Talyn
SAINT
By 1944, the U.S. Army Air Forces had fielded a bomber that included computer-assisted remote gunnery for self-defense. By May 1944, the B-29 Superfortress was on the scene, and while its 11 M2 .50 cals seem like a downgrade in numbers from the B-17, the way they worked was much more advanced.
The early computer used by B-29 gunners calculated ballistic solutions to correct for gravity, drift, and atmospheric conditions. All they had to do was peer out of Plexiglas blisters, find a target such as an incoming enemy fighter, track it with the projected reticle of a yoke-mounted GE Retiflector sight, and press the trigger buttons with their thumbs to actuate the solenoids.
The reticle size could be changed via a manual range wheel on the side of the sight. The system was set up to accept the altitude, outside air temperature, and airspeed from a manual control via the bomber's navigator to account for those variables.
The five full-time and two part-time (bombardier and navigator) gunners of the B-17G laid hands on their guns’ spade grips and directed them via eyeballs, learning their trade in a six-week "Flexible Gunnery" school. On the B-29, three of the full-time and one part-time (bombardier) gunner remotely controlled four streamlined gun turrets from inside a pressurized cabin while sitting in "barber chairs" at sighting stations behind an analog computer fire control system, while the tail gunner's job was virtually unchanged.
The early computer used by B-29 gunners calculated ballistic solutions to correct for gravity, drift, and atmospheric conditions. All they had to do was peer out of Plexiglas blisters, find a target such as an incoming enemy fighter, track it with the projected reticle of a yoke-mounted GE Retiflector sight, and press the trigger buttons with their thumbs to actuate the solenoids.
The reticle size could be changed via a manual range wheel on the side of the sight. The system was set up to accept the altitude, outside air temperature, and airspeed from a manual control via the bomber's navigator to account for those variables.
The five full-time and two part-time (bombardier and navigator) gunners of the B-17G laid hands on their guns’ spade grips and directed them via eyeballs, learning their trade in a six-week "Flexible Gunnery" school. On the B-29, three of the full-time and one part-time (bombardier) gunner remotely controlled four streamlined gun turrets from inside a pressurized cabin while sitting in "barber chairs" at sighting stations behind an analog computer fire control system, while the tail gunner's job was virtually unchanged.