New member, WWII history buff & Grandson of WWII vets

Hi all,
Thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a big WWII buff (hence me joining the forum ). Both of my Grandfathers served, one in the Army Air Corp in the European Theater and the other in the Navy in the Pacific. My Grandmother was also in the WAVES. I'll be sure to share some stories of their service! Thanks for the add!

 

Welcome to the Forums zeppelin! I'm assuming one of your grandfathers flew B-24's? I'm a huge fan of WW2 (aviation especially) as well, and can't wait to hear the stories!

 

Welcome aboard...

 

Yep! He was a waist gunner. I put a little description in the "Those who served" section along with a few photos.

 

One of my top three positions I would want to be...a waist gunner in a B-17...

 

Not the safest position!

 

Certainly a lot more room than the tail or belly gunner's, but being exposed to the lovely -80 degree Farenheit weather in a un-pressurized bomber would be quite the experience (meaning usually not very good) It would be fun in the summer at 1000 ft!

 

No...so ive read...but the excitement! And I don't have to think about flying the plane or getting on target or plotting our position..."Just shoot the bastards!" Unlike modern flying one also had a parachute, that would help my nerves no end.

 

That is if the parachute works............not trying to be johhny raincloud here, but I think being in the Coast Guard in WW2 is your best bet in not dying or having a unpleasant time

 

If we are talking the easiest job (a good thread in itself) I would say Aircrew...no fighting, a bed and breakfast everyday. May be bombed by the enemy but most werent.

 

My Grandfather would tell me he would often be scared on those missions, but I just know flying was a thrill for him.... he's always loved airplanes ever since he was a little boy.

 

I think you mean ground crew, definitely not aircrew ;-) Bomber crews had heavy losses fore sure. Enemy fighters, 88mm flak.....

 

haha...yeah ground crew...or even base admin!

 

welcome

 

I'm sure he was probably a little bummed when he ended up being in a B-24 one of the hardest planes to fly according to most USAAF pilots, and that's when you're not getting shot at!

 

Isnt the B-24 the crate that the B-17 came in? : )
Plenty of 24s and 17s flew out of Darwin...

 

Pretty much, the B-17 was the heavy bomber darling of WW2 (Still a fantastic aircraft don't get me wrong!), when in reality the B-24 did the heavy lifting, and lost the most craft and men......

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome to forum, Zeppelin.

 

Thanks!