SHOULD YOU OPEN FIRE?

Easy question right? Are you sure? Let's take a case in point. You are sitting
in the top turret of a bomber. You spot a formation of fighters coming toward
you. They are clearly the P-51 fighter escort you have been waiting for.
"About time they showed up", you are thinking. They are getting closer pointing
straight at you. Why aren't they fanning out and forming into a top cover
position? They are still coming. Now they are getting near that critical 1,000
yard mark. At 600 yards they will be within their firing range. SHOOT NOW
DAMMIT SHOOT! Shoot at what you identified to be your own P-51's? Damn right,
And shoot to kill. And if you shot down every one of them, no jury would ever
convict you. You were obeying a first rule that all gunners are taught early
on. It goes like this. Any fighter that points its guns at you is to be
considered hostile and be fired upon. On the other hand every fighter pilot is
warned that hanging around a bomber formation can be a dangerous business,. He
must be careful how he moves and where he moves to. For example; If a fighter
is flying parallel to a bomber formation and wants to get closer, he might turn
toward the formation dropping his inside wing and swinging his nose toward the
bombers. This is a classic fighter approach so highly favored by the Luftwaffe
and the USAAC and RAF as well. To approach a bomber in this manner can prove
fatal since gunners are trained to recognize that as a fighter approach and
assume he is under attack.. He will then assume that he misidentified the
attacker as friendly when the every moves proves he is hostile. Should you open
fire? Damn right you should.

Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer