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1 correction found
no room to bail out.
This is incorrect because B-17 tail gunners had a designated emergency exit. USAAF bailout instructions explicitly told the tail gunner to leave via the tail gunner’s emergency exit.
Full reasoning
The post’s wording suggests a B-17 tail gunner had no practical way to bail out at all. But contemporaneous bailout instructions for the B-17 say the opposite: each crew member was assigned a specific hatch, and the tail gunner’s assigned route was the “tail gunner’s emergency exit.”
A reproduction of the wartime Pilot Training Manual for the Flying Fortress states: “Each crew member must know … through what hatch he is supposed to exit,” and under Tail Gunner’s Duties it says: “Stand by to leave via tail gunner’s emergency exit.” That directly contradicts the idea that there was “no room to bail out.”
A separate B-17E reference also describes the aircraft as having a “tail gunner’s escape hatch situated just underneath the right elevator.”
So while bailing out from the tail could certainly be dangerous, cramped, or impossible in some specific damage scenarios, it is not accurate to say the B-17 tail gunner had no room to bail out as a general fact. The aircraft had a dedicated emergency/escape hatch for that position.
2 sources
- Bail Out Procedures
Each crew member must know ... through what hatch he is supposed to exit ... Tail Gunner's Duties: Stand by to leave via tail gunner's emergency exit.
- Boeing B-17E Fortress
The B-17E could be entered from three separate doors ... and the tail gunner's escape hatch situated just underneath the right elevator.