Tail Gunner - IN DEPTH! Most Effective Gunner?

Take an in depth look at the legendary "Memphis Belle" Tail Gunners and learn about the equipment and role in which all B-17s flew to their target. Learn about the bloody war in the skies above Europe in M.A.C. B-17 series. Explore the B-17 Tail gunner in-depth inside the Memphis Belle in this video. Learn all about the WWII history and design of these iconic weapons.

00:00 - 00:59 Who Is The Memphis Belle Mafia?
01:00 - 02:29 Memphis Belle Tail Gunner Introduction
02:30 - 03:02 Types Of B-17 Tail Turret
03:03 - 03:37 Tail Turret Sight
03:38 - 07:03 Memphis Belle Combat Damage
07:04 - 12:45 Tail Turret Equipment
12:46 - 13:36 Memphis Belle Kill Count
13:37 - 15:00 A Wrap With Zach
15:00 - 16:10 More Coming!

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[robertjohns]

Thanks for the post, best internal view of the gun position I've seen. My father was with the 305th when they arrived in Chelveston, and this was his position for his first few missions. I have a Stars and Stripes article from Jan '43 that describes a mission in which my dad was forced out of his position by a cannon shell hitting the turret. The heat melted his O2 mask away, and ignited a fire in the ammo box, forcing him into the waist area...but before all that he was given credit for two kills, FW190's. He was pissed that they kept him in the hospital for two weeks, and upon his return he was next man up for the ball turret. About a month later on the mission that included the Writing 69th, his plane was shot down, all 10 bailed. Dad was in multiple Stalags, and was liberated from Stalag 17B...

[taofledermaus]

It had to be a struggle to crawl out of the position if you needed to bail out.

[paulbush]

Awesome. I had the privilege of meeting a WWII vet (unbeknownst to me at the time) through my work and I visited him at his residence. Placed inconspicuously on a small table in a corner of the living room was a model B-17. I barely noticed it and had I not asked about it I would have never learned that this man served in WWII as a tail gunner. These modest and humble people were the greatest generation in my mind and always will be.

[GuidosDad]

I Can’t Wait to see the Nose Art video !!! This Series has been Terrific - we all appreciate your hard work!

[rlborger]

Thanks for the tour. I loved the whole series.

[GuidosDad]

“ I’ve waited my whole life to see this “ 🇺🇸

[nickmitsialis]

Tail Gunner was probably the most effective position--from my readings from Luftwaffe pilots on attacking 'Heavies' at high altitudes, apparently FWs and MEs had a pretty slow
SHOOT! The vid covered this!

[FrankyBoy]

A colleague of my older brother in California was for one flight the tail gunner of a B-17 over Europe.
During that first (and only) mission over Germany, his B-17 was attacked from behind by a Messerschmitt Bf-109.
He could see the pilot of that Bf-109 while it pumped 20 mm rounds in the tail of his B-17.
While he was pointing and firing his Browning .50s at the Messerschmitt the whole section of the tail of the B-17 was shot to pieces...
He miraculously survived, but vowed never to fly in that B-17 again.
That was respected and he got a job as a ground crew mechanic...

[thedustyhistorian]

Incredible video!! My great grandfather was a B17 Tail Gunner who flew 33 missions

[conceptalfa]

Great video, thanks for sharing!!!👍👍👍

[GuidosDad]

This is a good video! Is it true that the “ elite” cameraman was born from a Lonely Brother and Sister deep in the woods of Colorado though !??!

[davesloat]

Nicely done. I recommend doing Bocks Car next, or the AC-130A from Vietnam-Desert Storm.

[GuidosDad]

Almost 5, 000! Views in less than two days. Not bad 🤷🏻‍♂️