When the prototype B-17 – the Boeing 299 – made its first flight on 28 July 1935, Seattle Times reporter Richard Williams described it as a “15-ton flying fortress.” In reality, she was little different from other bombers of the time, having a single .30 caliber machine gun mounted in swivels on the nose, floor, roof, and sides.

Originally, most bombers defensive armaments were single hand-operated machine guns pivoting on a mounting attached to the structure of the plane. The main disadvantages being that it was always difficult to turn the gun into a 200mph slipstream and therefore the field of fire was severely limited.

This problem was later solved by adding a power assisted mount to the waist gunner positions in the B-17G. There was one other factor that lead to the difficulty of downing an enemy plane.

2019年3月10日 · Looking for help to complete a Gun mount project. I'm trying to put together an E-13 .50 cal gun mount. I have all the forward tubes but am missing most of the rear section and smaller cross tubes. Any one out there got any spare parts which may be available. Would like to think that sometime in the future I could mount my .50 cal gun.

2024年1月24日 · Eighth Air Force B-17G Flying Fortresses drop bombs on Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 26, 1945. Starting at the front of the plane, the bombardier had a Bendix chin turret below the bomber with two...

2025年1月17日 · MACHINE GUN MOUNT AS USED PRIMARILY IN THE B-17 FLYING FORTRESS, B-24 LIBERATOR AND B-25. 50 CAL GUN POSITIONS.

2022年9月30日 · One of the most difficult WWII bomber aircrew jobs was the Waist Gunner’s. He defended one side of the aircraft with a single 50 caliber Browning machinegun in a flexible mount. Most of these gun mounts were scrapped with the planes at the end of the war.

Boeing Y1B-17A Flying Fortress – teardrop waist gun mount « Previous photo B-17 part 2 image 21 of 193 Next photo » Y1B-17A teardrop waist 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun mount

2024年4月16日 · The B-17 turrets provided stable mountings despite the heavy recoil of the .50-cal. guns, but for the waist gunners, using their “flexible” guns on pedestal mounts, it was quite a different story.

New, larger windows and a "pumpkin" mount for the twin .50 caliber machine guns were added. These photos show the turret when it arrived from Kal Aero in San Diego after the basic restoration work had been completed. For those B-17 nuts, the turret isn't "right"...yet.