Another frustrated non-P47 pilot is born :-P... I flew in that plane several years ago. It cost me $400. They wouldn't even let me climb into the ball on the tarmac. Congrats...
One Question please when I saw this 'Awesome Video', I would imagine that the designers of the B-17 (with respect to the Ball Turret) made it absolutely impossible to shoot down one's own aircraft???, just a thought upon seeing this.
This is SO cool. You're lucky to have been able to take a ride in there! The Nine-oh-Nine, Witchcraft, and Betty Jane were here just earlier this week. Gorgeous planes, the three of them. Didn't know the ball turret was operational!
Right On! Not sure if I would be brave enough to go to war from this gun position!! No aetheists ever flew during the war. Religeon, skill, luck and mabye you might survive the war. Many did not. R.I.P. all brave flyers!!
I flew in this plane. They wouldn't let me into the ball turret :-(... It's too dangerous in-flight. I could understand that. I saw no reason why I couldn't wiggle into it on the tarmac, though. I paid $400 for the flight. So, it wasn't like I wasn't invested.
my teachers father was a ground crew man for B17's he volunteered for a mission when the tail gunner got sick..He found out later why, not only did he get sick but had to sit in his own crap the trip home.. He said the flak was so bad he lost his control and craped himself.Then he had to face the fighters
@SteffanLlwyd No! No! No!...I goes something like this: As soon as Hermann Georing saw the first shot-down P-51 Mustang over Berlin, he realised WWII was over for Germany, or something like that!!!
@grumpypant Ah! I work with someone whose uncle was shot down over Belgrade in a P51 Mustang. Wonderful 'plane and very beautiful. Thank goodness the US came to help us out of the blackest hole Britain was ever faced with. I look at my son age 25 and often think how many aircrew flew who were even younger than him and never came back. It is sobering thought, friend.
what your arguing about dosent matter! theres no need for ball turrets now! just appreciate what these guys had to go through and for once see their view from that position. its the tightest spot to be in so naturally the smallest person would be in there but it dosent always mean they were all small people! larger people would have had to take the position too! peace to all the hardcore vets!
Great work with the Collings Foundation. My Dad flew 50 missions over Italy, Germany, Hungary, Romania. He was kind of a small guy (bout 5' 8") and trained as an RO, but never punched a key in combat. He flew all his time in the LT. I spoke w/ Jim Harley (pretty good-sized pilot) and he stated that the ball turret was not a bad ('crunched') position. Dad couldn't think about a 'shute' (why would ya). I'm sure things are different at 2000 ft. (as oppsed to 30,000).
There is a B-24 ball turret on display in the museum ,Darwin Australia.At first i couldn,t figure how to get in and thought it must have been remote controlled.It dawned on me that you had to sit with knees in eye-sockets and hands in front and a sight stuck in your face and no other room ,,I got out b4 i cramped. It was designed by a lunatic.I'm not sure if you are meant to get into it ,but hey ,I'm an Aussie.
I won't claim to be an expert, but as far as the argument about the size of a ball turret gunner is concerned, but my Dad was 5' 7" tall and as soon as he reported to his base in England the plane captain took one look and said, " Ball Turret ".
MY great uncle, Frank L Heiden, is 89. He was a B17 ball turret gunner-His 1st mission was the Normandy, June 6th. His 8th and last mission was June 20-14 days later - Lost engines 1 & 2 due to flak damage. "Pride of the Yanks", 42-32004. Ditched in the North Sea and paddled life raft with one oar till landfall on the Dutch Coast. Spent the remainder of the war as a POW, eventually in Stalag Luft 4
He plays golf 3-4 days a week, and he and his wife live in San Jose.
@marc3075 theres a video about that plane its about the pilot i think he flies a b17 years later as an old man, im sure it was that one but they all get mixed up after you watch so many videos! maybe he was your great uncles pilot? respect to uncle frank! peace
@marc3075 Marc, what are the chances I can interview your uncle Frank? I am researching the story of a ball turret gunner (5'10", 145 lbs) whose first mission was also June 6, 1944 out of Polebrook (351st BG) and perished on July 19, 1944 on mission 175 to Augsberg. dclord@hotmail.com finds me.
Hrmm. All of the Beach boys members wasn't even born, before WWII started.
