To get in the turret the gunner would manually crank the guns straight down after take off. Our accents thick. Randall Jarrell - 1914-1965. The ball turret was originally a "bathtub" position facing rearward only - again by the D model it had evolved into twin .50s. Our crew trained together in the states as a ten man crew with two waist gunners but when we got to England and were assigned to a heavy bomb group, they were flying crews with only one waist gunner instead of two. When Magee’s bomber reached the French town of St Nazaire, it came under heavy fire from German anti-aircraft guns. Ball turrets appeared in the nose and tail as well as the nose of the final series B-24. See much more from Sgt Lester Schrenk! The Sperry Lower Retractable Ball mounted in the belly of the PB4Y-1, is the deadly and efficient defender of the bomber's once soft underside. 3: The turret … This happened while Andy Rooney was in England reporting a news story. [POEM] The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Magee plunged almost 22,000 feet, falling unconscious before crashing into the roof of the St Nazaire railway station. With the E model, the top twin guns were moved directly behind the cockpit with the Bendix powered turret, which was manned by the Flt Eng. Hands like shovels. Alan Magee decided to join the US Army after Japanese attacked the American fleet at  Pearl Harbor. German fighters preferred to attack head-on and aim for the cockpit, and the ball turret gunner could not escape from his position unaided. " 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. In the TV series Season 1, Episode 6 there is a very similar story of the Ball Turret gunner being trapped in his turret after FLAK damage with the real possibility of being crushed upon landing due to landing gear damage as well. 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. It was a manned turret, as distinct from remote-controlled turrets also in use. The Sperry ball turret was cleary in need of replacement. Like a noose of the free. Alan Magee decided to join the US Army after Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Armed with two 50-caliber machine guns and capable of rotating 360 degrees, the ball turret gunner was responsible for protecting the otherwise-exposed underbelly of the flying fortress. The reasons for this were: 1: The turret gunner was curled up in a ball, presenting a rather small target. He was considered a perfect fit for the B-17’s ball turret. From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Sperry ball turret on a B-17 Flying Fortress - 1942. show full show summary. To remedy that, the front end of the cover was "slotted". In total, there were 85 B-17s involved in the raid, along with some fighter planes escorting them. Britannic: A Century After Being Lost to the Waves, Opened to Divers, The 10,000 room German WW2 resort complex never had a single guest, now luxury beachfront Condos, The “Red Zone” In France Is So Dangerous that 100 Years After WWI It Is Still A No-Go Area. Since this turret is of the ball type, the gunner moves with his guns and sight in elevation and azimuth by means of control handles. [Via]. Source: 303rd BG  [Via]. Earlier designs appeared in other patrol seaplanes. The gears that rotated the ball to put the gunner in position to … In a US gun turret the gunner opperated a large wire wound variable resistor called a rheostat which applied the current to the amplidyne. The ventral turret was used in tandem in the Convair B-32, successor to the B-24. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and occupied his cramped station. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. Time in Service: 1943-45. My grandfather was a waist gunner, but moved about as necessary doing tail and occasionally the ball as he was 5' 2". To enter the turret, the turret was moved until the guns were pointed straight down. Now he is 87! in the forest at La Baule Escoublac on Jan. 3, 1943. The ball turret gunner was crushed to death when a mechanical malfunction trapped him inside his plastic cage and a damaged electrical system made it impossible to lower the plane’s wheels. Magee lived another 61 years after his fall during WWII and died of kidney failure and complications from a stroke. from mortar and bricklaying. … It also kept the gunners inside the pressurized cabin, which the earlier bombers did not have. From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and th… The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner . The space inside the turret was very small and cramped. Sperry and Emerson Electric each developed a ball turret, and the designs were similar in the nose turret version. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and t… Alan E. Magee poses for the camera, halfway into the tight confines of the ball turret of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Our crew trained together in the states as a ten man crew with two waist gunners but when we got to England and were assigned to a heavy bomb group, they were flying crews with only one waist gunner instead of two. Ironically, post war analysis of B-17 crew fatality records revealed that the ball turret gunner had the safest job on the plane (with the pilot having the most dangerous). Pop! Magee’s survival story has featured in many magazines and is considered one of the most miraculous survivals of WWII. For those manning that station death was indeed a … The Ball Turret Gunner tells us how he basically got to be in the army, “From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State” to me this seems like his mother is unaware of her son being in the army. He'd be crushed." On the day Magee went on the mission of his lifetime, he left his parachute on the bomber’s deck because there was not much space inside the turret. Magee’s friend, Don Jenkins, also a veteran of WWII, said that being a B-17 gunner was not an easy job during WWII. Bodies crushed