The Bomber Boys Read Online Free Page B
Author: Travis L. Ayres
acquired the name Flying Fortress. The first things Tony or anyone else noticed on first sight were the thirteen .50 caliber machine guns poking out of the bomber’s nose, top, bottom, sides and tail. To lift its own considerable heft and a seven-thousand-pound bomb load, the B-17G was powered by four formidable Wright engines.
Despite how large the B-17 appeared on the outside, Chart’s new crew soon learned that the aircraft was not exactly roomy on the inside. Most available space was occupied by necessary flight equipment and armament. The nose section, with its clear Plexiglas cone, provided just enough space for the bombardier and navigator and their equipment, as long as neither man attempted to stand upright. Two single-barrel machine guns and the firing controls for the front chin twin-gun turret were also housed in the aircraft’s nose.
Above and just aft of the nose section was the bomber’s cockpit, which provided just enough room for the pilot’s and copilot’s seats amid a seemingly endless array of switches, dials, gauges and flight controls.
Directly behind the pilot and copilot was a small space that was really part of the cockpit area. Here the airplane’s flight engineer was stationed to react to any emergency situation and to serve as the top turret gunner. Moving aft from the flight engineer’s space, one came to the bomb bay, with its bomb racks to either side of a small walk space and a base just a few inches wide. Anyone passing through would have to turn sideways to keep from bumping into the racks of bombs, and if the bay doors were open during flight, there would be little but sky between him and the ground.
Continuing rearward past the bomb bay, the next small compartment was the radio room, where the crew’s radioman maintained and operated all outside communication equipment. When necessary, he manned a single .50 caliber machine gun which was fired through an open ceiling hatch.
Protruding out of the fuselage deck, just aft of the radio room, was the top portion and door of the Sperry ball turret. A few feet past the ball turret were the B-17’s side windows, left and right, with a single-barrel .50 caliber machine gun extending from each. The windows were staggered so the left and right waist gunners would not bump into one another during combat, at least in theory.
There was a small escape door to the rear of the right waist gunner’s position, and beyond that a tunnel-like entrance, which the tail gunner would have to crawl through to reach his position—the most confining on the bomber with the exception of the ball turret.
Lieutenant Jerome Chart’s B-17 crew flew one training mission after another, day and night, out of their Lincoln base. With each mission Tony could tell that their Skipper was becoming a
better pilot. Takeoffs were crisper, landings were smoother and their scores on the practice bombing runs were going up.
In turn, Chart was noticing his crew was starting to operate as a skilled unit. His copilot, George Wisniewski, seemed comfortable handling the aircraft when he got his opportunities to take control. Kelly was getting used to the Norden bombsight. Robinson was using every available free moment to cram his brain full of information on how to keep a B-17 flying in emergency situations.
It was more difficult to analyze the performance of the gunners. They seemed to be learning the use and care of their lethal equipment, but unfortunately the Army Air Force provided little in-flight target practice. Still, while they were in the air, Chart had his gunners tracking everything in sight—other airplanes, cars and even houses.
As commander of his aircraft, Chart knew there was no crew position more important to him than that of the navigator. Navigation of a combat aircraft in 1944 was a complicated job. The navigation methods used involved “pilotage” (the use of visual ground references), “dead reckoning” (computing ETAs to various points
Despite how large the B-17 appeared on the outside, Chart’s new crew soon learned that the aircraft was not exactly roomy on the inside. Most available space was occupied by necessary flight equipment and armament. The nose section, with its clear Plexiglas cone, provided just enough space for the bombardier and navigator and their equipment, as long as neither man attempted to stand upright. Two single-barrel machine guns and the firing controls for the front chin twin-gun turret were also housed in the aircraft’s nose.
Above and just aft of the nose section was the bomber’s cockpit, which provided just enough room for the pilot’s and copilot’s seats amid a seemingly endless array of switches, dials, gauges and flight controls.
Directly behind the pilot and copilot was a small space that was really part of the cockpit area. Here the airplane’s flight engineer was stationed to react to any emergency situation and to serve as the top turret gunner. Moving aft from the flight engineer’s space, one came to the bomb bay, with its bomb racks to either side of a small walk space and a base just a few inches wide. Anyone passing through would have to turn sideways to keep from bumping into the racks of bombs, and if the bay doors were open during flight, there would be little but sky between him and the ground.
Continuing rearward past the bomb bay, the next small compartment was the radio room, where the crew’s radioman maintained and operated all outside communication equipment. When necessary, he manned a single .50 caliber machine gun which was fired through an open ceiling hatch.
Protruding out of the fuselage deck, just aft of the radio room, was the top portion and door of the Sperry ball turret. A few feet past the ball turret were the B-17’s side windows, left and right, with a single-barrel .50 caliber machine gun extending from each. The windows were staggered so the left and right waist gunners would not bump into one another during combat, at least in theory.
There was a small escape door to the rear of the right waist gunner’s position, and beyond that a tunnel-like entrance, which the tail gunner would have to crawl through to reach his position—the most confining on the bomber with the exception of the ball turret.
Lieutenant Jerome Chart’s B-17 crew flew one training mission after another, day and night, out of their Lincoln base. With each mission Tony could tell that their Skipper was becoming a
better pilot. Takeoffs were crisper, landings were smoother and their scores on the practice bombing runs were going up.
In turn, Chart was noticing his crew was starting to operate as a skilled unit. His copilot, George Wisniewski, seemed comfortable handling the aircraft when he got his opportunities to take control. Kelly was getting used to the Norden bombsight. Robinson was using every available free moment to cram his brain full of information on how to keep a B-17 flying in emergency situations.
It was more difficult to analyze the performance of the gunners. They seemed to be learning the use and care of their lethal equipment, but unfortunately the Army Air Force provided little in-flight target practice. Still, while they were in the air, Chart had his gunners tracking everything in sight—other airplanes, cars and even houses.
As commander of his aircraft, Chart knew there was no crew position more important to him than that of the navigator. Navigation of a combat aircraft in 1944 was a complicated job. The navigation methods used involved “pilotage” (the use of visual ground references), “dead reckoning” (computing ETAs to various points
Readers choose
Julie Johnstone
J. S. Cooper
Cheryl Holt
Jon Skovron
Lemony Snicket
Mallory Monroe
Simon Scarrow
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Bill Fawcett