They where anyhow to young when the war ended. The oldest member was born in 1941. But in the Korean, and the Vietnam war I guess Beach Boys would have been played a lot.
b/c that was the most popular music back then, i personally think it makes it feel more old and classic. i like slow jazzy big band music when watching these videos
Because Beyonce' & Metallica weren't born yet. The music of the time was called "Swing." I haven't listened to any for awhile. This is a famous signature song for a prominent orchestra @the time. Don't remember the title. I'll go out n a limb & guess Benny Goodman(?).
Uhm, yeah, I realize Beyotch and The Crybabies of Rock weren't around in this time period. I'm not as stupid as you'd like to portray me. I'm saying not everyone listened to swing during this era, is all. You had country music, blues, bluegrass and a whole bunch of other genres to choose from, but all I ever hear is swing when there are ww2 era airplanes being exhibited.
I find your contemporary references disrespectful. Try talking like that w/either of them. They'll hurt you. As for always hearing swing. Think of it as theme music. The entire world was @war. We wanted to put our best home-grown "Foot" forward, musically. Eventually, Swing turned into R&R. It's uniquely American.
You brought them up simply as a way to be disrespectful to me in the first place. As if I were too ignorant to differentiate what era either artist were from.
You're awfully over-sensitive. Actually, no I didn't. I realize not everyone likes to read about history like I do. I also realize most kids aren't taught nearly enough about this era nowadays. I was initially trying to be nice. Good Luck in all your future endeavors. Give it a rest already...
I've flown in this plane. I was mightily disappointed in not being allowed to climb into the Sperry2 turret, even on the ground. I'm young(ish...), thin & nimble. I could've done so on the ground w/o mishap. I guess they have to seal it for liability reasons. No way they'd let you do it in flight. It's too easy to get hurt. I don't begrudge them that. On the tarmac for a ticket holder? Well, that would have been nice.
It's to bad you can't ride in these on the tribute flights. I was too much of a chicken to move around much on my first flight though so this would just make it worse. Hope you enjoyed that...
Incredible! This is a dream of mine as well. One that I'm not sure will ever be fulfilled, lol. However, I took a step in that direction with finally being able to get into a B-17 via the Liberty Belle tour.
You DO have to be tiny if you want to carry enough ammo, no? I thought the belts of rounds were just fed through, stored throughout the "cabin".
And as awesome a vantage you'd have from that position, I would be absolutely terrified to be in one. You're like an exposed blister on the underbelly of a bomber for every gun in Europe to shoot at.
Truly amazing video, like everyone else here I have always wanted to see the view from the ball...and in motion too! Amazing. One request...can you repost this without the music so we can get an idea of the noise of the engines and the turret mechanism? Thankyou
Also can someone explain external ammo cans on later Ball Turrets? In all my years of obsession with the B-17/B-24 I have never ever seen external ammo cans on a ball turret
Awesome vid... I've always wanted to fly in one of those... cool seeing the B-24 too. Kind of takes you back to what it would've been like for those guys, looking out of that little ball.
wow that's a video! I got to ride in the 909 maybe 12 years ago when the B-24 was "The All American" and had a guest pilot onboard that flew B-17s in WWII. Flew between the Verrazano and GW bridge towers and got memorable shots along the Hudson including WTC. How things have changed. That's a really neat shot panning belly of plane. Thanks for posting and bringing back a once in a lifetime opportunity I happened upon.
Great vid... however you are wrong about the size for being in the ball turret.....
Yes, these days you can fit in...
However wearing a full B-3 suit, A-4 chute harness, and with two operational .50 cals including targeting sight (which lacks in your vid) and ammo belts and crate..... you would not fit inside...
The rumor is not a rumor but an historical fact ;)
My comment that you did not have to be a small person to fit in a ball turret is accurate. Wilbur Richardson, 8th AF ball turret gunner who gave a talk at our Aerial Gunnery Symposium, said that the maximum height for a ball turret gunner was 6 foot 2 inches tall which, as I recall, he was at the time. He also said that there was a limiting dimension from your hip to your knee. If you were too long in the leg you would not fit.
The turret installed in the Collings Foundation B-17G is a late turret with external ammo boxes which is even more spacious than the turrets with internal ammo cans.
Since I can fit, and I am a big guy, I can easily see how people close to 6 feet tall could work inside of a ball turret in full flight gear.
I don't know what you mean by ammo belts and crate as the ammunition is fed to the guns from fixed chutes on the outboard side of each gun. The ammo box is, as mentioned earlier, is either fixed internally or externally on later turrets.
Please feel free to explain to Mr. Richardson, who flew 30 missions, how it is a historical fact that he could not fit in the ball turret.
