Memphis Belle over San Francisco

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Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 4:12 pm

The B-17E and B-17F did have some forward arsenal, namely guns coming through the windows on the side of the nose, as can be seen in the photo above (Memphis Belle was a B17F). Additionally the top turret could fire forward. But for sure, it was inadequate and the German fighters did take advantage of that fact and attacked head-on when possible. The B-17G has a chin turret with two 50-caliber machine guns to give a lot more defensive firepower head-on. That was a game-changer. Suddenly the bomber had serious defensive power.

The real weak point was the rear. The top turret could not rotate all the way to the rear or the gunner would shoot off his own tail. So the tail gunner had enormous responsibility. He was stuck deep in the rear of the plane, with two machine guns, and had the challenging task of protecting the plane from any fighters coming in from the rear.

German fighters realized this was a very weak point so a lot of attention was focused on taking out the tail gunner. I can't even imagine how terrifying it would have been to be in that position, knowing that you were target #1, with fighters coming in from every angle in an attempt to shoot the tail. Even with armored glass and fortified frame it was a precarious position. If a fighter managed to kill the tail gunner they could then easily attack from the rear and shoot out the engines to bring the plane down, all with virtually no danger. As long as the fighter remained even a few feet above the B-17's elevation the ball turret gunner was helpless, and the top turret gunner couldn't fire. With no tail gunner the plane was a sitting duck.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7101 Location: Yes

Awesome pics!

Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 8:31 pm

Is this how Juan speaks now. Laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rKYL0tW-Ek

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