B-17 Ball Turret Gunner (Dangerous Jobs in History)

Flying a B-17 was a very risky job since they were huge, slow and therefore easy targets for enemy aircraft and anti-aircraft defences, who always marked them as primary targets.
Out of the entire crew, the most endangered were the machine gunners housed in overexposed emplacements.
One emplacement in particular carried the greatest risk.
The Position of the underbelly, ball turret gunner.

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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script: Dejan Milivojevic
Narrator:
Bryan 'Lazlo' Beauregard


Sources:
Drendel, Lou, Don Greer, and Ernesteo Cumpain. Walk around Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1998.
Johnsen, Frederick A. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Specialty Press Publishers, 2001.
O'Leary, Michael. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Osprey Aviation, 1998.
Aircrewman's Gunnery Manual. U.S. Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1944.

[Awfulfeature]

“So what are the safety precautions?”

“No. Good luck.”

[wherebanana]

My Dad was a ball turret gunner, trained in B-24's but saw combat in B-17's. Made 28 missions with the 401st Bomb Group was shot down on his last mission, spent 1 year as a POW of the Nazi's. Lost him 2 years ago at the age of 91 and he was a tough ol'bird and i miss him very much. Enjoyed your video very much.

Thank you very much for all the positive comments!

[Radical]

My grandfather, Earnest "Buster" Matlock, was a B-17 ballgunner. He was 5'4. Did his duty, came home and lived out the rest of his life in East Texas.

[brianmcnary]

Mac Dotson was a friend of mine. Died many years ago. He was a ball turret gunner who survived 27 combat/ bombing missions- only to be taken by stomach cancer at 73. Rest in peace Mac and thank you for your service.

[TrophyCase]

“When I die they wash me out of the turret with a hose”
My god that’s morbid

[mq]

My grandfather Eddie “Spaghetti” Quagge was a ball turret gunner in the B-17. He flew numerous missions in Europe, including his own parents’ country of Italy. On one raid, his plane took heavy damage from enemy fire; he saved the lives of his crew by jettisoning all extra weight through the bomb port to keep them in flight long enough to make it back to base. He returned to Brockton MA for a long and happy life.

[thetubeboi]

Therapist: don’t worry, simple history 3D can’t hurt you.


3D ball turret:

[razorback]

My grandpa served on B-17s and B-25s in the war. Being the shortest crew member, he got put in the ball turret of the B-17 and was tasked with manning the tail gun of the B-25.

He was hit with flak twice in the war but he said the worst pain he felt was when his leg cramped up while he was in the ball turret and he couldn’t stretch to relieve the cramp for hours until they were back in British airspace

[BunnyWitch]

Wow, being stuck in a ball turret and the plane has to make a emergency landing. All you can do is watch the ground getting closer and closer. What a terrible way to go...

[difficulthail]

Can we just appreciate the animation of the ball turret

[rodneykantorski]

My wonderful Dad was a Ball Turret Gunner. He flew 33 missions between B-17's and B-24's. I know that he volunteered to be in the Ball Turret, and he wasn't that short at all, about 5'10". I had the greatest Dad ever. He passed away in 2008 at 86 years old. I miss him and my Mom terribly 😥

[MrMan-syev]

I remember watching a documentary about a WWII B-17 crew. Their plane was damaged in combat and they had to head back to base for an emergency landing. Their landing gear was destroyed and the ball turret was damaged shut with a crewman still inside. They all knew that he would be killed upon landing. So on the way back to base, they talked to him and said their goodbyes. Imagine being dead while you’re still alive.

[jacksteinman]

My great grandfather was a ball turret gunner, he died in 2002. Had a lot of good stories.

[Scorpio-vhik]

Man enlisting:”I wouldn’t want to be that guy” *he gets the job he didn’t want*

[TheBishopV]

My Grandad, Pete “Sarge” Sardenollia was a ball turret gunner in the pacific, he flew missions across the Pacific and did missions in the Philippians. He passed back in 08, He was a great man

[oceanmew]

We read "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" in my high school English class and even a decade later that poem still sticks with me. It's so short, but it carries such a heavy dark feeling

[jonaha.k.ashazam]

AC/DC: We got the biggest balls of them all

B-17 Turret: *Hold my ammo*

[cmh]

I met a Ball Turret Gunner. When he told me, I asked him, "Can I shake your hand?" Later on after telling him how much I heard that that was a suicide position, he surprised me by saying that he actually liked it. It was such a privilege to meet that WW2 generation.

[TheDownrankTrain]

Alternative title: "Short Kings with steels balls frag german airforce inside an aluminum hamster ball with the armour of a Smart Car and about the same leg room"

[richardhinshaw]

To anyone fascinated with B17's in general and the ball turret position in particular, in the mid '80s Stephen Spielberg had a TV show called 'Amazing Stories', and an episode called 'The Mission'. It's Fantasy, but fun to watch.