No reason to explain to a war veteran who fought for our liberty that he couldnt fit while he fitted...
Spoke to several small ball turret gunners (5.6") during my research for a war film, most of whom stated the benefit of being small was the leg room and moveability inside the ball...
@ashikagaProdDesign dude just becouse you surf the web and follow a cuple of tv documentaries does not mean that you know every thing. He totally shut youre pie hole ROFLOL
Niiice. I had the pleasure of squeezing into one wearing full period gear during a History Channel shoot for the series "Heavy Metal" on the B-17. The plane was Thunderbird from the Lone Star Flight Museum and I had a hell of a time getting in and out of the thing, especially since I had to enter from outside the plane, rather than in the fuselage.
Fantastic! i always wanted to know, since watching "The Memphis Bell", what the view was from this gun turret. My brother actually taught the cast of this film how to shoot the .50 cals. he got to meet all at his ballistic range in wiltshire. great posting. thanks.
I've flown in Collings B-17G, B-24, and the B-25. These guys are the absolute best! Now I have another goal, get this 6'0" 285 pounder in the ball turret! One can dream right?
Keep in mind, if your 6'4", 285, that doesnt leave alot of room for leather flying clothes and a parachute harness, let alone the chute itself! (which alot of guys didnt carry in the turret anyways)
During WWII that's what my Grandpa did, he was a ball turret gunner. Now I know what he saw, thank you so mch!
TimesLonelyWanderer 4 days ago
not many people have don that after the war
83297458329745 1 week ago
Wow!
I understand that the belly gunner was the least coveted position, but I would have given anything to fill that role.
SwankeyMonkey 1 month ago
That is 360 degree visibilty!
RutinaRottis 1 month ago
Another frustrated non-P47 pilot is born :-P... I flew in that plane several years ago. It cost me $400. They wouldn't even let me climb into the ball on the tarmac. Congrats...
Hoser.....
neomuttley 2 months ago
woah, i i go to see this same exact b-17 every year at Sikorsky airport, cool!
burningsponge 4 months ago
Lucky dog. I thought you fired the fifties when that strobe went off the first time! I would pay for two flights to get one in the ball turret.
vetitoe362 4 months ago
Commercial jet liners should have these! Sit in there spinning around for $2 a minute...and stare at clouds
gorrammit 4 months ago 2
cool song!
Signa427 4 months ago
Fantastic rare view! Thanks for sharing
37Dionysos 4 months ago
"Death Of a Ball Turret Gunner"
From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. Randall Jared..
paulvolio 4 months ago
loved the video
dinkersdaddyful 5 months ago
lets just hope the landing gear extends
rcpowersfan101 5 months ago
What a wonderful video!!! Thanks for sharing that, great choice of music as well. Made my day
partylikeits1944 5 months ago
Must have been terrible for those guy's to be in this claustrofobic contraption of death. respect!
laurenceandringa 6 months ago
0:17 another b17?
samosammo123 6 months ago
@samosammo123 i believe that that is a p38, but not sure
TheFreakyKidz 6 months ago
@TheFreakyKidz
kk ty
samosammo123 6 months ago
@TheFreakyKidz and @samosammo123
I think it's a beechcraft model 18.because the fuselage is too thick to me for a p-38.
99rsk 5 months ago
0:24 another b17?
samosammo123 6 months ago
@samosammo123
@0:24 I see no plane,the 2nd plane I see on this video @ 50 is a B-24
99rsk 5 months ago
@99rsk
0:30 , sorry
samosammo123 5 months ago
@samosammo123 the same plane as @0:17.lower altitude.
99rsk 5 months ago
@99rsk
0:29 , that should be the best
samosammo123 5 months ago
@samosammo123 still think it's a beechcraft,
you want to bet?LOL
99rsk 5 months ago
One Question please when I saw this 'Awesome Video', I would imagine that the designers of the B-17 (with respect to the Ball Turret) made it absolutely impossible to shoot down one's own aircraft???, just a thought upon seeing this.
mikelsok 6 months ago
all it needs is some working 50 cals.
dannyb13579 6 months ago
This is SO cool. You're lucky to have been able to take a ride in there! The Nine-oh-Nine, Witchcraft, and Betty Jane were here just earlier this week. Gorgeous planes, the three of them. Didn't know the ball turret was operational!
Zoidberg227 7 months ago
awsome took ride on that same plane last year! Bucket list #1 Item Done and done .It was well worth the money.
