WWII 50-cal Aircraft Armament

[Brians356]

This chap has a very good Y.T. channel, with very in-depth videos on aircraft. So far I've only watched two segments on the Republic P-47. This video (Part 7) covers armament, and the most significant USAAF fighters sported 8 x 50-cal guns. Worth watching the whole video (and the whole series) but, for this forum, it gets real interesting after 26 min where exterior ballistics and point-of-impact adjustment options are discussed. Who knew?

-

 

[Just Say Moe]

He is VERY detailed.

 

[ebb]

Anybody that watched the black sheep TV show as a youngster.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

My dad flew P51D and the F86 Sabre. He told me coast patrol in the mustang was tough, so much torque through the stick. Did say target practice was fun using anchored boats for targets.

 

[Brians356]

Anybody that watched the black sheep TV show as a youngster.

Some. I once met both Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and Masajiro "Mike" Kawato (who claimed to have shot Boyington down) at the Reno Air Races, and bought autographed books from them.

For air combat TV drama, I liked the earlier Twelve O'Clock High better, but the feature film starring Gregory Peck, upon which it was based was, much, much better. Gut-wrenching. The Eighth Air Force lost more lives than the entire Marine Corps in WW II. Only 35% of the Eighth's airmen survived to complete their 25-mission requirement in 1942-'43.
-

 

[std7mag]

Armament king goes to the B25 Mitchell.
(4) 50 caliber machine guns on side of the fuselage.
(2) 50 cals in turret.
(2) 50 cals in tail.
(4) 50 cal in nose.
(1) 75mm naval cannon in nose. Mounted under pilots seat.
Was loaded by the flight engineer.
Crews swore the plane actually stopped when fired.

For pure 50 caliber firepower, some models had (8) 50 cals in the nose.

 

[Medic505]

My Mom installed fuel tanks in P-47's in Evansville, Indiana while my Dad was a waist gunner on a B-17 flying out of Chelveston, England. The Greatest Generation. Gone but not forgotten.

 

[357Mag]

Armament king goes to the B25 Mitchell.
(4) 50 caliber machine guns on side of the fuselage.
(2) 50 cals in turret.
(2) 50 cals in tail.
(4) 50 cal in nose.
(1) 75mm naval cannon in nose. Mounted under pilots seat.
Was loaded by the flight engineer.
Crews swore the plane actually stopped when fired.

For pure 50 caliber firepower, some models had (8) 50 cals in the nose.

All -

Howdy !

The expression....... " Gave him the whole nine yards "..... stems from use of the .50 cal machine gun on aircraft. The ammo was provided in 9yd long belts. If the pilot shot it all, he gave the target " the whole nine yards ".

Std7mag -

My Dad was a command pilot w/ the 310th Bomb Group, 428th Bomb Squadron; based in Gisonacia Corsica in WWII. He flew B-25C, -D, -G; and finally the superb B-25J model for a total of 70 combat missions.

The B-25G had the 75mm canon installed, and 2ea .50's in the nose. The B-25Hs predominantly went to the Marine Corps. Pop flew a few " sea sweeps " using the -G, looking for and attacking Gernan naval targets of opportunity.

On B-25s, the packet guns weren't always used, sometimes even being removed in the field. The top turret could be fixed to fire fwd on some models.

The glazed nose -J became the most highly produced model, and was a great platform for bombing. Dad got to name his "J " " Hoosier Gal ", in honor of his girlfriend ( and ultimately my Mother ) back home.
Most of Pops' missions were bombing sorties against bridges, rail road tunnels, aqueducts; and massed troops... the latter performed w/ 25lb fragmentation bombs.

The German " flak 88 " was the nemesis of the Europe-Africa-Mid East based B-25s. Dad's ship often returned home w/ numerous flak holes in it ( one time over 200 ). He also had to fly back form Avignon France after mission 69 on one engine; with a card table sized hole through one wing. That's around 440mi w/ " one turnin '..... one burnin ' ". His gunner did manage to down one ME-109 w/ those .50s. They sent him right back to Avignon the next day, in a different ship... for his 70th and last mission. The German gunners weren't any happier that the B-25s showed up, than they were the day before !

Pop was awarded the " Distinguished Flying Cross " , which is 3 medals to the right of the " Medal of Honor "
( since " Legion of Merits " aren't usually multiple awards ), and 7 " Air Medals "; amongst others.

Didn't mean to digress !


With regards,
357Mag

 

[lb-ft]

All,
Thanks for sharing, and for the service of your ancestors. Nerves of steel, buckets of courage and unyielding patriotism.

Thank you! And keep the war stories coming!!

 

[muleman69]

Pop was awarded the " Distinguished Flying Cross " , which is 3 medals to the right of the " Medal of Honor "
( since " Legion of Merits " aren't usually multiple awards ), and 7 " Air Medals "; amongst others.

Didn't mean to digress !
Awesome,thanks to our pop's

With regards,
357Mag

 

[Brians356]

Crews swore the plane actually stopped when fired.

