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#21
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ArtKramr wrote:
Subject: P-39s, Zeros & A-24s From: Alan Dicey snip I've read that some Lancaster rear gunners would remove the "clear vision" panel in the turret, between the guns, so as to remove the risk of condensation or frost degrading their view. I know they had electrically heated clothing, but even so ! We also had electric suits but I never remember my Plexi fogging up. If it did I could just open the little vent flap and let a180 MPH relative wind come in and blow my maps, charts, calculators, E6B and Wheems plotters all over the place. (sheesh) Of course, you weren't flying at night several thousand feet higher (often at contrail level) than a B-26 would be by day, and the tail turret wasn't facing into a 180 IAS slipstream. Sometimes the U.S. heavies had the nose plexiglass (and the cockpit windows) totally iced up as well. Flying at minus 50 to70F will do that, even if the outside of the windows isn't iced up by flying in contrails. I've read an account somewhere (I'm guessing in Elmer Bendiner's "Fall of Fortresses") where he (B-17 nav) used the edge of his plotter to try and scrape the ice off the inside of the windows in the nose, so that he could spot fighters approaching. The same tool was passed up to the bombardier so he could clear the plexiglas nose cone for the same reason, and maybe so he could see to bomb (can't remember if he was just a "togglier" on that mission). Removing the piece of plexiglass directly in the gunner's line of sight from the tail turret on Lancs (and probably other British heavies) was, IIRC, attributed first to Gibson's tail gunner Trevor-Roper (not Hugh, his brother Richard?), and was soon widely imitated. It also cut down on glare and reflections when the sky was lit up by searchlights, fires etc. I sure wouldn't want to do it, but if it's a choice between risking frostbite or risking being shot down by an unseen fighter, I imagine I'd choose the latter. Guy |
#23
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It also cut down on glare and reflections when the sky
was lit up by searchlights, fires etc. I sure wouldn't want to do it, but if it's a choice between risking frostbite or risking being shot down by an unseen fighter, I imagine I'd choose the latter. Can you picture the scene from up there, open to the sky below? "Firewatching" happened to a lot of RAF crews - overcome by the bizzare spectacle below them, they had to make a conscious effort at times to not become mesmerized by the view. Caught in the moment and suffering from sensory overload, it was easy for gunner's scans for enemy nightfighters to break down at critical times. v/r Gordon ====(A+C==== USN SAR Aircrew "Got anything on your radar, SENSO?" "Nothing but my forehead, sir." |
#24
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Gordon wrote:
It also cut down on glare and reflections when the sky was lit up by searchlights, fires etc. I sure wouldn't want to do it, but if it's a choice between risking frostbite or risking being shot down by an unseen fighter, I imagine I'd choose the latter. Can you picture the scene from up there, open to the sky below? "Firewatching" happened to a lot of RAF crews - overcome by the bizzare spectacle below them, they had to make a conscious effort at times to not become mesmerized by the view. Caught in the moment and suffering from sensory overload, it was easy for gunner's scans for enemy nightfighters to break down at critical times. Both the stills and rare movie footage I've seen of night attacks are pretty incredible, and as you say I think it would be easy to become distracted and forget your primary job, at least until it became old hat. Of course, generally speaking the inexperienced crews were the ones most likely to be shot down by fighters. Guy |
#25
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"Yann D" wrote: I just remember Saburo Sakai wrote in his book (Samurai) that he did aerobatics overhead an US base just for fun. An the AA guns didn't fire at them either... A little bit of fun in the middle of all this violence maybe.. The Marines at Midway saw a Zero fly upside down across the atoll and they noticed the pilot thumbing his nose-they held their fire, then a Marine Gunny said "What the hell," and then opened up with a .50cal. Every gun that could opened up on the Zero, and he plunged into the water. Posted via www.My-Newsgroups.com - web to news gateway for usenet access! |
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#27
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From: "Gord Beaman"
Guess we had an easier war down there at 8,000 feet. That certainly makes a lot of sense...it would seem that there's lots less problems to contend with down low. Flak aside. Chris Mark |
#28
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Subject: P-39s, Zeros & A-24s
From: ost (Chris Mark) Date: 7/21/03 11:06 AM Pacific Daylight Time Message-id: From: "Gord Beaman" Guess we had an easier war down there at 8,000 feet. That certainly makes a lot of sense...it would seem that there's lots less problems to contend with down low. Flak aside. Chris Mark Sometime the flak was aside, and sometimes it wasn't. Arthur Kramer Visit my WW II B-26 website at: http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer |
#29
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From: artkramr@aol.
Sometime the flak was aside, and sometimes it wasn't. LOL Chris Mark |
#30
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ost (Chris Mark) wrote in message ...
From: "Yann D" I just remember Saburo Sakai wrote in his book (Samurai) that he did aerobatics overhead an US base just for fun. An the AA guns didn't fire at them either... If this is in reference to the Moresby area in early 1942, AA guns didn't fire because there weren't any. Some 90mm would have settled his hash. I doubt that - the heavy AA guns were only really effective against aircraft flying a steady and predictable course, like bombers. A fighter doing aerobatics would reduce the gunners to a nervous breakdown Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and Discussion forum |
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