Air Crew: Combat Crew, 1943/44 - The Gunner
"Ever go duck hunting?" asked the tail gunner, who held the record in North Africa-seven enemy planes shot down in 12 hours.
"The idea is to see the duck in time-and hit it first shot. Air gunnery works on the same principle-except that these ducks shoot hack.
"Sure, you've got a lot of gadgets. The hydraulic turret whirls the guns. The Sperry computating sights do the worrying about 'lead'-automatically figuring out the range, course, and speed of the target. All these gadgets are swell, but the gunner, just like in old Dan Boone's days, still has to he able to hit what he aims at.
"Fact is, today's air fighting is a good deal like Indian fighting. The enemy will try to ambush you. You've got to watch for some neat tricks-they would do an Apache credit-or discredit.
"Some are old fashioned-like making an attack out of the sun-but still good. The German has a camouflage paint that is hell to spot against the sun glare. Then the Japs have the angle of having one ship make a phoney attack, zipping out of effective range--decoying your fire away from the plane making the real attack. The Germans also like a smoke flare which shoots out a trail of smoke and will kid you, if you don't know the racket, that you've knocked him out. They'll have plenty of new gags by the time you get in action.
'But none of them ought to fool a gunner who keeps his eyes open all the time -and hits what he shoots at. A few .50 calibre holes in the right place will top any trick in the deck. But the gunner who goes to sleep with his eyes open is a dead duck-maybe cooked goose is the better phrase.
"Here's a point that should stick in the mind of every man behind a flexible gun. He's the real armor on the ship. The armor that counts in air combat isn't the thin plating on the plane. The true armor is a belt of air about 200 yards wide. The fixed guns on the Nazi and Jap fighters won't be able to deal out much irritation until they get inside 400 yards. Your flexible .50 calibre gun-and it's the best damn gun in the air--can knock the spots off anything that flies at 600 yards. That 200 yard edge makes the strongest belt of armor that a bomber can ask for-if the right men are be-hind those guns. If the gunner flops, it is about as much protection as a slice of drug store sandwich Swiss cheese.
"Good shooting, providing a man has good eyes and quick coordination -and you wouldn't be here if you didn't have them-calls for nothing but constant practice and ever constant alertness. You will only get a certain number of rounds of ammunition to fire. You'll get a lot more out of your practice rounds if you keep the bursts short. The same goes for combat. Don't figure a machine gun is a hose.
"You can get a lot of practice without pulling a trigger. Keep tracking your gun on everything that flies in the skies. And when nothing flies-tear that gun apart-and hurl it together. When you can do that in pitch blackness, with frozen mittens, you can begin to call yourself a gunner. Watch your ammunition belts. A poorly loaded belt that jams or twists is a Christmas present to some Focke Wulf or Zero.
"Get in as many rounds as you can at the highest possible altitudes. That's where you'll do most of your fighting-and men and guns are tricky at 30,000 feet.
"You, as a gunner, owe the rest of the crew, officers and enlisted men, a special obligation. You've spent a lot of time studying those guns. With the cooperation of the pilot, turn instructor. Pass on your technique to the rest of the crew. No plane goes in action with too many real gunners. Dead shots behind the guns mean live shots back home.
"Here's something that every gunner in this air force should keep in mind-morning, noon and night. Accurate Bombing is in direct proportion to aimed aerial gunnery."
We hope this gives our air crews an idea of what will happen to them in the 2nd Air Force. Perhaps it gives you an idea the training is tough. So what! It's a tough war-physically and mentally. Combat crews facing high altitude, heavy bombardment action in this war are probably tackling the most rugged job any fighting man has met since the cave man discovered a club has more effective striking force than a fist.
The 2nd Air Force is "GI"-discipline is strict. But discipline here is not an end, but a means to an end. Only discipline can put welded, fighting air power in the field of battle-an air force which at the critical moment strikes as one man to achieve the greatest possible victory at an absolute minimum cost.
Heavy bombardment training calls for everything a man has got in the way of guts, brains, and brawn--in that order.
But if your crew has the stuff, four months from now a combat team is going to climb into a heavy bomber, grittily confident that they have what it takes to finish the war-over Berlin and Tokio.
