The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner...... A Poem

[EMM3TT123]

pretty sure that the girls they painted on the noses of aircraft were to distract the enemy fighter pilots.

[patrickwinslow]

WTH? Those were B-29's No ball turrets; they were remotely controlled (except for the tail).

[drogoscg1]

Famous poem. Been mesmerized by it since I read it at age 9. not great wording, but sometimes subject matter is more important than cadences. Disjointed, horrific, brilliant, uncanny and cold...so is the death of every ball turret gunner.

[thatbastardson]

How was anyone talked into being a ball gunner? You have to be out of your mind.

[petecockcroft]

I awoke with my favorite whore Put on You Tube And sat in my chair. I trolled till my ass was sore But no-one from the US was there Don't matter I'll start on the Germans. You might tell me To get a life. You think I'm too smart. Maybe don't have a heart. But you don't have to live with my wife.

[20thcenturyfilmdocs]

Nice...what's up with all the haters?

[TheRockCityAngel]

HiperSucks!!!

[BlackhoundOne]

Guys, ever heard of troll bait?

[wbnc66]

a near miss from an 88mm gun would reduce the ball gunner to paste...or a direct hit from a fighters 20mm cannon. They couldn't wear parachutes in the turret, if they had to bail out it meant turning the turret so it's hatch was clear crawling out putting on a parachute and then getting out of the plane on a more daily basis can you imagine setting between two ,50 caliber machine guns and pulling the trigger. while twisting turning and looking straight down at the ground.

[ProChoiceJesus]

I've a question about ball turrets. Were they prone to getting jammed somehow? Was the door or hatch a thing that got into a position where it wouldn't open and had to be worked on on the ground to open? It is only in this instance that I can imagine the scenario in this poem where the gunner had to be washed out with a hose, B-17 having landed gear-up or had a gear collapse on landing, killing the trapped occupant of the ball turret. I know I'm being simple, but tell me if I'm correct.

[donnymopar]

Very nice poem. There is a similar poem in a movie I just saw called, "The Thundering 8th" (starring Jan Michael Vincent, Bo Hopkins & Donny Most)...it also has a very moving poem about "rear gunners".

[Simontempler111]

The B-17 crashed near my hometown in Poland. 4 pilots survived and was rescued by local villagers. There is a memorial statue where the plane hit the ground. The cross was made from the propeller, which is enormous. (R.I.P)

[anonymoususerindenve]

All of the photos and video from about 28 seconds on are of B-29's.....which didn't have ball turrets. They have remote-controlled, computerized electric turrets.

[oldfart387]

Excellent story and tell your Grandpa, thanks!

[walleyrt69]

Damn N*gger Flack !

[Scorpac]

My grandpas brother was a turret gunner on a german FW-200, an allied fighter hit him in the head but he didnt die, but was retarded from that day on.

[TheBeechingAxe]

I guess if my people were being bombed day and night by bombers 30,000 feet in the air, I would take out a few "ball turret gunners" too -

[jimmyxx3]

@TheBeechingAxe

Yes, many German pilots did all they could to stop these planes from bombing cities and all, so they never stopped their cannons and machine guns firing when they got the enemy in their sites, although it still dosn't stop 1 from thinking of those inside the enemy plane all panicing, sometimes seeing them, killing is not an easy job on both sides, however easy they make it

[benitofinito]

Crap

[MrBEB123]

Maybe instead he should make a poem about Negros and their sky high crime rate. During WW II Negro soldiers from the U.S. killed around 50 White British citizens in what would be Britain's first taste of what "life" would be if they won which of course they did. These days Britain is suffering from high crime due to third World people that have been brought there by liberal politicians. In response Britain now has the largest Nationalist Party in Europe with elected Nationalist politicians.

[wcresponder]

@MrBEB123 I have to ask in all seriousness are you a racist?

for there were many many atrocities commited by all races during the war.