Irish39100 7 months ago
100% Epic!
How long before your balls stop shaking after pointing it straight down for the first time? XD
grandmasterj5 8 months ago
Looks like the inside of an Imperial Tie Fighter
starguard 8 months ago
i would not sit in that damn thing in a battle, a couple of bullets and ur flying out of that turret
TheTrigger1029 8 months ago
You had to be insane to take this job.
mrceebees14 9 months ago
You can almost see the FW 190's and 109's coming at you!
sparkyct55 9 months ago
Amazing shot! Thank you!
TRASProjectVideos 9 months ago
Excellent!!
PlumCrazyNut 9 months ago
Right On! Not sure if I would be brave enough to go to war from this gun position!! No aetheists ever flew during the war. Religeon, skill, luck and mabye you might survive the war. Many did not. R.I.P. all brave flyers!!
leesherman100 10 months ago
Just saw them last weekend, grreat fun indeed
20thcenturyfilmdocs 10 months ago
You lucky dog., got to ride in a ball turret in a B-17. How cool is that.
KennethMixson 10 months ago
was that a b-24 in the distance
theRavensdale 11 months ago
Contrary to popular belief, the ball turret was not the most dangerous gunnery station aboard a B-17/B-24.
BCboy65 11 months ago
This wose nice to see what it wose like to see throw the ballteret what that persun pont of vyou.
chris7w7 1 year ago
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i got arcrophobia (fear of heights) ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Jacksack123b 1 year ago
is a turret electroical
jipje44 1 year ago
@jipje44 no it's electrical
compaq2441 1 year ago
Must be great for sightseeing.
gre8 1 year ago
that's the only place i don't wanna be when in air combat. bbrr, damned scary
The506thParatrooper 1 year ago
oh, so amazing view
Ilyich777 1 year ago
amazing.
littlemimus 1 year ago
Awesome, love the Jazzz ;)
JohnyBravoSix 1 year ago
is this the one in Stow Massachusetts?
blkpaint1 1 year ago
I flew in this plane. They wouldn't let me into the ball turret :-(... It's too dangerous in-flight. I could understand that. I saw no reason why I couldn't wiggle into it on the tarmac, though. I paid $400 for the flight. So, it wasn't like I wasn't invested.
neomuttley 1 year ago
what if the turret fell off.......
dylanlp1999 1 year ago
my teachers father was a ground crew man for B17's he volunteered for a mission when the tail gunner got sick..He found out later why, not only did he get sick but had to sit in his own crap the trip home.. He said the flak was so bad he lost his control and craped himself.Then he had to face the fighters
MAXIMO101272 1 year ago
i couldnt imagine flying in that turret into war. so crazy.
vroomba03 1 year ago
It is simple. That is why there are NCOs and Officers.
Fuck your ball turret. Walk in the woods.
82abnoff 1 year ago
Good stuff! I have been up in this fine bomber. Great to see the turret operating!
skot66 1 year ago
this is so badass
ch1ldpr3d3t0r 1 year ago
What were the chances of nailing a faster flying Me-109 in that "sky drycleaner," anyone out there know?!!!...
And what happened if you had to take a poop while the sky was swamped with Uncle Adolf's flyboys?!!!
grumpypant 1 year ago
hey dude if ur in california my friend and i are makeing a ww2 movie and if its possible can we record in ur B-17?
HellsingSociety 1 year ago
When the Germans hear Big Band Swing for the first time, they must have known the war was over!
SteffanLlwyd 1 year ago 3
@SteffanLlwyd No! No! No!...I goes something like this: As soon as Hermann Georing saw the first shot-down P-51 Mustang over Berlin, he realised WWII was over for Germany, or something like that!!!
grumpypant 1 year ago
@grumpypant Ah! I work with someone whose uncle was shot down over Belgrade in a P51 Mustang. Wonderful 'plane and very beautiful. Thank goodness the US came to help us out of the blackest hole Britain was ever faced with. I look at my son age 25 and often think how many aircrew flew who were even younger than him and never came back. It is sobering thought, friend.
SteffanLlwyd 1 year ago
my grandpa's friend asked him were would you want to fire the 50cal on a b17 he said not the belly turret.
Billyjoey77 1 year ago
Great work! What a view. Thanks for posting this!
mikebius 1 year ago
what your arguing about dosent matter! theres no need for ball turrets now! just appreciate what these guys had to go through and for once see their view from that position. its the tightest spot to be in so naturally the smallest person would be in there but it dosent always mean they were all small people! larger people would have had to take the position too! peace to all the hardcore vets!
