In wars long past, the crews of the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator had their undersides protected by a single, sorry individual known as the ball turret gunner. Usually the shortest guy in the crew, the ball gunner and two .50 caliber machine guns had the honor of dangling beneath the bomber, swinging in the cold and exposed to the flak cannons, with the task of keeping enemy fighters away so the bombers could fly their mission. In some instances, the gunners spent up to 12 hours in their turrets.

Cozy, ain’t it?

While the era of the ball gunner is over, hopefully this blog will carry on some of the tradition. Principally, a short guy, generally in a foul mood and almost always shooting wild.