and swollen. from mortar and bricklaying. "He said one time they forgot he was there, and he thought he was going to be crushed. The ball turret ended up proving to be the safest position in a B17. This left him positioned with his eyes roughly level with the pair of light-barrel Browning AN/M2 .50 caliber machine guns which extended through the entire turret, located to either side of the gunner. Then the crank to put him back up didn't work," Charlotte said. The gunner never entered the turret before take off. And it often went to the shortest man among the crew. The ball turret gunner has not had a living instant to achieve the self-recognition celebrated by Aries or Yeats's Major Gregory. When his bomber came under fire from German anti-aircraft guns, he ran out of options. The ball-turret gunner was caught in a plastic cage. The Sperry-designed ventral system saw widespread use and production, including much sub-contracting. 'The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner' is a short, violent poem showing more than just how brutal war can be. He could then open the hatch and would climb in. He was considered a perfect fit for the B-17’s ball turret. I was trained as a waist gunner so how did I end up in the most hated position on the B-17 as the lower ball turret gunner? His bomber was spinning mid-air and spiralling towards the ground. It wasn’t easy what they had to go through. There are cases in which the ball turret operator could not be released, and if the airplane was damaged so the landing gear could not be lowered, the person inside the turret would be crushed to death. The belly gunners were protected only by a glass bubble which made them an easy target for the enemy. S/Sgt. The hardware has survived; the soft flesh has been crushed. He would put on a safety strap and close and lock the turret door. The space inside the turret was very small and cramped. Ball Turret Gunners on B-17 bombers were protected only by a glass bubble jutting out from the bowels of the plane. He was released in May 1945. The gunner was forced to assume a fetal position within the turret with his back and head against the rear wall, his hips at the bottom, and his legs held in mid-air by two footrests on the front wall. My grandfather was a waist gunner, but moved about as necessary doing tail and occasionally the ball as he was 5' 2". The ball turret, like this one on a B-17 in England in 1943, was designed small to reduce drag, so its gunner usually was the shortest man in the crew. The primary target was Oranienburg, Germany. The ball turret gunner has not had a living instant to achieve the self-recognition celebrated by Aries or Yeats's Major Gregory. Ironically, post war analysis of B-17 crew fatality records revealed that the ball turret gunner had the safest job on the plane (with the pilot having the most dangerous). The Sperry Ball Turret was under the plane as seen in the photo. The father of T.S. In almost every case, there was not enough room for the ball turret gunner to wear a parachute. The conventional landing gear of the B-17 meant that the ball turret did not need to be retracted for clearance on the ground, but if the plane was required to do a belly landing (such as in the case of landing gear system failure), the ball turret would likely be destroyed due to the lack of clearance, meaning anyone occupying the turret would be in a precarious position if unable to escape. The gunner never entered the turret before take off. According to The Washington Post, Robert Brooks enlisted in 1944 as a “belly gunner,” in a B-17 bomber ball turret.His frame of 5-foot-1 was perfect for the assignment which is considered as one of the most dangerous during World War II. $4.5 million buys you a P51 Mustang & twenty, yes TWENTY Merlin engines! From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Death of the Ball Turret Gunner By Randall Jarrell. Actual Nose Art panel from crashed B-17 at St. Nazaire, France – 03 January 1943 [Via]. Normally, the gunner accessed the firing chamber by releasing a latch and raising the cover to a position perpendicular to the gun but this was not possible in the ball turret. Magee stayed in various German camps as a Prisoner of War. Ball Turret Gunner: Staff Sergeant William H. Cassiday, 32346219, New York – Killed in Action Radio Operator: Staff Sergeant Ralph J. Leffelman, 19112019, Washington – Killed in Action Waist Gunner: Staff Sergeant James D. Houtchens, 37483248, Nebraska – Killed in Action [Via]. The ball turret gunner had a jump seat to the left (port) side of the navigator/radio operator which he occupied on takeoff and landing, and inflight prior to and following departure from enemy fighter range. He could then open the hatch and would climb in. 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 fully retractable mount, so that the ball turret would always be retracted upwards into the lower fuselage while the aircraft was on the ground, providing ground clearance with it in the stowed position. After testing in mid-1943, the ERCO ball turret became the preferred bow installation in the Navy's Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator and PB4Y-2 Privateer patrol bombers although other types continued to be installed. Randall Jarrell's poem The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner can be found in many anthologies and is his most well known work. Our colour pasty. Sperry ball turret on a B-17 Flying Fortress - 1942. show full show summary. The ball turret gunner was one of the most dangerous assignments in World War II. Due to scheduling and additional training received by some members of Frank’s crew, he flew his first combat mission as a ball turret gunner with the Lt Dow C. Pruitt crew on April 18, 1944. Two of the engines of the B-17 were stopped, about 3,000 pounds of dead weight hanging from the wings. unholy tokens of Christ, Nailed to a tree (That) You hang around your