Recent content by Hoosier Hot Shot

As a crew man in a B24 over the Pacific, I would ditch every time. Landing in the vast Pacific Ocean with nothing but a Mae West life jacket is just postponing the inevitable. Only if the aircraft was on fire and/or out of control.

I was a radioman/belly turret gunner on a PB4Y1 in Photo Squadron Four. I have the records of my Squadron and if you give me your snail mail address I will send them to you if you want. Contact me at [email protected]

I speak from experience when I say that the Japanese fighters that we encountered over Saipan on 29 May, 1944 were much more aggressive than any we met thereafter. I was a belly turret gunner on a Navy PB4Y1.

As a belly turret gunner on a B-24, I won’t argue with your figures but I am quite certain that aerial gunners served as a strong deterrent against fighters. Can you imagine a defenseless bomber under attack by a fighter?

The effort in the Sw Pacific was important but MacArthur was not the really vital key; in my humble opinion, he was a disaster.

As a Vet of the Pacific War, I disagree. Two specific instances of his gross misconduct; the return to the Philippines cost many lives and was not important to the war. The invasion of Okinawa was the same tragic error. I think history will show that he argued that for him to be captured in...

It was a privilege!

Our PB4Y1 (B24D) had a Martin turret.

No, I was in the Central Pacific; Saipan, Guam and Iwo Jima.

I was a belly turret gunner on a Navy PB4Y1 (B24) during WW2. Does anyone have a guesstimate as to how many of us are left? For sure they aren’t making any more!

Our Navy PB4Y1 was a modified B24-42D and was still marked as such throughout. We carried 2600 gallons in the main tanks, 900 gallons in bomb bay tanks and 250 gallons in wingtip tanks in 1944,

Our Navy PB4y1 was a modified B24-42D and had wing tip tanks. I was told that they held 125 gallons each.

The Japs had a bombsight that was an exact copy of the Norden.

Can’t figure out how to post!