B-17 Ball Turret Fact checking – ”Masters of the Air” 5 Combat Clips Historical Questionable Issues

In the Masters of the air series the B-17 ball turrets were engaging German Bomber interceptors in air-to-air combat. The video will deep dive ball turrets usage and features and compare standard practice with the series portrayal. 5 Questionable items were founds an discussed.

[WWIIUSBombers]

Some of the documents shown in this presentation can be found at hangarthirteen.org, under library tab. They provide free downloads of B-17 manuals. They are restoring a B-17. Check them out, lots of good info on their site.

[richardduerr]

Two things, I had no idea the ball turret was such a complex weapons system, and I saw so many things in the series that I knew were inaccurate that it constantly bothered me. The characters were not really very believable either. This explanation of actual ball turret operation (for instance I thought they had 'rudder pedals' to steer it) and capabilities was beyond anything I have learned before, and I am a WW2 aviation nut. Thanks for making this video!!!

[herberar]

This tv series gave the opportunity to teach the differences between reality and Hollywood.
I ' ve been following your channel from the beginning and Im really grateful for passing on such an interesting knowledge.
I have been intrigued for all related to bombers and their crews . I am from Argentina and went to the United States in '97. In Barnes& Noble in Manhattan, I saw wonderful books about all this but they were way out of my pockets reach .
Now, at 63, makes me fell so good to now that I am not going to die ignoring all this incredible technologies. My gratitude is inmense. Thanks a lot again!!!!

[David-icby]

The mute Star Wars interpolation is a winner! No one does understated humor like this channel…

[lwilton]

I have absolutely no idea where you have managed to find all of this original documentation, but I'm glad you have and are sharing it with us. You must have spent half your life dredging thru dusty boxes in national archives all over the country!

[bryangrote]

One of my great-uncles was a B-17 ball turret gunner. He was 6'2", barely within the height limit when he joined up. No idea how many missions he flew, but he was hunched over in his back for life after so many hours in the ball turret (and wasn't 6'2" anymore when he left the service.).

Great video as usual. Thank you.

[fatcat]

The sight posts goof is the worst, since it's so simple to correct.

[WilliamHarbert]

Another informative and educational presentation. Thank you for your well documented and beautifully presented scholarship.

[fakshen]

I'm not singling out Apple's series... but damn... Hollywood gets it so wrong. I'm so glad people keep this kind of knowledge alive. I hope someone thinks of hiring you for their next WWII project. It'd be nice to see some accuracy.

[Imnotyourdoormat]

For me, IMO the most common myth is the gunner had to be small in stature to even be able to crawl into the legendary belly turret let alone operate it. While the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Factory Flight Manual clearly lists 6 feet 2 inches as the height limit for the Sperry Ball Turret...

[keithmarshall]

The B-17 is my favorite aircraft ever, and there were some things presented here I never knew like how they range sighted the reticle among other details. Absolutely loved these turret videos!

[steveturner]

Love the technical details as I’m a tech spec kind of guy. I quit watching Masters of the Air after the fourth episode. I know it isn’t a documentary and they had to rely on CGI so much more than either Band of Brothers or The Pacific but it became unwatchable for me. I have tons of books about the air war over Europe and have watched the original Twelve O’Clock High movie dozens of times. Sure there were liberties taken in the other two series but the amount taken in Masters was more than I could take. Keep on pointing out the errors so we can form our opinions.

[stevendorris]

May I suggest a one word description for your series?
That word would be STUNNING.

[rickschiller]

Thank you for all the exhaustive work you put into researching your videos. Band of Brothers was an excellent series and in compariosn and I thought Master of the AIr didn't nearly come close.

[Cuccos]

I checked your channel, there is a lot of B-17 but very few B-24 content. I think it is also a very interesting bomber type, would you make more videos of it? I' really curious about the nose gun turret version (H model?) effectiveness compared to the contemporary B-17 forward looking gun armament for example, also the tail turret compared on the two types (effectiveness, field of fire, combat use, experience, etc). - Wow, there is a bit of an answer at 11:34 🙂

[benyates]

You are such a nerd and I love it. Thank you! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[williamleadbetter]

My Grandfather was a WW2 Vet with the 37th Infantry Division (fought the Japanese) had a neighbor i knew and spoke to often, Al Viltro who was a ball turret gunner on the B-17 "Milk Run Maybel" he was a short man most were to fit in the turret. He told me he got two 109's.Keep up the good work. These men deserve to be remember. They were my heros as a kid and still are. I knew many of my grandfathers friends. Like Ed Henry an Airborne Ranger who jumped into Holland and Normandy in was captured three days later Behind Enemy Lines. These guys used to give us candy as kids in church we never would have known then they were straight up killers

[wattage]

Cannot fathom the number of hours you must have put researching this. I am always fully immersed by your content

[lot]

FYI, if you can get to Ohio, please try and visit the United States Air Force museum in Dayton. They have the Memphis Bell and Bockscar on display. As well as all the airplanes discussed in these video's. Free admission.

[roninselman]

A very informative video, thank you! Answered so many things for me! Never seen that TV show, never will - not paying for that channel.