Regardless of its reputation, was statistically one of the safest positions on the plane. There were no separate designations for positions. All were classified as 'flexgunners'. Typically, the shortest gunner was assigned to it. My old man was pissed because the tail gunner was shorter than he was, but my old man was assigned to the Sperry ball turret anyway. They started you out with shotguns, stationary shooting stationary targets. Then they moved you to stationary shooting skeet. Then they put them on the back of trucks, moving, shooting stationary targets, then it was moving trucks shooting moving targets. If you got through that, they let you go to war. Interesting note: On the fifty cals, every fifth round was a tracer, for aiming. They have recently learned that the tracer rounds did not fly as true as the regular rounds. So all of the guns were not properly aimed. For the whole war. Where was this picture taken? Do you think they're still there? I'll take a couple/three.
thanks for the info! In your lay out of how a gunner went from shotguns on stationary targets, to moving trucks shooting moving targets, you didn't mention the method in the photo above, nor the other turret gunner training I posted a couple years ago, a turret mounted to a mobile platform, with everything necessary to make it move like a real aircraft belly gun turret, with live ammo. So, there were other training methods, or training classes, that the gunners went through. Here's a truck mounted I posted https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/08/truck-mounted-turret.html Oh, and here's a biography of a turret gunner, about a 5 minute read https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2021/02/i-just-read-and-can-recommend-article.html
and some people are still using ball turrets for machine gun fun https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/10/at-this-weekends-big-sandy-machine-gun.html
It looks like they have train tracks running around on the floor and some terrain by the back wall. I don't think the ball turret would be shooting at anything on the ground, so I wonder what that would be for.
Photo annotation is 'ball turret manipulation trainer" so my guess is this is to learn how to control the aiming of the turret itself by tracking the car on the floor track. The supervisor in the lecturn likely could control the car speed in response to how well all the trainees were doing.
Regardless of its reputation, was statistically one of the safest positions on the plane. There were no separate designations for positions. All were classified as 'flexgunners'. Typically, the shortest gunner was assigned to it. My old man was pissed because the tail gunner was shorter than he was, but my old man was assigned to the Sperry ball turret anyway.
ReplyDeleteThey started you out with shotguns, stationary shooting stationary targets. Then they moved you to stationary shooting skeet. Then they put them on the back of trucks, moving, shooting stationary targets, then it was moving trucks shooting moving targets. If you got through that, they let you go to war.
Interesting note: On the fifty cals, every fifth round was a tracer, for aiming. They have recently learned that the tracer rounds did not fly as true as the regular rounds. So all of the guns were not properly aimed. For the whole war.
Where was this picture taken? Do you think they're still there? I'll take a couple/three.
thanks for the info!
DeleteIn your lay out of how a gunner went from shotguns on stationary targets, to moving trucks shooting moving targets, you didn't mention the method in the photo above, nor the other turret gunner training I posted a couple years ago, a turret mounted to a mobile platform, with everything necessary to make it move like a real aircraft belly gun turret, with live ammo.
So, there were other training methods, or training classes, that the gunners went through.
Here's a truck mounted I posted https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/08/truck-mounted-turret.html
Oh, and here's a biography of a turret gunner, about a 5 minute read https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2021/02/i-just-read-and-can-recommend-article.html
and some people are still using ball turrets for machine gun fun https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/10/at-this-weekends-big-sandy-machine-gun.html
Is that a person behind that lectern? just noticed that.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like they have train tracks running around on the floor and some terrain by the back wall. I don't think the ball turret would be shooting at anything on the ground, so I wonder what that would be for.
ReplyDeletePhoto annotation is 'ball turret manipulation trainer" so my guess is this is to learn how to control the aiming of the turret itself by tracking the car on the floor track. The supervisor in the lecturn likely could control the car speed in response to how well all the trainees were doing.
ReplyDelete