City - McKinleyville State - CALIFORNIA Country - United States
About
This position needed a smaller person to be able to fit into the position. It is so tight that he can not wear his parachute. If the plane is shot down, he must get back into the plane and fasten the parachute to its harness he is wearing. He enters the ball turret through a small door from inside the plane. The door is closed and the gunner is in this location for the duration of the flight which could be as long as 12 hours. The compartment is not heated so the high altitude missions that sees -40F plus the 175 mile per hour wind makes this position very cold. The gunner wears multiple layers of warm clothing and an electric heated flight suite which almost keeps him warm. His gloves and socks are also heated. This helps as long as none of these items shorts out and causes either fire or burned skin.
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{K:78768} 10/22/2016