neck. Ball turret gunner’s tale . I know it was a concern to him, but fortunately, he made it through the war without an issue with the ball. Ranked among the luckiest people in the world, Alan E. Magee survived a free fall of almost four miles from a B-17 bomber during a bombing raid in WWII. The city was the site of a Nazi nuclear energy project. Magee was 5-foot-7 and could barely fit into the small space inside the turret. (NASM (SI-80-20353)) Aerial gunnery training had a make-do, try-anything quality, resulting in the design of 16 types of outdoor ranges. The name arose from the turret's spherical housing. The design was mainly deployed on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator, as well as the United States Navy's Liberator, the PB4Y-1. Bodies crushed and swollen. When he regained consciousness, as the Germans were taking him to hospital, he exclaimed, ‘Thank God I am alive.” Magee once told his friend that the Germans had great respect for those who survived miraculously. The Sperry ball turret was very small in order to reduce drag, and was typically operated by the shortest man of the crew. | Once inside he could turn on the turrets electrical and hydraulic power. Garp, the main protagonist in John Irving's fourth novel The World According to Garp (1978), is a severely injured ball turret gunner. It served a double purpose, defense against bow attacks as well as fire suppression and offensive strafing in antisubmarine warfare. In almost every case, there was not enough room for the ball turret gunner to wear a parachute. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. Development of the spherical Emerson was halted. Once inside he could turn on the turrets electrical and hydraulic power. In many cases, when a stoppage occurred, it was necessary for the gunner to "reload" the gun, which required access to the firing chamber of the guns. A glimmering of conscious awareness comes to him, if at all, only after the moment of death. Published in 1945 it drew directly from his own involvement with military aircraft and airmen during WW2. On 3rd January 1943, Magee got into a Flying Fortress bomber on his seventh bombing mission. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. Image credit: Wikipedia. The four officers had managed to clamber aboard the other raft; three had been injured in the ditching. Statistically, the ball turret was one of the safest crew positions during WWII as ball turret gunners had the lowest loss rate. Tail gunners suffered the highest casualties because that is the direction enemy fighters would most often come from. Not according to this study http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/woundblstcs/chapter9.htm It found waist gunners had the most but there were 2. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner Randall Jarrell - 1914-1965 From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Did That Actually Happen? In November 1944, his B-17 fell out of control over the Adriatic Sea after being attacked by Bf 109s. Once the aircraft was in enemy territory the ball was rotated so that the door was in the floor of the plane. I know it was a concern to him, but fortunately, he made it through the war without an issue with the ball. A few gunners wore a chest parachute. So this undated photo shows what looks like a disintegrating turret, and … Once the aircraft was in enemy territory the ball was rotated so that the door was in the floor of the plane. It is a common misconception that the ball turret was the most dangerous place on American heavy bombers, or any bombers for that matter. The ball-turret gunner was trapped in the plastic bubble hanging beneath the B-17. He felt a need to enlist in the Army and defend his country. 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, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ball_turret&oldid=965294547, Articles lacking sources from September 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles that may contain original research from July 2016, All articles that may contain original research, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, In "The Mission," a 1985 episode of the television series, This page was last edited on 30 June 2020, at 14:17. I was trained as a waist gunner so how did I end up in the most hated position on the B-17 as the lower ball turret gunner? The turret held the gunner, two heavy machine guns, ammunition, and sights. The ball turret gunner was usually the shortest crewmember. According to The Washington Post, Robert Brooks enlisted in 1944 as a “belly gunner,” in a B-17 bomber ball turret.His frame of 5-foot-1 was perfect for the assignment which is considered as one of the most dangerous during World War II. The Sperry Corporation designed ventral versions that became the most common version; thus, the term "ball turret" generally indicates these versions. A reflector sight was hung from the top of the turret, positioned roughly between the gunner's feet. The name arose from the turret's spherical housing. The Sperry ball turret was very small[clarification needed] in order to reduce drag, and was typically operated by the smallest man of the crew. It was common knowledge among soldiers that the B-17 ball turret gunners had a very high casualty rate. The primary target was Oranienburg, Germany. Due to scheduling and additional training received by some members of Frank’s crew, he flew his first combat mission as a ball turret gunner with the Lt Dow C. Pruitt crew on April 18, 1944. The gunner released the latch and removed the cover which allowed space to clear the action. