The B-17 Ball turret. Every military aviation fan has looked at this iconic piece of ww2 equipment and wondered how on earth anyone could be brave enough to spend a mission inside this cramped ...

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 ...