Posted By Ed on November 12, 2007 at 09:23:22:
I always wondered how ball turret gunners bailed out.
I know that there was a hatch on the B 17 which permitted a gunner to get in and out. But this was a very tight squeeze even without a chute. I understand that many gunners did not wear a chute but that there was one above them somehow in the fuselage of the ship. How was access achieved without assistance ? Did he need help to don the parachute ? Did ball turret gunners have chutes while in the bubble on a B 24 ? Could they get out without assistance operating the retracting device or directly ?
Answers to my questions would be very much appreciated.
Ed