That obviously couldn't have happened, but just as obviously they felt a disorienting jolt from the recoil.
-

 

[PhilC]

Pop was awarded the " Distinguished Flying Cross " , which is 3 medals to the right of the " Medal of Honor "
( since " Legion of Merits " aren't usually multiple awards ), and 7 " Air Medals "; amongst others.

Thank you for sharing your dad's contribution to freedom. As with yours, mine too, was awarded the DFC and 7 Air Medals, although much later than when piston powered aircraft ruled the skies.

My dad enlisted in 1952, and started in aircraft maintenance as a technician on KC-97s at Smoky Hill AFB, KS, (where I was born) then to B-47s, when assigned to Thule Greenland was on board a C-54 when it crashed in a snowstorm (I was a year old when that happened).

After 14yrs, my dad was accepted for C-141 flight engineer school, and in 1967, was assigned to McChord AFB, WA where he remained until retirement in 1977. He loved the Starlifter, and as Star Trek's Scotty would say, "No bloody A, B, C, or D..."

To preserve his memory, I penned his bio which is memorialized on the 40th Bomb Wing's website.

 

[Danoh]

I wish our country had men and women of that caliber today! (no pun intended)

 

[centershot]

The B-26s that came back from 'Nam in the '60s had 8 in the nose for "truck missions at night". I was there when they were retired at Davis Monthan in Arizona.

 

[357Mag]

The B-26s that came back from 'Nam in the '60s had 8 in the nose for "truck missions at night". I was there when they were retired at Davis Monthan in Arizona.

All -

I forgot to mention:

The B-25G had the 75mm canon + 2ea .50s in the nose. I didn't take long for them to figure out how to install 4ea fwd firing nose guns + the 75mm canon; which was the configuration seen in the " - H " model.

While the B-25J came with a glazed nose configuration; many were also produced w/ an 8 gun
( .50 cal ) " solid " nose. The 8 nose guns + 4 packet guns + 2 fwd firing upper turret guns brought that total to 14 fwd firing guns. And it also carried 2 side firing .50s; and 2 .50s firing to the rear. Those solid nose
" J's " saw good use in the Pacific theatre.

The 75mm canon on the B-25G was manually loaded at first, but an auto-loading capability was eventually incorporated into the -H model production run. One of these ( I believe ) is still on display @ the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, OH.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[Bill Score]

All -

I forgot to mention:

The B-25G had the 75mm canon + 2ea .50s in the nose. I didn't take long for them to figure out how to install 4ea fwd firing nose guns + the 75mm canon; which was the configuration seen in the " - H " model.

While the B-25J came with a glazed nose configuration; many were also produced w/ an 8 gun
( .50 cal ) " solid " nose. The 8 nose guns + 4 packet guns + 2 fwd firing upper turret guns brought that total to 14 fwd firing guns. And it also carried 2 side firing .50s; and 2 .50s firing to the rear. Those solid nose
" J's " saw good use in the Pacific theatre.

The 75mm canon on the B-25G was manually loaded at first, but an auto-loading capability was eventually incorporated into the -H model production run. One of these ( I believe ) is still on display @ the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, OH.


With regards,
357Mag

What a beast!

 

[gdbleb]

A buddy and I snuck onboard a B-25 when it sat at a local county airport for 10 years rusting away a long time ago. For as big as it looked from the outside it was TIGHT on the inside. We both agreed it would really suck to be shot at while flying. Brave airmen! Good to see she's still alive.
https://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=34156

 

[55fairlane]

Buddy of mine his grandfather was the tail gunner on a B-24 "the strawberry bitch " (that plane is now located in the museum at Dayton Ohio) the man had nerves of steel, all I will say.

 

[flatlander]

When I was a kid in grade school back in the '50s, the guy who owned & operated the crop dusting business at our little airport had been a B-17 pilot over Europe in WWII. He bought a couple of B-25s and had rigged spray bars on one of them, flying it in & out of our little 2400 foot long dirt strip. Not much room for error there, as there were railroad tracks just off the south end of rnwy 17, and big 117kv H-pole powerlines a quarter of a mile from the north end of rnwy 35.

I have no idea what his plan was, but for a short time, he also had a PBY Catalina out at that same airport. He talked my dad into going up in it with him after he'd put sloshing sealing compound in a couple of the fuel tanks, and needed to do some rather violent maneuvering to get the stuff sloshed around in those tanks to cover & fill some leaks. His oldest son was a year older than me, and I recently asked him about whether he had any old photos of these airplanes, but I guess we struck-out. I'd have liked to have had a few photos to put in an exhibit in our little local historical society museum to draw attention to the history of the airport, which was started in '47 by a former Army Air Corps instructor.

 

[Fuj]

This reminds me of a find on the shores of Lake Erie.
Awhile back some beach hikers were finding 50 cal
corroded cases, and a lot of them. Turns out, General
Electric here in Erie (Now Wabtec) made 2 and 4 gun
ball turrents for the B-29 Super Fortress. The test
stands were located near the main plant and the lake
was the backstop. Rumer had it that divers found a
small boat riddled in 60 ft of water. Probably anchored
it to be used as a sighter.