The B-17 Ball turret. Every military aviation fan has looked at this iconic piece of ww2 equipment and wondered how on earth anyone could be brave enough to spend a mission inside this cramped ...

The ball turret, like this one on a B-17 ... gunner had to make those mental calculations, then align his weapons and sights, praying that the guns wouldn’t jam or the barrels melt. To teach ...

of Kihei, who turns 92 today, flew 32 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber ... seated in a fetal position, placed his heavy, fleece-lined flying ...