SuperPapi83 1 year ago
Great work with the Collings Foundation. My Dad flew 50 missions over Italy, Germany, Hungary, Romania. He was kind of a small guy (bout 5' 8") and trained as an RO, but never punched a key in combat. He flew all his time in the LT. I spoke w/ Jim Harley (pretty good-sized pilot) and he stated that the ball turret was not a bad ('crunched') position. Dad couldn't think about a 'shute' (why would ya). I'm sure things are different at 2000 ft. (as oppsed to 30,000).
SaddleCat1 1 year ago
There is a B-24 ball turret on display in the museum ,Darwin Australia.At first i couldn,t figure how to get in and thought it must have been remote controlled.It dawned on me that you had to sit with knees in eye-sockets and hands in front and a sight stuck in your face and no other room ,,I got out b4 i cramped. It was designed by a lunatic.I'm not sure if you are meant to get into it ,but hey ,I'm an Aussie.
hogiesanKenobi 1 year ago
I won't claim to be an expert, but as far as the argument about the size of a ball turret gunner is concerned, but my Dad was 5' 7" tall and as soon as he reported to his base in England the plane captain took one look and said, " Ball Turret ".
Rikki0 1 year ago
You are one lucky guy. Three cheers to the Collings Foundation and all who help them keep this avation history around for us to see.
hdtvcamera1 1 year ago
MY great uncle, Frank L Heiden, is 89. He was a B17 ball turret gunner-His 1st mission was the Normandy, June 6th. His 8th and last mission was June 20-14 days later - Lost engines 1 & 2 due to flak damage. "Pride of the Yanks", 42-32004. Ditched in the North Sea and paddled life raft with one oar till landfall on the Dutch Coast. Spent the remainder of the war as a POW, eventually in Stalag Luft 4
He plays golf 3-4 days a week, and he and his wife live in San Jose.
I'll show him this video.
marc3075 1 year ago
@marc3075 theres a video about that plane its about the pilot i think he flies a b17 years later as an old man, im sure it was that one but they all get mixed up after you watch so many videos! maybe he was your great uncles pilot? respect to uncle frank! peace
SuperPapi83 1 year ago
@marc3075 Marc, what are the chances I can interview your uncle Frank? I am researching the story of a ball turret gunner (5'10", 145 lbs) whose first mission was also June 6, 1944 out of Polebrook (351st BG) and perished on July 19, 1944 on mission 175 to Augsberg. dclord@hotmail.com finds me.
Wook936 1 year ago
Your are the very FEW LUCKY ones of this generation to be in that BALL TURRET !
emforty2 1 year ago
Just nice.
82abnoff 1 year ago
Man, the preserve of this aircraft is a really swell thing. Good on ya guys. Oh, and gissa go?
roastoo00ooveges 1 year ago
Wow...Lucky ..I went up in the 909 years ago. Great video
skot66 1 year ago
I love this big band music more and more. Especially this type. From the 40's maybe from the 30's.
some old Disney cartoons have some nice tunes.
BelieveNoGod 1 year ago
it's hard to imagine how scary it would have been to try to fend of canon-armed focke-wulfs from there.
deathwarmedup73 1 year ago
Why is Big Band the only music associated with this era in American history?
fishfuxors 1 year ago
Lots of American GI's listened to the Beach Boys during WWII.
jrr0863 1 year ago
lol r u sure, the beach boys started in 1961 lol
Eirik36 1 year ago
Hrmm. All of the Beach boys members wasn't even born, before WWII started.
They where anyhow to young when the war ended. The oldest member was born in 1941. But in the Korean, and the Vietnam war I guess Beach Boys would have been played a lot.
