Air Crew: 25 Missions. The Story of the Memphis Belle - Ball Turret Gunner.

STAFF SGT. CECIL H. SCOTT
Ball Turret Gunner

Before going into the Army January 12, 1942, Sergeant Scott was a pressman for a rubber company at Rahway, N. J. He is 27, oldest member of the crew, wants to be a gunnery officer.

HIS STORY

THE ball turret is the best position on the airplane. You see a lot of action in that position, you know what's going on, and you are always busy. If the plane catches on fire you know it first because you can see all four engines, and you can get out as quickly as anybody else.

It isn't too uncomfortable. Of course, a big man shouldn't have the ball turret. I'm small, and I get along all right. I was in it seven hours one time, and didn't get very tired.

You should get as much practice in the ball turret as possible. Practice using the sight, operating the turret, and getting in and out.

THE Germans have some tricks that you'll soon know if you are alert. When they attack and come under the ball turret, they turn sideways or clear upside down. They go into a slow roll and they are awfully hard to hit. Sometimes they'll shoot out smoke to make you think they are hit. I have seen ME 109's come out of the clouds and hang on the prop under our ship, probably to try to hit our bombs.

Before the attack, you are usually scared, but when the planes start coming up and attacking you are all right.

I have known fighters to follow us for 15 minutes before attacking. They seem to be looking us over while they circle around, trying to decide where to attack. When you see them start to peel off, you'd better start shooting.

If you can't get a good shot, you might be able to figure out a way to change the position enough to make it possible. For instance, if you get a plane at the right wing where you can't hit it, you can ask the pilot to lift the wing.

On the Rommily - Sur - Seine raid, about 300 fighters attacked us in relays. The fight lasted a couple of hours, the longest one we had been in. They attacked us as soon as we crossed the coast and circled around us like Indians. Then they started attacking from all directions at once. I thought I got two, but I didn't get credit for them. We kept plugging away at them and somehow got by. Practically all our ammunition was gone when we got back. As many times as they shot at us, we didn't get a single bullet hole in the plane.

Last winter American morale in England got pretty close to the breaking point because we weren't getting any reinforcements. It's good now.