B-17G Flying Fortress Sentimental Journey
B-17s were heavy bomber aircraft. Over 8000 G models were built, and some were converted to other uses besides 'bombing'. But most were bombers with 13 'guns'.
B-17s are HUGE aircraft. Massive. Five gunners 'man' the guns, and five other crew members are aboard. A gunner sits in a little bulb located underneath the aircraft. Another sits in a "bulb" at the tail. One above sits in a bulb above, and two more at the sides/at the 'waist'.
On one single Thursday during World War II, the aircraft took a beating. 77 B-17s were shot down, destroyed, crashed. 680 airmen aboard those B-17 were killed.
Randall Jarrell, U.S. Poet Laureate (1956-58), imagined the day all too well. He wrote a poem titled "The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner".
Jarrell sees the belly gunner/ball turret gunner in ways we can't imagine.
"I hunched in its belly..."
Jarrell envisioned the gunner facing
"black flak and the nightmare fighters".
And then the most sickening imagery:
"When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose."
NO! I scream. NO.
And I add one more PLOTUS to my spreadsheet.
Sometimes I am sorry I do.
10 comments:
Neat post. I just love planes and especially all these old ones. If I was a woman of wealth, I'd go out to Falcon Field and take a ride in one of these.
Great post. Savannah Ga my home was home to the 8th air force, until the went over seas.
my dad's younger brother was a tail gunner in one of those bulbs, he refused to tell a single story, would leave the room if anyone asked about the war. i can't even imagine
Oh no!
Such a short moving poem!
That was one of my Dad's favorite planes - we visited and flew in the Sentimental Journey dozen's of times before he passed away. I've got such a soft spot for it!
Sam
I love the info on the plane. That line about washing him out with a hose was pretty powerful. Wow!
An uncle of mine was a ball turret gunner during WWII. Unfortunately his plane was shot down over the North Sea and never recovered. That poem is very powerful.
As you know, I find that poem a powerhouse.
Thank you all for your comments. Those who have experienced the War from the viewpoint of a B-17 crew person - I cannot imagine. The poem certainly says it all.
Interresting post, greeting from Beglium
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