B-17 airmen postions

I have a radio operator on a B-17 who was in the position of top turret gunner when the plane was shot down. My question is this; Did this happen often? and also am i right in thinking that a dorsal turret is the top turret? thanks

 

Possibly, if the top turret gunner had been wounded. IIRC, the radio operator had his own gun position that fired to the rear and upwards, it was a single swivel mount and not a turret. But, he mav have been called to man the top turret with it's better field of fire.

 

Hi there, I'm talking about the Hecox crew, may 29th 1943.
George Coates was usually radio operator but on this mission he was top turret gunner.
Herman Philbeck was the radio operator.
So if a replacement was needed for the TTG it was possible that George Coates replaced him?

 

I didn't find the full MACR at fold3.com for this loss, but there was a crew list of 11 men including a Major aboard. 42-29476 was probably a lead aircraft with a composite crew aboard and not a normal 10 man crew, so normal crew positions may not apply in this case.

 

Major Randolph Barthold was on the plane so maybe as you say,
it was a composite crew.

 

This site lists Coates as the R/O and Philbeck as the F/E-TTG.
MIA Aircraft
What is your source that has the switched?

 

An interview given by the survivor, Herman Philbeck as written in a book by Roger Symmonds Van Dyke( nephew of Harry Symmonds who was kia., "The Sky Keeps no Memories". Philbeck states that he was the R/O and that Coates was in the 'Dorsal Turret'.

I had noticed that in other reports he is listed as the R/O but assume as this was a first hand account it must be accurate.?

 

I would believe the first hand account as to crew positions. The positions listed in the reports were probably taken from the aircraft load list. In my experience, those are accurate as to naming the men on board, but less accurate as to their actual positions.

 

Yes that's what i thought too. If Coates had stayed in the R/O position and Philbeck had been in Top turret then Coates would have survived. I suppose it was meant to be. In war a lot comes down to luck, whether it's you that gets it or the guy sat next to you. Thanks, Lynne