Photo: Bettmann Archive At some point in their schooling, students used to encounter “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,” a brief, bleak, harrowing poem from 1945 by Randall Jarrell.

The turret in question could be found at the bottom of a B-17 bomber — a plexiglass ball containing two .50-caliber machine guns and a very short gunner. The sphere could pivot to fend off attacking ...

Suspended beneath the B-17, the ball turret gunner faced enemy fire with little armor and no escape. It was one of the ...

WWII Ball Turret Gunner Honored in Dover Kristina DeRobertis Mar 26, 2024 Updated Mar 28, 2024 1 of 2 ...

Keith Ellefson, whose uncle was also a ball turret gunner, has been taking the panel across Alabama, Georgia and Florida getting the signatures. A man from Texas will now take it to Florida where ...