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. But he was not aware that he had jumped in a 4-mile drop without his parachute. A-2 jacket worn by Fifteenth Air Force ball turret gunner SSgt Emil Barney. A ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24, and inhabited by two .50 caliber machine guns and one man, a short small man. Small ammunition boxes rested on the top of the turret and additional ammunition belts fed the turret by means of a chute system. [POEM] The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell. The belly gunners were protected only by a glass bubble which made them an easy target for the enemy. unholy tokens of Christ, Nailed to a tree (That) You hang around your neck. Three months before being shot down, the original crew assigned to the B-17F Snap! 2: The ball turret had a steel for that protected the gunners back. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. The Sperry ball turret was very small in order to reduce drag, and was typically operated by the shortest man of the crew. The Sperry ball turret, meant for ventral defense needs on aircraft, was used on both the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator as well as the United States Navy's Liberator, the PB4Y. Crackle! He was considered a perfect fit for the B-17’s ball turret. A ball turret was a spherical-shaped, altazimuth mount gun turret, fitted to some American-built aircraft during World War II. The ball turret was a hellish place to be. The ball turret gunner was one of the most dangerous assignments in World War II. Magee had no idea how to control the plane and saw a small opening,  which he quickly jumped through. When Pirates Kidnapped Julius Caesar He Laughed at Their Ransom Demands & Told Them To Ask for More, Repelled 30 Taliban: 400 Rounds, Launched 17 Grenades, Detonated a Mine, and Used His Tripod as a Weapon, The WWII Ace Whose Helicopter was Attacked by the World’s Largest Snake, Pull Your Finger Out: The Royal Navy Slang You Never Knew You Were Speaking, USS Nevada Found Off Coast Of Pearl Harbour. The bomber took a couple of nasty blows on its wing and engine; it started spiralling towards the ground, and was spinning at a very high speed. 8th Air Force ball turret (ventral) gunners and pilots had the highest casualty rates. On the 23rd of September 1995 Alan E. Magee, accompanied by his wife Helen, returned to St Nazaire to take part in a ceremony sponsored by French citizens, dedicating a memorial to his seven fellow crewmen killed in the crash of Snap! Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. Fun Fact: American poet Randall Jarrell wrote a five-line poem called “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” which was published in 1945. Everybody else in the plane understood that the [ball turret gunner] was a dead man. Or maybe he knew the dangers of singing up for the army but had no … To get in the turret the gunner would manually crank the guns straight down after take off. They told me that Marshall Yorra, waist gunner, and Joe Reljac, tail gunner, had been crushed on the flight deck when the tremendous force of water hitting the top turret had collapsed it on top of them. Or maybe he knew the dangers of singing up for the army but had no idea that he would have to see death so quickly. Magee had to jump out of it to escape certain death. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner By Randall Jarrell About this Poet Poet and critic Randall Jarrell was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Statistically, the ball turret was one of the safest crew positions during WWII as ball turret gunners had the lowest loss rate. 66 years after the crash he still remembers his part of World War II. The Ball Turret Gunner tells us how he basically got to be in the army, “From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State” to me this seems like his mother is unaware of her son being in the army. According to an article in Snopes regarded a Reagan anecdote, there is a story by Andy Rooney(in his book “My War”) about a stuck ball-turret gunner who was crushed when his B-17 had to belly land. True? He felt a need to enlist in the Army and defend his country. He was 24, and was one of the ten-man crew of the B-17 bomber. Pop! Access was severely restricted by the guns' location in the small turret. Alan Magee received the Air Medal for meritorious service and the Purple Heart for his achievements in the war. They took off from Molesworth, England, and their target was a German submarine port in France. Ball Turret Gunner. Our colour pasty. (NASM (SI-80-20353)) Aerial gunnery training had a make-do, try-anything quality, resulting in the design of 16 types of outdoor ranges. Like a noose of the free. The hardware has survived; the soft flesh has been crushed. It was their second mission in “Berlin Special,” a B-17 “Flying Fortress.” Their four-engine bomber was part of the 92nd Bomb Group, 407th Squadron of the 8th Air Force flying out of an airbase near Podington, a tiny farm village some 40-miles northwest of London during World War II. Among the earlier designs was the Martin 250SH bow turret of the PBM-3 twin-engined patrol flying boat which had many points of similarity in design and action. A glimmering of conscious awareness comes to him, if at all, only after the moment of death. The Ball Turret Gunner from B17 42-31377 Pot O´Gold crashed on 22 FEB 1944, tells in BALL TURRET about his job. Ball Turret Gunner. In Band of Brothers, Malarkey Asks a German POW Where he Was From, He Answered Eugene, Oregon. To enter the turret, the turret was moved until the guns were pointed straight down. Permanently fixed and unable to be retracted, there was no hiding from enemy attack. Alan Magee decided to join the US Army after Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. He is buried in San Angelo, Texas. Not according to this study http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/woundblstcs/chapter9.htm It found waist gunners had the most but there were 2. The ball turret gunner, on the other hand, could see the rest of the ships in the formation, the bombs as they descended on the enemy and, on a clear day, the bombs as they detonated on the enemy. 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