BelieveNoGod 1 year ago
b/c that was the most popular music back then, i personally think it makes it feel more old and classic. i like slow jazzy big band music when watching these videos
Eirik36 1 year ago
Because Beyonce' & Metallica weren't born yet. The music of the time was called "Swing." I haven't listened to any for awhile. This is a famous signature song for a prominent orchestra @the time. Don't remember the title. I'll go out n a limb & guess Benny Goodman(?).
neomuttley 1 year ago
Uhm, yeah, I realize Beyotch and The Crybabies of Rock weren't around in this time period. I'm not as stupid as you'd like to portray me. I'm saying not everyone listened to swing during this era, is all. You had country music, blues, bluegrass and a whole bunch of other genres to choose from, but all I ever hear is swing when there are ww2 era airplanes being exhibited.
fishfuxors 1 year ago
I find your contemporary references disrespectful. Try talking like that w/either of them. They'll hurt you. As for always hearing swing. Think of it as theme music. The entire world was @war. We wanted to put our best home-grown "Foot" forward, musically. Eventually, Swing turned into R&R. It's uniquely American.
neomuttley 1 year ago
You brought them up simply as a way to be disrespectful to me in the first place. As if I were too ignorant to differentiate what era either artist were from.
fishfuxors 1 year ago
You're awfully over-sensitive. Actually, no I didn't. I realize not everyone likes to read about history like I do. I also realize most kids aren't taught nearly enough about this era nowadays. I was initially trying to be nice. Good Luck in all your future endeavors. Give it a rest already...
neomuttley 1 year ago
I've flown in this plane. I was mightily disappointed in not being allowed to climb into the Sperry2 turret, even on the ground. I'm young(ish...), thin & nimble. I could've done so on the ground w/o mishap. I guess they have to seal it for liability reasons. No way they'd let you do it in flight. It's too easy to get hurt. I don't begrudge them that. On the tarmac for a ticket holder? Well, that would have been nice.
neomuttley 2 years ago
This is a GREAT video and what's even better, you picked the correct music for it! Nice job!
CzapigaKielbasa 2 years ago 13
It's to bad you can't ride in these on the tribute flights. I was too much of a chicken to move around much on my first flight though so this would just make it worse. Hope you enjoyed that...
metallicastarwarsfan 2 years ago
Ya gotta be about 5"2-5"4 to fit into one of those things. Comfortably.........
osu67 2 years ago
So lucky I am speechless. Although it would be hard for me to get into a ball turret after seeing the movie Memphis Belle. Great video!
thermo1984 2 years ago
That must have been entirely to much fun....is the Ball gun cramped and what not?
CMDRFandragon 2 years ago
I love your videos, also the music in the video. I subscribed :P
ExpiredSkydiver 2 years ago
this is AMAZING!!! great shot! love B-17s, B-24s....and my fav....B-25.
glad you guys got the ball turret to work!!
amartinjoe 2 years ago
how do you aim that thing? intuition ir is there a pip I just can't see?
cheers
danebrewer10 2 years ago
Waaaaaaay cool.
To see a B-17 these days is exceptionally rare.
To see one with an operating ball turret is just about unheard of.
To see footage from INSIDE the turret is just freaking AWESOME!!!!!!!
Gotta hand it to all the American bomber guys....BIG kahunas, all of them!
Twister051 2 years ago 32
Outstanding!!!! I jumped out of that plane a few years ago...wish you were there in the ball turret to video my exit!
Skylamander 2 years ago
Great shots of the views in that turret.
SuperOdian 2 years ago
love the music 5 stars!!
igenther99 2 years ago
Five stars! I loved that video!
HectorsShadow 2 years ago
simply outstanding!
wheel408 2 years ago
what im wondering is how do you move the whole thinng up, down, left, and right?
I've always wondered that
hottfuzz2 2 years ago
they have cranks inside to to move it around
igenther99 2 years ago
Cranks are backups. Pedals and a stick for aiming when electricity is there.
scythelord 2 years ago
he had pedals he would kick with his feet to turn left and right...idk how it went up and down
flightsimace 2 years ago
I seriously thought it was a video game for the first like 10 seconds lol
VancouverCanucksRock 2 years ago
Incredible! This is a dream of mine as well. One that I'm not sure will ever be fulfilled, lol. However, I took a step in that direction with finally being able to get into a B-17 via the Liberty Belle tour.
smithbob 2 years ago
Great video, shows us younger ones what they went through.......fantastic view now....not back then though?!
anzac2404 2 years ago
You DO have to be tiny if you want to carry enough ammo, no? I thought the belts of rounds were just fed through, stored throughout the "cabin".
And as awesome a vantage you'd have from that position, I would be absolutely terrified to be in one. You're like an exposed blister on the underbelly of a bomber for every gun in Europe to shoot at.
Mackinstyle 2 years ago
Cool video! I' m now reading" the Forgotten 500"and this is very informative!
teufelstaub 2 years ago
Watch out for those Me 109's!
goonercrew08 2 years ago
Do they still let you climb in there during the flight?
