How to be a WWII USAAF Gunner

Discussion in 'Techforge' started by Tuckerfan, Sep 6, 2026.

  1. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

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    According to Mel Blanc, and several others from WB, who made these training films. The first one is about being the gunner in a B-17. It explains how you should target an enemy aircraft during combat, and talks a lot about the complexity of figuring out the necessary angles.



    The second one is about being a gunner in a B-29. It only mentions a little bit of the stuff about targeting that the first film does, because most of the complicated work on that is done by the computer. Yeah, they mean it the way we mean it, when we say "computer." I'll point out that this is one of the very early uses of computer in that manner. How early? Well, the film was made in 1944/45, and supposedly the OED has the earliest use of the word in that manner as dating from 1946.

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