USAAF Bomber Ball Turret Gunner Figurine

U.S.A.A.F. Ball Turret Gunner, 1943-45
Step into the harrowing role of a U.S.A.A.F. Ball Turret Gunner during World War II with this detailed figure. The ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere mounted on the belly of a heavy strategic bomber, equipped with two .50 caliber machine guns and manned by a small, courageous gunner. To minimize drag, the turret was incredibly cramped, with no room for a parachute, which was kept in the cabin above. Exiting required aligning the turret door with an opening in the crew compartment, a process complicated by the turret's hydraulic operation. If the hydraulics were damaged, the gunner had no escape route.

It wasn't aerial combat but crashes that accounted for most of the 152 out of 158 ball turret gunner deaths—three times the crash death rate of any other crew member.

1/30 Scale, approximately 1.25 inches tall
Metal
Matte Finish
Single Figure in Box