Thin Skin

9 responses to “Thin Skin”

1. 

   gsikich1

   Jan 8, 2011 at 4:11 am

   Amazing how these men survived the challenges – and that is for both sides.

   Reply
2. 

   BWJones

   Jan 8, 2011 at 7:05 am

   Nice shot there Steve. Wonderfully framed and an appropriate use of HDR.

   Reply
3. 

   JeffSech

   Jan 8, 2011 at 7:30 am

   I guess that’s the top of the ball turret gunner’s cage to the left, along with his ammo feeds. If I recall correctly, something on the order of 30,000 men were KIA in the 8th air force over Europe. They came from an amazing generation.

   And the arc of aviation development from 1903 to 1944 to 1999 is still stupendous to contemplate.

   Reply
4. 

   flytrue2

   Jan 8, 2011 at 8:42 am

   Imagine it’s your job to sit in the wide open sky and protect your little patch of it against Bf 109’s that were firing bursts of 20 mm canon at you and this becomes even more powerful. Excellent image

   Reply
5. 

   jurvetson

   Jan 8, 2011 at 9:41 pm

   and if you slip and fall on the bomb bay doors, they open and drop you out (a safety precaution, in case a bomb shook loose. B-24 in this case)

   

   B-17 flying…
   

   

   Reply
6. 

   Dr DAD (Daniel A D’Auria MD)

   Jan 8, 2011 at 11:54 pm

   My ex-father in law flew 32 missions over Germany in WWII as a navigator. He used to tell us that they would sit on their helmets during missions. I think I would have wanted more than Iron underwear!

   Reply
7. 

   Jim Rees

   Jan 9, 2011 at 7:35 pm

   Waist gunner was the most dangerous job on a B-17. There was a piece of armor below the window, but the standing position made a larger target than the sitting or kneeling positions of the other crew members.

   Reply
8. 

   Drift Words

   Jan 11, 2011 at 7:48 am

   *shudder* very little body armour in those days too.

   Reply
9. 

   Jim Rees

   Jan 12, 2011 at 5:50 pm

   They had flak helmets and jackets, but I suspect those would only stop the smallest pieces, and of course were useless against 20mm cannon fire.

   Reply