RepublicCommando29 2 years ago
DUde, there is 11 of'em left, you'd be lucky to find one, let alone get to get into the ball turret!
mounsteres 2 years ago
I know several organizations that let you take rides in them so that's not an issue.
RepublicCommando29 2 years ago
As an Inranty Officer, take a walk in the woods.
30 people with automatic weapons?
Your must be a REMF.
82abnoff 2 years ago
man what happens if the gear dosent extend ouch!
16151615 2 years ago
Truly amazing video, like everyone else here I have always wanted to see the view from the ball...and in motion too! Amazing. One request...can you repost this without the music so we can get an idea of the noise of the engines and the turret mechanism? Thankyou
Also can someone explain external ammo cans on later Ball Turrets? In all my years of obsession with the B-17/B-24 I have never ever seen external ammo cans on a ball turret
wildstallyns 2 years ago 2
i agree
balongaboy 2 years ago
That's so cool.
ozymandis45 2 years ago
Awesome vid... I've always wanted to fly in one of those... cool seeing the B-24 too. Kind of takes you back to what it would've been like for those guys, looking out of that little ball.
bogeybabb 2 years ago
Wow, talk about the ride of a lifetime! Very cool. Really wish the audio had been left alone, I'm interested in hearing the engines and wind noise.
...and I'm burnt out on Glenn Miller. ;)
colhunt76 2 years ago
omg i would so throw up.
now i remember that move memphis bell
ravenhood7 2 years ago
Sweet! Quite an unique video! :) Thanks for sharing!
myhuxpo 2 years ago
Comment removed
Username452819 2 years ago
ACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dynamo400 2 years ago
what song?
terminator363 2 years ago
i think its "watermellon man"
sailorkid13 2 years ago
Its called "String of Pearls" by Glenn Miller
xxstar 2 years ago
amazing i would do any thing to enter a ball turret, (if i can fight the fears of the ball breaking and falling.
terminator363 2 years ago
wow that's a video! I got to ride in the 909 maybe 12 years ago when the B-24 was "The All American" and had a guest pilot onboard that flew B-17s in WWII. Flew between the Verrazano and GW bridge towers and got memorable shots along the Hudson including WTC. How things have changed. That's a really neat shot panning belly of plane. Thanks for posting and bringing back a once in a lifetime opportunity I happened upon.
speedskiff2 2 years ago
Thats some view
Bronzewhaler82 2 years ago 4
Great vid... however you are wrong about the size for being in the ball turret.....
Yes, these days you can fit in...
However wearing a full B-3 suit, A-4 chute harness, and with two operational .50 cals including targeting sight (which lacks in your vid) and ammo belts and crate..... you would not fit inside...
The rumor is not a rumor but an historical fact ;)
ASH
ashikagaProdDesign 2 years ago
My comment that you did not have to be a small person to fit in a ball turret is accurate. Wilbur Richardson, 8th AF ball turret gunner who gave a talk at our Aerial Gunnery Symposium, said that the maximum height for a ball turret gunner was 6 foot 2 inches tall which, as I recall, he was at the time. He also said that there was a limiting dimension from your hip to your knee. If you were too long in the leg you would not fit.
twinbeechdotcom 2 years ago
The turret installed in the Collings Foundation B-17G is a late turret with external ammo boxes which is even more spacious than the turrets with internal ammo cans.
Since I can fit, and I am a big guy, I can easily see how people close to 6 feet tall could work inside of a ball turret in full flight gear.
twinbeechdotcom 2 years ago
I don't know what you mean by ammo belts and crate as the ammunition is fed to the guns from fixed chutes on the outboard side of each gun. The ammo box is, as mentioned earlier, is either fixed internally or externally on later turrets.
Please feel free to explain to Mr. Richardson, who flew 30 missions, how it is a historical fact that he could not fit in the ball turret.
twinbeechdotcom 2 years ago
@twinbeechdotcom hahaha you shut the hell out of him lol
metacrow 1 year ago
No reason to explain to a war veteran who fought for our liberty that he couldnt fit while he fitted...
Spoke to several small ball turret gunners (5.6") during my research for a war film, most of whom stated the benefit of being small was the leg room and moveability inside the ball...
One even wore his chute inside the wretched ball.
