Leonard Dowling of DeLand was a ball turret gunner on the doomed bomber aircraft. It was September 1944, and he was 19. The bomber was shot down over Karlsruhe, Germany.

Death of the Ball Turret Gunner From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to ...

Suspended beneath the bomber in a cramped, glass sphere—ball turret gunners faced death with every mission.

He completed his 50-mission tour in 1944 in Foggia, Italy. While the ball turret is typically operated by the shortest man of the crew, Duran initially was assigned to be a waist gunner.

Frank Mazikowski completed 62 missions with a B-24 crew before going on to a career as an Air Force translator involved in intelligence work.

Becoming a ball turret gunner With the war starting shortly thereafter, Cook said he enlisted at into the Army Air Corp after taking all necessary tests at the age of 17.

Staff Sgt. Healy was a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress named “Pack of Trouble.” He and the rest of the crew were members of the “Bloody” 100th Bomber Group.

The turret in question could be found at the bottom of a B-17 bomber — a plexiglass ball containing two .50-caliber machine guns and a very short gunner. The sphere could pivot to fend off attacking ...

WWII veteran William Bieber, famed for his bravery as a ball turret gunner in the Army Air Corps, was celebrated for his remarkable service.

For Dragon Ball fans, you can now preorder the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero 4K and Blu-ray steelbook from Amazon. It’s available for $39.98 and doesn’t have a set release date yet, but have ...