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Difference between revisions of "Common Questions and Answers"
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Common Questions and Answers (view source)
Revision as of 00:39, 14 March 2022
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=== How dangerous was the ball and/or tail gun position? === | === How dangerous was the ball and/or tail gun position? === | ||
According to an analysis of casualties suffered by the Eighth Air Force from June to August 1944, the crew position with the greatest chance of being injured or killed was the bombardier followed by the navigator. The tail gunner was third most dangerous and the ball turret gunner was actually the safest position.<ref>{{cite book |title=Wound Ballistics in World War II |date=1962 |publisher=Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army |location=Washington, D.C. |page=571 |chapter=Survey of Battle Casualties, Eighth Air Force, June, July, and August 1944 |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA291697 |access-date=13 March 2022}}</ref> | According to an analysis of casualties suffered by the Eighth Air Force from June to August 1944, the crew position with the greatest chance of being injured or killed was the bombardier followed by the navigator. The tail gunner was third most dangerous and the ball turret gunner was actually the safest position.<ref>{{cite book |title=Wound Ballistics in World War II |date=1962 |publisher=Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army |location=Washington, D.C. |page=571 |chapter=Survey of Battle Casualties, Eighth Air Force, June, July, and August 1944 |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA291697 |access-date=13 March 2022}}</ref>{{efn|The statistics are actually a bit more complicated than this summary suggests. For example, by percent of total casualties, waist gunner is the most dangerous, but the survey notes that since airplanes often carried two the number is likely disproportionately higher. The other quirk is that, because the survey tracked both deaths and injuries, although certain positions had a higher death rate, the overall average was lower. For example, the tail gunner position had the highest number of deaths, but only the third highest number of injuries, so the overall casualty rate was third highest.}} | ||
=== Did the Doolittle Raiders replace the tail guns in their B-25s with broomsticks? === | === Did the Doolittle Raiders replace the tail guns in their B-25s with broomsticks? === | ||