ASH
ashikagaProdDesign 2 years ago
Yup, it was a very cramped space. You MIGHT fit in if you were 6'2" tall, but the shorter the better.
killingamps 2 years ago
@ashikagaProdDesign dude just becouse you surf the web and follow a cuple of tv documentaries does not mean that you know every thing. He totally shut youre pie hole ROFLOL
metacrow 1 year ago
@metacrow ...... should be meta Cow...... no intelligent sentence has yet left your mouth....
ashikagaProdDesign 1 year ago
@metacrow Meta Cow is more like it LOL
ashikagaProdDesign 1 year ago
Bandits!! 10;00 o clock low
looked like fun, my grandfather was a belly gunner to
grodspc 2 years ago
aww dang you should have flown in a remote spot and fired the guns :O nice
b747dude 3 years ago
FUCKING AWESOME! Keep em flying
Cthrilla 3 years ago 2
What a view!
But you realise that the guys in the turrent most likely also had the worst view.
radeakins 3 years ago 2
this would be the only job i couldnt do on an aircraft
senky5656 3 years ago
wow my grandfather was a ball turret gunner this is neat to see what it was looked like!
Deadfox7777 3 years ago
Which BG did he serve in?
Wingdoss 2 years ago
whats the song
crazytacostudios 3 years ago
It's called String of Pearls by Glenn Miller.
twinbeechdotcom 3 years ago
The Collings Foundation has a winner here, no doubt! Best seat in the house too.
TallSky 3 years ago
FINALLY!!! period appropriate music.
I saw the Collings Foundation Aircraft yesterday in Rhode Island.
hongbao 3 years ago
so, how exactly did you get permission? Do you know the crew that operate and work on the B-17 or something?
SpeedyION 3 years ago
I've been on that plane before. its called "Nine 0' Nine". when i went up, i asked about getting into the ball turret, but they said no.
StonedSquirelStudios 3 years ago
I like flying because my fear of heights goes away but god damnit I couldnt do that I have deep respect for those fellows who did.
smoky90210 3 years ago
Wow a working ball turret! Thats cool! More vids please!
wildstallyns 3 years ago 2
The description says it's operational.Does that mean the original controls for it work or is there an alternate control?
cdubois13 3 years ago
The only way to fly! Although i would hate being in that thing while i was getting shot at.
salemcripple 3 years ago
Look, I took a tour of a B-17 and we went airborn, but they wouldn't let me in the ball.
Tysonritterrulz 3 years ago
Now thats a real view. amazing!!!!
smokingws6 3 years ago
What a view!!!
MIT1369 3 years ago 2
ditto to all the above. least we not forget those of the 457th bomber group. JW
jimbo160aaa 4 years ago
Niiice. I had the pleasure of squeezing into one wearing full period gear during a History Channel shoot for the series "Heavy Metal" on the B-17. The plane was Thunderbird from the Lone Star Flight Museum and I had a hell of a time getting in and out of the thing, especially since I had to enter from outside the plane, rather than in the fuselage.
houstonthewise 4 years ago
Fantastic! i always wanted to know, since watching "The Memphis Bell", what the view was from this gun turret. My brother actually taught the cast of this film how to shoot the .50 cals. he got to meet all at his ballistic range in wiltshire. great posting. thanks.
johnnwhite 4 years ago
God Bless America ! What a great video
holiday12345ABC 4 years ago
My uncle "flew the ball"
For the 44th BG 67th BS
They called it "Doing The Messerschmitt Twist"
How brave they all were.
skyshyb24 4 years ago
My dad was a navigator in Italy,
15th AF, 2nd BG, 96th BS.
Yep, the ball turret man was the smallest of the gunners...
RandallFlaggNY 4 years ago
Just think how many kids died in these planes to protect us and to let us write these comments?
bushwickbuddies 4 years ago
I've flown in Collings B-17G, B-24, and the B-25. These guys are the absolute best! Now I have another goal, get this 6'0" 285 pounder in the ball turret! One can dream right?
Cheers,
Chris
no4mk1 4 years ago
Absolutely awesome video!
Keep in mind, if your 6'4", 285, that doesnt leave alot of room for leather flying clothes and a parachute harness, let alone the chute itself! (which alot of guys didnt carry in the turret anyways)
Thanks for sharing!
spook498 4 years ago
WOW!!! Fantastic veiws!!
Can you guys get a vid of a flyover from one of the shows?
ewinder 4 years ago
awesome!!!
gtrzbroken 4 years ago
Very cool. Give us more videos of these planes.
glenbraxton 4 years ago
Great video - really unusual. Thanks.
mig25pd 4 years ago
lucky!!!!! i so want to do that.....
comradeboris 4 years ago