THE GUNS OF THE B-17 FLYING FORTRESS

[HayesGreener]

Was he B-17s? Or 24s? Never knew
Thanks

B17

 

[powerboatr]

How much ammo would a waist gunner carry on a mission? Cans of, etc

upper turrets looks like 200 rounds and others were 500 or so and some had 1200 rounds in other parts of the plane

i saw the total weight of ammunition was in the 5k pound range

i bet all of them going off , made one heck of a rattle
we had 2 50 cals in our old h3 back in the day and it was scary wiggle when both were firing..

then we got h60s and it was smoother, but still weight restricted, we always flew at max gross weight
ahhhhh the days of sea life

 

[Snake45]

Re "the whole nine yards:"

As a certified Word Guy, I like to use it in mixed metaphors, such as:

"Give 'em an inch, they'll take the whole nine yards."

"In for a penny, in for the whole nine yards."

...and so forth.

 

[javbike]

Great article Anni fun read thanks

 

[USMC6094]

B17

Sorry, he flew the Liberator, finished the war as a group commander, full Bird Colonel, he retired as a Brigadier General after having flown Arc Light missions in Vietnam.

Jimmy Stewart

The Academy Award-winning actor flew 20 combat missions in Europe, going from private to colonel in four years.

www.legion.org

 

[USMC6094]

Here's the Gunship concept in its Flying Fortress format. This version proved the viability of the Bendix chin turret.
Only problem was that it, and the Liberator version were so weighted down with guns, ammo, and armor that they slowed down the bombers after the target was hit.

 

[KillerFord1977]

B17

Sorry, he flew the Liberator, finished the war as a group commander, full Bird Colonel, he retired as a Brigadier General after having flown Arc Light missions in Vietnam.

Jimmy Stewart

The Academy Award-winning actor flew 20 combat missions in Europe, going from private to colonel in four years.

www.legion.org

He was on B-24’s

 

[HayesGreener]

You are correct he commanded a B24 group in Europe. He also flew B-17's, AT-6's, and AT-9's as an instructor.

 

[javbike]

You are correct he commanded a B24 group in Europe. He also flew B-17's, AT-6's, and AT-9's as an instructor.

Mr Stewart was a bad ass

 

[CAPMARINE276]

Mr Stewart was a bad ass

PTSD was not his friend

 

[Lexie__M]

I read that all .50s on any US plane carried 9 yards of .50cal = 200 rounds

That is how the saying: "I give them the whole 9 yards".

This is what I read about 9 yards:

 

[HansGruber]

Yes..we should get our information from memes, and take it as gospel….

 

[Bassbob]

Yes..we should get our information from memes, and take it as gospel….

You can thank Google for that.