[MrBEB123]

@wcresponder The word racist was invented by the Jew / Communist Leon Trotsky in the 1930's before which it did not exist. The interesting thing about this is Jews are racists and wish to live in an all Jewish society but they accuse Whites of being racists because it serves their purpose of destroying and taking over White society. This actually what WW II was all about. Now in 2011 western nations are headed towards resembling the Planet of the Apes film series. Nationalism makes sense.

[terrabun]

@MrBEB123 the late 30's called.. it wants it's retarded politics back.

[ProChoiceJesus]

@MrBEB123 To actually believe what you say applies to all, most or even many Jews is simply inaccurate. I have met with and ministered to many Jews, many old, or, elderly Jews, and have questioned them greatly in order to "get their story" on video and/or tape. To lay a blanket over Jews like "Jews are racist" is just wrong! What you assume is racism is something much, much more complex, a thing most Westerners won't take time to learn & understand in their mind and heart.

[ProChoiceJesus]

@MrBEB123 To actually believe what you say applies to all, most or even many Jews is simply inaccurate. I have met with and ministered to many Jews, many old, or, elderly Jews, and have questioned them greatly in order to "get their story" on video and/or tape. To lay a blanket over Jews like "Jews are racist" is just wrong! What you assume is racism is something much, much more complex, a thing most Westerners won't take time to learn & understand in their mind and heart.

[Xiolablu3]

@MrBEB123 What a load of crap. On the estate where my unlce lives, its white, chav gangs who cause all the trouble and crime, The reason that there may be a lot of minorities involved in crime is because they dont get the breaks that white people in England get. Think about it, would YOU employ a Black man? The answer is obviously 'no', (I can tell) So if the black kids cant get jobs, and feel they are being unfairly let down, for no other reason than their skin...what would U do? just die?

[MrBEB123]

@Xiolablu3 Blacks don't get the jobs because of a lack of inherent competency and because they make terrible employees. I have a considerable amount of experience working with them and I know first hand but also all of the news media accounts as well. There are plenty of videos on Black workers here on YouTube as well. Blacks are not Whites with dark skin you can be sure of that. There are plenty of poor Whites in America that do not turn to crime likewise many Black criminals have money. O.J. ?

[jackzero99]

@Xiolablu3 You ignorant idiot, what explains all the murder, rapes, and mayhem in Africa where blacks run all the governments? Yea I'm sure it was due to something whites did. Looks like Hong Kong and Macau are doing just fine after 150 years of European colonialism, but blacks are still making excuses.

[1971Echoes]

@jackzero99 Unlike in Asia, Africa was divided up by the European Imperial states. Despite the fact that the "blacks" vary in culture and costoms, just as the customs of the Germans differ from the French in Europe, the Europeans did not take this in to consideration, and so split groups and combined rival groups. In the process of colonization, the Europeans destroyed many a stable African living style through warfare (British) and famine (Germans), just to name a couple.

[1971Echoes]

@jackzero99 Continuing, just like the Native Americans of the current Americas, the "black" population in Africa is largely still in recovery. For example, even today, borders that were in use by the Imperial states are still used, and still have to be redrawn. For example, what used to be Sudan was a colony. The reason for the mass genocide was cultural divisions between local tribes. The separation of North and South Sudan has somewhat solved the issue in separating the rival groups.

[1971Echoes]

@jackzero99 I could go on for hours (with enough research), but I'm only going off of memory from classes in History and Geography. To sum it up if you don't feel like reading, the instability and poverty in Africa is largely due to "white" imperialism. Note that I said "largely" and not "entirely.

P.S- What do you mean by "Africa where blacks run all the governments"? That sounds like a racist comment. Ironic how you called that person ignorant.

[petecockcroft]

@1971Echoes Nothing wrong with Racism itself - it's just been abused!

[hdst77]

why was the Memphis Belle so famous? was it because it went on so many missions?

