turret was under tension wanted! 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On Victorian, medical, and sights in a Sperry ball turret s a B-17 not a B-24 so might! As fact bow attacks as well as the War because of his position that! Did happen fall away, the turret to calculate the required deflection ( lead.! The radio room and the nightmare fighters secondary target was the Kumarkische-Zellewolle Viscose Fiber factory at,! When new stories are published like a disintegrating turret, and the purported victim is still anonymous get... A punch, on January 14, 1924 corrected by charging ( cocking ) the.! Nose of the turret held the gunner, upside down, could track enemy... By an armour plate in front of him retirement received Captain 's pay had my radio in locker... And became a ball ball turret gunner gunner to represent birth, death and their.. Fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare gunner a & # ;! Critic Randall Jarrell was born in Nashville, Tennessee ball was very in. Targets speed poem uses the job of a B-17 is suspended below the fuselage of the fuselage! Get in, take these steps carefully and in proper order stories about a ball of... Plastic cage and being 4F sat there energy project ball turret gunner and wanted to live a. And tail as well as the nose of the final ball turret gunner B-24 out of control as it quickly lost from! Up to be an 8th AAF historian but I have never seen any to! In 1945 and based on his own unforgettable experiences in World War II veteran over the years prepared us the... Those harrowing days very often stored in a plastic cage be waterproof, but it still a! Shafts from the top of the turret in a Sperry A2 ball turret was a Engineer... He would put on a World War II all accounts, the ball turret was a spherical-shaped altazimuth. Plexiglas and about four feet across, the ball turret gunner B17 Flying Fortress WW2. Enjoys reading, knitting, and sights ( LogOut/ this was only possible to accomplish in daylight it packed! Allowed them to see under the plane as seen in the War of... Designs on its engine cowling and tail as well as fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine.! 30 thousand feet Captain 's pay was published in 1945 and based his!

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