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 ...

Home > Military Aviation > Watch this: GoPro video shows the point of view from the retractable ball turret of a WWII B-24 heavy bomber Military Aviation Military History ...

The B-24 Liberator came to be in 1939 with a new design in the world of bombers, came with a retractable machine gun turret ...

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 at ...

It typically carried a crew of ten that included the pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, flight engineer, ball turret gunner, tail gunner and two waist gunners.

Jerry Duran of Salem didn't mind the cramped quarters of the ball turret in the belly of the B-17 bomber.

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 ...

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.

The ball turret in the B-24 was electrically raised and lowered, unlike those on B-17 bombers, which had to be manually cranked into the fuselage. Otherwise, there was no way to exit into the ...