What was a wireless air gunner?
Wireless operator/air gunner – The role was to send and receive wireless signals during the flight, assisting the observer with triangulation “fixes” to aid navigation when necessary and if attacked to use the defensive machine gun armament of the bomber to fight off enemy aircraft.
What did a wireless operator do in ww2?
Operator. The wireless operator transmitted all messages to and from the aircraft to their base. He had fewer duties than the other crew members as operations were generally conducted in wireless silence. However, he also served as the reserve gunner and addressed any minor emergencies in any part of the aircraft.
What did bombardiers do?
A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs.
What was a ww2 Gunner?
Typically, gunners made up half of a bomber crew, manning a top turret, ball turret, two waist guns, and a tail turret. Some other crewmembers also operated defensive guns as a secondary duty.
What does an air gunner do?
An air gunner or aerial gunner is a member of a military aircrew who operates flexible-mount or turret-mounted machine guns or autocannons in an aircraft.
Did you have to be an officer to be a pilot in WW2?
It was never intended that sergeant pilots be placed in a position of command over an officer. Candidates had to have a high school diploma and rate in the top 50 percent of the class, with at least 1.5 credits in math, and be between the ages of 18 and 22.
How did rear gunners not shoot the tail?
There was a feeler arm (that looked as if it might have been borrowed from a Dalek) below each gun and when these came in contact with the fairing they inhibited depression of the gun barrels to prevent the gunner shooting at the airframe; there were also interrupter cut outs to stop him shooting at the fins as the …
What was the safest position in a b17?
The safest crew member was the ball turret gunner (5.5 percent), the pilot (7.7 percent), and co-pilot (6.6 percent), who together accounted for 19.8 percent of casualties). They were most likely to be hit in the legs (44 percent of the time), followed by the arms (31 percent).
What was a bombardier in ww2?
In World War II, the concept of strategic airpower hinged on putting one man over a target long enough to operate a device that looked more like a sewing machine than like a weapon. That man was the bombardier, and the device was the Norden bombsight.
What does bombardier make now?
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Do b52 still have tail gun?
Both instances occurred over North Vietnam in 1972. A B-52H bomber with its tail gun still installed.
What is a WAG (air gunner)?
To reflect this dual role the first batches of RAF Wireless Operators were categorised as WOp/AGs and awarded the Wireless/Air Gunner ‘WAG’ brevet. With the introduction of large numbers of four engine bombers in late 1942 and early 1943 the S or Signals brevet was introduced and the requirement to operate the guns withdrawn.
What did a wireless operator do in WW2?
One of the Wireless Operator’s duties was to listen to frequencies known to be used by the German air defence system and then, when he heard a suspicious transmission, tune his radio into the same frequency and transmit the amplified engine noise.
Who is the wireless operator in one night in December?
Crew Roles: The Wireless Operator. – One Night In December Before retraining as aircrew, Pete spent nine years in the RAF as ground electronics technician.
What was the training like for a wireless operator?
Additionally in the event of a wireless failure, the Wireless Operator was taught the use of the Aldis signaling lamp for visual communication in morse code. Trainee Wireless Operators learning their trade in the “Sparks and Harwell boxes” at Yatesbury The De Havilland Dominie aircraft was used for their aerial training.