[corvettels9]

@hdst77 The Memphis Belle was the first B-17 of the war to complete her tour of duty, 25 missions.

[AllieCat356]

washed me out of the turret with a hose? was that really necessary? also, was it a turret gunner from the Memphis Belle? what year?

[davidrodgersNJ]

Believe it or not, I was assigned to read that poem in prep school. I had a rather morbid english lit' teacher.

Thanks for posting it, I had forgotten all about it.

[RFXCasey]

Few well know

The tail of those

Who high above

Fought and froze

With due respect

For bloodied woes

I must admit

That that poem BLOWS!

[ch1ldpr3d3t0r]

my grandpa flew b-24s over europe he was only 21 or 22 not much older than me he won a distinguished flying cross and we would talk for hours about his time in the war he acctually gave me his distinguished flying cross when i was 6 it means alot to me now

[1stinfantrydivison]

those guys in the ball turet had the worst postion in the plane...........i heard stories were the guys would do a front flip because of the postion they were in.

[FOCKWOLF27]

MY GRANDPA WAS IN THE USAF BUT DIED ON OKINAWA I COULNDT SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE I WAS SPEECHLESS ONCE A GREAT MAN DIED FOR HIS COUNTRY AND FOR THAT I WILL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN..MY FATHER TOLD ME HE WAS FIGHTING IN A WARHAWK WHEN HE LEFT THE USAF AND JOINED THE RAF AND CRASH LANDED ON ENEMY TERRITORY WHEN HE WAS TAKIN PRISONER WITH BROKEN LEGS AND A CONCUSSION HE DIED AS A POW I WISH I COULD SEE MY GRANDPA AND SO ON I KEEP WISHIN.. :.(

[sphinxrising58]

Nice poem, bad reading

[wannabehendrix]

Why show B29's? The bottom guns were not ball turrets but electronically controlled from a viewing lens

[TheJockstrap99]

@over9000christian mate you need your fucking head checked urgently.....this is about the 5th time i have come across your bumbling bible bashing shit.Just get off utube...your a nutcase

[carbonbodyworker]

@TheJockstrap99 Pmsl

hahaha!

[Eaglejedi117]

I had a damn good Lit teacher back in HS...This poem I remember the most...made the biggest impact....Awesome...

[VnzlaGhost]

some one can write the poem for me?? im from venezuela and i dont understand too much, but if i read the poem i will get it... thanks

[bollox505]

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.

[VnzlaGhost]

@bollox505

thx a lot man... what a nice poem...

[badflamenco]

In a B-17 ball turret there were two ways to get killed. First enemy gunfire or crashing and second if the turret was disabled in the wrong position and the plane had to make a belly landing the gunner could not get out and was usually ground up on hte tarmac. The B-24 had a retractable ball turret so this was not (always) the case.

[Eirik36]

true but didnt the G model of the b-17 retractable?

[medler2110]

The bit that got me was the line they washed me out of the turret with a hose. When I started work one of the old men there was ex RAF ground crew and he said about washing the tail gunners out of the aircraft.

That comment has stuck with me, the bloke was coming up for retirement and seemed so ordinary, but like many of his generation he'd seen some awfull things that most of as will be lucky enough not to experience.

[kentamitchell]

True, true!

My father flew 29 combat missions in a B-24 in 1945, He'd originally trained as a ball turret gunner, but most ball turrets were removed in the last year of the war- so moved to the waist.

One time he got to see an Me-262 at rather closer range than he would have liked. The Me-262 carried 4 30mm cannon- what one of those shells could do to a man is a scary thought.

[tessler6868]

great poem. but last bombers looked like b-29s -- which didn't have ball turret gunners.

[jboweruk]

all Air gunners suffered, on the US planes it was the ball turret guys, on our Lancs it was the rear gunners. Those cannon on the BF109's made a real mess. Respect go with them all, cause I wouldn't have the courage they did.

[the82spartans]

Chilling. I have goose flesh thinking about the job those airmen did.

