Key Points – The Consolidated B-24 Liberator, a key Allied heavy bomber in World War II, was the most produced combat aircraft in history (18,482 built). -Making its maiden flight in 1939, the B ...

Watch this: GoPro video shows the point of view from the retractable ball turret of a WWII B-24 heavy bomber. Published on: August 13, 2013 at 1:00 PM. David Cenciotti SHARE.

Lawrence A. “Larry” Hilte Sr., a World War II ball turret gunner who flew combat missions in Europe aboard a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber, died Saturday of prostate cancer a… ...

Handling one of the most dangerous jobs in the Air Force, the B-24 could retract the turret inside, a luxury not afforded to crews of other bombers. The aircraft's first test was in the Atlantic.

Was the B-24 bomber the best bomber in all of World War II? ... bombardier, navigator, radio operator, flight engineer, ball turret gunner, tail gunner and two waist gunners.

A Consolidated B-24 bomber tests its wings in a flight over the Pacific in San Diego, December 3, 1940, before flying to England. ... "I was a ball turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator.

But of all bomber crew members, the ball turret gunner confronted the most dismal fate. This Plexiglas ball hanging from the bottom of the B-17 or B-24 was a heavily armed bubble just big enough ...

Jerry Duran of Salem didn't mind the cramped quarters of the ball turret in the belly of the B-17 bomber. News Sports Politics Outdoors Life Advertise Obituaries eNewspaper Legals. NEWS.

The ball turret, like this one on a B-17 in England in 1943, was designed small to reduce drag, so its gunner usually was the shortest man in the crew. Gunners on World War II bombers had only a ...