Any one have the straight dope on B-17 ball turret? I was told that the ball turret
could not be raised up into the plane.At one air show I was told that the ball turret
could be raised into the plane. I read about a plane could not drop the wheels and
the ball turret man was killed.

The Bendix ball turret on a B-17 was mounted on a rigid suspension gimbal from above. It was not designed to be retractable. The gunner entered from a hatch on the upper back part of the turret. Unless he was extremely small he did not wear a parachute while in the turret (a Houdini type act to do...). Unless the turret was badly damaged exiting it should have been possible in almost any circumstance (a hand crank was available for loss of power). During take off and landing the ball turret was unoccupied.

Art the ball turret in the B-24 was retractable but in the B-17 as said before it was not.

Greg

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"There are times when a Corps Commander's life does not count"
-General Winfield Scott Hancock at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863

In a B-17 standard procedure was to jettison the ball turret prior to 'ditching' in water or belly-landing.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson