The Rear Gunner (1943)

[Music] [Music] [Music] this is a very important moment a very important scene unfortunately it's happening more and more frequently some of you it may be unfamiliar yet others of you may recognize the significance of that Army Command card and the curious look on the faces of that combat crew and among them that the young man to whom this day is one of precious remembrance and yes that's rear gunner corporal William or Pee Wee as the boys call it this is his day but there were a lot of other days before this one and it's worth telling about it's quite a yarn it all started where it started for most right on that glass fishbowl but what happened after that well let's just track this story down yes there's always a certain quota in the air force for a list of man what brands do you feel you're qualified for Williams kind of thought I'd like to get close to one of them Flying Fortress I see Flying Fortress like the big ship yes well they got close to a big plane all right very close that's known as really starting from the bottom and maybe peewee and a lot of other little fellows don't feel so important but the gunnery schools are always on the lookout for men short on height long on ambition morning . morning you know feel you look like you'd kind of sit on the inside of that fishbowl well I'd sure like to be in there sir I'd like to shoot a gun again - ever had one before well not one of these caliber 50 is no sir but I had an old shooting iron back home bezel I you can knock down them black killers with black killers but to hold em scroll we call a black killers they mean fur they used to raid the duck net so I got solace then I could take them on the wings for the good shot huh well not bad sergeant they see we over to the skeet range you might make it gunner okay William okay with oh that all I have to do hit that little thing okay Oh William yeah anyway how'd you like to go to gunnery school oh yes sir like that far [Music] [Music] there they go embryo marks one of the skies though it fellas mean business you'll be hearing from their Aviation's mightiest little men where they come from from every corner of America and here they are scooting Gunners at one of America's three vast gunnery schools yes and there's Pee Wee it's his first day and he's on the brink of a new world gentlemen you volunteered to come to this station to learn to become combat aerial Gunners it as much as there are only 210 hour of available instruction time it will be necessary for each and every one of you to thoroughly apply yourselves to make use of every moment while you are here and they will be divided into small groups of six to ten men each group will have one instructor who'll be your guide and teacher throughout the five weeks of this course the job of the aerial gunner is a vital and important one the lives of your combat crew and the success of a mission depend on your shooting ability your government is aware of the importance of flexible Gunners and the victorious pursuit of this war they know that the fire from your guns is the fire of freedom good luck aim well and shoot straight and well as you drink that's a hot one you know back in Coney Island I was a regular Patsy for a shooting gallery used to blow all my dog's I don't want to kill Fidel for my girl my girl she's nuts the coupies and I can't hit the side of a bond you mean he got prizes push you back in Kansas we didn't get nothing so maybe the pleasure hitting down crawl at least you had a workout with a gun me I'm starting to scratch let me tell you something sweetheart our mission a start yeah me too I wonder how long for them classes uh how long my brother you're starting in right now now the first thing you have to know about the caliber 30 machine gun is the nomenclature the park functions of a gun this is your accelerator the timing device for all recoiling parts this is your cocking lever which is your fire control this is your driving Spring Williams you increase the sight base what must you do to the diameter of the ring site in order to keep the same miles-per-hour reference site well you have to increase the diameter very good questions and answers every day faster than bullet this is a class an exterior ballistics in other words what happens to that bullet after its fired what are the five forces that affect the trajectory how much charge movement that amount of gravity and drill now remember men this is 150 miles per hour ring sight only when used with an 8-inch spike space as you know the site face distance from the Gunners eye the ring spike I got that pretty scientific stuff and it's all in the first week and there are a few other items are young Gunners are learning like bullet patterns and methods of fire and toward the end of that first week that itching trigger finger of Pee Wee's gets its first workout right well get a load of those mounted turrets this is what they've been waiting for but we're still in the first week and the boys aren't ready to start firing yet right now they're really getting acquainted with the operation of the turret that is covering how to turn on azmuth and zenith and where that master gun which is at some workout for gunners just a week old but they're already getting the feel of that turret and before you can say caliber 50 they'll be veteran and whadya think after two weeks of going to school we find himself on the BB range but on the second week the boys are formally introduced to Grandpa as one advantage that you men have you've got a great good in your hands detective stone Williams how do you estimate the apparent speed of an enemy aircraft insight to the other edge right what's the first thing you noticed before fire and then the red flag that means the spire enjoying our Berlin and Tokyo be where these young marksmen are picking up the art of rapid sight alignment of the proper handling of a gun whoa [Music] No Country Club for millionaire shooting Lodge offers a finer skeet range than this one of Uncle Sam where colors acquire the precision and practice of learning how to leave the talk Gunners on Wheels truck and on down this is the moving bass range and it's plenty tricky a little surprise for the boys who thought they were getting to the expert shooter with the truck rolling along in one direction than the targets flying out of the house in different directions well just try it be weak not bad private Williams not bad looks as if you're learning a few new twists by cutting your leaf behind the target it's a gay day and a sweet song when these lads start heading out for actual firing and moving targets a stimulating combat shooting on the ground the ground turret [Music] Williams you Vernon construction of sites and relative speed not estimates your lead here's your problem range from mount run track at 200 yards these are the target at 30 miles an hour one of an inch outside my inner ring thank you target fire on wisdom [Music] [Music] [Music] counting the kill tabulating the score of each do the bullets dipped in different colored lithographic paints leave their mark on the canvas thus enabling the instructor to see how many hits the gonna restore hey see we can load on my scooter boy if I had to go like that 50 caliber just figures you'd rather jump with guys I coulda knocked over Coney Island you can win any cubies in the airforce any let me keep on shooting like this I'll let you get a couple of jabs it stays up for the rest of it start not so fast there gunner more ground school and study in midnight oil all the better to shoot well the adjustment site the gun the line of sight will intersect trajectory of the projectile and I arranged [Music] well here it is the beginning of the fourth week and they're back on the range but there's one difference up until now the gunner has learned how to shoot under normal conditions now however on this malfunction range he runs into trouble finds out what to do when things go wrong another precaution for the gunner is protection then each one of these guns we have put broken parts a damaged round you will learn to determine by the action of your gun just what the malfunction is and remember this gun in the air was able to find the cause of a stoppage or jam with a greatest possible speed and without the baby stripping is done Williams charge a gun and fire won't be what do you think's wrong don't know the belt feed Paul won't work is right and needs a new spring oh yes what type of aircraft ju 87b german stewart identifying characteristics a fixed landing here negative 32 wins this time we're finnaly or said come yes peewee is far from that Kansas farm now he's explored a labyrinth of technical and ballistic knowledge that makes the American aerial gunner the key in the world [Music] well let's go letter from us a name they told us my boy [Music] come [Music] they I was the most unlikely me so much I began to think letters while you belong in that fishbowl like like like in a hot [Music] luckily we I've been thinking again let me tell you something all right if the gonna boy did it give an outlet dump is one of the scientists landing well yeah are distorting my first well you know the way I look at it it takes all kinds of guys doing all kinds of jobs for women I produced a mighty picture by golly it makes you feel great [Music] hey fellas hurry up nine o'clock we're due out of the rain for a nice fire oh this isn't a fourth of July just shooting in the dark learning the use of tracer bullets and the case you didn't know the object of tracer bullets is to give the gunner an idea of his accuracy and lead those colors will tell you that this is fascinating stuff those bullets by the way are chemically treated so that they light up giving the gunner a perfect preview of where his live bullets are going [Music] listen Chum if the foolishness cool I'm gonna realize a lifelong ambition [Music] [Music] [Music] get up again I'll give us a break [Music] Gunnar's of the ground farewell yes it's the fifth and last week and what are we the gunner takes to the air putting into practice everything he's learned during the past month he's about to get a sniff of ozone at an altitude of 10,000 feet you're gonna have a nice and check peewee yes I'd probably monitor right here while I'm nervous but I'm scared no then I've scared these budding Galahad's of gonna right they're eager and anxious to get the feel of actual combat and here in air-to-air shooting they get it approaching the tow target the Gunners aim is level this is straight beam firing and is the first step in air-to-air shooting I stole your gun get ready to fire when target comes into range [Music] [Music] and in a couple of days maneuvers become a little more elaborate learning relative speed firing the plane dives for speed and it's a keen eyed marksman who can calculate his target with some neat and clean cross under firing William sorry [Music] congratulations William Thanks yes this is a golden moment a moment of proud achievement when peewee Williams along with hundreds of other Gunners gets his diploma this diploma is his passport into the pistols of victory [Music] the crew the Black Bull wait wait a one-room apartment just for you looks like home man you think realizing a long visional green tea wave a full-fledged flexible dinner becomes a part of America's past striking air boss and he joins the valiant flyer heading for a place called over there but things happen thick and fast over there he we got his first taste of combat under fire [Music] 0:14 from the left those weeks that calorie school are flashing through his mind [Music] if you leave all yours very first mission we know Playstations burner only a few weeks in the Pacific peewee and his brother Gunners of the crew and a lot of notches in their belts notches for annihilating Nipponese planes then one done July 15 the crew took off on a bombing mission a particular mission of strategic importance he we discovered the sitting out on the tail turn of a farmer is a great spot the course you can always see the enemy before he sees you they also found out that the guy in the tail is protected by the finest all steel armor plate in the world to order to attack an elusive [ __ ] aircraft carrier once the target were sighted every keen-eyed member that cruz swung into action the pilot Bombardier the colors of their stations [Music] well they made it direct hits were those 600 pounders of TNT blowing up right and Hirohito's face but they're on the real troubles done 5-0 setting in and manual Satan's pilot level two zeroes hit me [Music] correction one period macabre place sure came in pretty handy Dale [Applause] [Music] one at four motors are hip yes one more coming up and by it looks bad they're just waiting for us to drop those Gunners can hold them off gonna have to set her down when she stops rolling take cover [Music] [Music] [Music] that's been awarded by the War Department [Music] far from now a William puffle William George share this memorable day with you what is noise just let me say that I'm proud of you I've had the pleasure of standing medal to many conferences when the Army Air Force a student you it also recognizes the heroic and brilliant work of the Gunners susan spaghetti that proves how indispensable they are achieving victory their importance to the Air Force can never be stressed too much our pilots fly the plane our navigators tell them where to go our Bombardier spawn their targets those same Gunners are continuing every day to help blast the enemy from the sky but you are the men who bring them home safe you the modern nights of fire the administrators of life and death an integral part of the greatest All American team when thousands of intrepid gonna of the Army Air Service Medal best of luck thank God bless you all you

Channel: Nuclear Vault

Views: 1,930,524

Rating: 4.7224307 out of 5

Keywords: Germany, Vietnam, Korea, Nuclear, Gunner, education, korean, luftfahrt, The, #nuclearvault, Atomic, States, jet, United, WWI, WWII, war, korea, communism, Europe, democracy, aviation, super, world, Rear, II, the, yt:quality=high, of, Untold, history, (1943), Boeing, documentary, War, World War, propaganda, airboyd, Airbus, prop, vietnam, military, airplane, History, cold, bowl, Propaganda, #airboyd, airline

Id: oKdLbEQ6Dv8

Length: 25min 31sec (1531 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 15 2011

Reddit Comments

[u/Spitfire15]

Ronald Reagan in the opening credits.

[u/[deleted]]

is that Rockys trainer?

[u/mcgenie]

i would love it if you could play as a gunner in a bomber of a teammate controlled plane

[u/ahammer99]

look at tb-3s gunners... instant respect

[u/ExplosiveIgnorance]

Now if only my B-24 gunners had this training...