[NamVetBuck]

Ben >>> I suggest you LEND it to an American Legion or VFW Post...that would show proper respect, and they damned well would display it with honor.

Semper Fi !

[BenTech687]

My Grandpa (Robert Fredrick's) is a WW2 airforce veteran. He was a sperry ball turret gunner. He survived the war and is still alive to this day. Recently he gave me his jacket that he wore when we was in the war. I respect him so much. He was the 306th bomb group. He is the last survivor of the men that flew with him in his B17 flying fortress.

[82abnoff]

I was not in WWII. I was an Infranrty Officer with the the 101st.

Perhaps a 7.39 into your belly may mess up your weekend.

[IHASAFORCEFIELD]

he can't be the last survivor, if they died , he died

or did you meen that they died later on... and he is the last one left???

[BenTech687]

yes they have all died later on and he is the last one left.

[carbonbodyworker]

@klcflyer Shut it you fuckin retard!

I'll knock all your fuckin teeth out speaking to someone like that,i'd love nothin more than to kick shit out of you and welly your head around.

Fuckin knobhead!

[klcflyer]

@carbonbodyworker I wrote that coment a year ago and it was with no disrespect to veterans. My father was a WWII vet and I am very proud of all our veterans. I was referring to the comment of whether he was the last survivor or if they died he died etc. It was obvious that he was the last one left. Regardless, I removed the comment so it cannot be misinterpreted.

[medicatedsaint]

Forgive me for sounding forceful but in your long life DO NOT EVER sell that jacket. I know I sound stupid. Your grandfather was and is a true warrior in a time where it really was good against evil. Regardless of all the other crap surrounding that war it is what I believe good against evil. Unlike todays crap. Consider yourself very blessed to have such a person in your life. Again I'm sorry if I sounded like an idiot.

[medicatedsaint]

For whatever reason you want to part with it give it to a museum like the Smithsonian. But I suggest not selling to some worthless collector no matter the money. It will not honour Mr. Robert Fredrick's in my opinion.

[clivetemple]

They're wonderful things but not that rare. Best kept in the family.

[Eye4Lites]

Ben- don't know if the jacket decision has been made, but as an avid historian, I say keep the jacket. Pass it on to your children with a copy of Three Engines, Half a Wing and a Prayer. Let them learn and remember the great sacrifices made by those incredible men. Cherish this and your grandfather. My wife's grandfather flew B24s, his jacket was passed down and is now framed under glass with his medals. I still get a tear when I see it and think of what he did.

Semper Fi !!

[L0n3c0mrade]

@BenTech687 Your grandpa has so much respect from me. that takes an insane amount of guts to hang there and simply to be in a bomber. your grandpa deserves a medal

[cudaj2]

@BenTech687 A brave man indeed, it would be an honor and a pleasure to meet, salute, and thank him. It is bittersweet ironic though that he manned the position in a B-17 that had the least survival expectancy yet made it though that nightmare and outlived all his comrades. I'm sure they're happy for him though and watch over him.

[er000ski]

@BenTech687 Tell ur Grandpa Thank You from me .

[proffromgview]

Part 2. Anyway, Dad never told me what he was thinking on the final approach, because everyone in the plane knew what could happen: my dad could have ended the war as a bloody smear on some runway. But he DID always give that pilot a hell of a lot of credit. So does my mom! True story....

[zanderkaufman]

Thats a great story.

[panhead55]

@proffromgview do you mind me asking, what unit did he fly with? i study the army air corps over germany. bill

[proffromgview]

@panhead55 Like I said, Bill, he was in the South Pacific: 49th FG, 8th FS. Everyone wanted to be a "49er," acc. to the surviving members of the unit....

[ch1ldpr3d3t0r]

@proffromgview wow thats amazing

[proffromgview]

True Story: My dad was a P-38 pilot in the South Pacific, but one day he hitched a ride in a B-17, in its ball turret. (Not sure which model). Anyway, on the way back, something either malfunctioned or it was one of those with no egress or exit inside the plane because there was a problem. One of the wheels didn't go down, so the pilot radioed back everything to my dad, and said he'd do the best he could to land on 2. He did, the plane coming to rest gently on the 2 good wheels....

[picardposer]

"fell into THE state..." Look it up & re-narrate it. That'll make some of the fail go away...

[tasteless504]

why did you choose film of planes that do NOT HAVE BALL TURRET GUNNERs? B-29s had automated gun systems. Some esoteric poetic reason? Enlight us professor (please...I am serious)

[Fallparty]

At 0:14 is the crew of Memphis Belle.

I saw Memphis Belle in Dayton 2.5 years ago, they were restoring it at the museum.  The ball turret was removed and on the floor. It is incredble that any adult human can fit in there and stay warm at altitude. There is a terrible interlock/alignment required to escape. Those guys were tough.

[kfcyes]

Diramonsky, it's obvious your a "born into and never had to" money baby. It's okay real men know how to deal with bitches like you.

[diramonsky]

If they were like the bomberpilots we see today they ain't nothing but a bunch of coward murderers.

[113stDFX9900]

0:16 was the crew of the Memphis Belle

[zanderkaufman]

Yep... Sure was.

[BoxTheTube]

In what way was it not read correctly?

[Wingdoss]

I've known a couple of ball turret gunner veterans who said it was the best seat in the house. Plus statistics show that the ball turret was the safest of all crew positions.

[Rikki0]

I've no idea why someone gave you a thumbs down, Wingdoss. Yes, they could not wear a parachute, and yes it was very difficult for them to get out of the turret and put in on if the bomber was going down. But you are quite correct about the statistics. German pilots tended to shoot at the main body of the plane ( highest casualties were the waist gunners ). Ball turret gunner scrunched up in a little ball below the plane. Small target and not in main target area.

[Rikki0]

But yeah, if the plane went down rapidly, then God help the ball turret gunner. Nothing else could.

[jeangary]

Imagine the centrifugal force while the plane was spiraling out of control.  Forget about putting on your parachute. You probably wouldn't even find it.

[Wingdoss]

Thanks Rikkio, I've no idea why they did that, either. At least they could've qualified their viewpoint with a comment. But it appears that we both know better, anyway. Cheers.

[jeangary]

The ball turret gunner and the top turret gunner could not wear their parachutes. However, the top turret gunner could reach for his chute whereas the ball turret gunner could not. Also, the ball turret gunner could not let himself out of his turret. Someone from above had to manually open the top of the turret. As far as being statically a safer position in the plane, it was still a very dangerous proposition to fly combat missions on any crew. The casualties were very high.

[Raap24]

some bombers had release switches for the ball turret.....and they could wear parachutes but it was highly uncomfortable which is why smaller guys were placed in under fuselage ball turrets.

[XxcallofdutysniperxX]

also if the ball turret was hit it could fall apart in like 3 hits

[zerstorer335]

Not to be too nit-picky, but the bombers shown in the motion picture footage are B-29 Superfortresses, which did not have ball turrets. They had dorsal and ventral turrets controlled remotely by crewmen sitting inside the bomber at windows like at 0:24. The B-17s shown in the still images, however, did have ball turrets.

[dajzionius]

there is a song out there called ''TAIL GUNNER'' by Iron Maiden -its their tribute to these men. Peace on their souls.

[sobaguest]

Was a brave man who took that post, another one too easily forgotten.

Many thanks for sharing this poem and maybe help just one more person respect what these men died for..

[mvtp47]

I've always loved this poem. Thanks for putting this on here.

[zanderkaufman]

My pleasure

[ssgtforce]

My Father was a Ball Gunner, 15th AAF 455th 741st Sqdn. God has a special place for them in Heaven.

[zanderkaufman]

You'll find no disagreement with me... Zander