On either side, racks hold bombs on the way to the target.īehind the bomb bay sits the radio compartment, home of the radio operator (position #5), a technical sergeant in charge of the multiple radio communication and navigation devices on board the plane.

Heading back from the cockpit, we walk through the bomb bay along a narrow aluminum catwalk. The bombardier operated the right cheek gun in the B-17F, the nose gun in the later B-17F models, and the chin turret guns in the B-17G. The togglier released the bomb on the signal of the lead aircraft in the formation but did not operate the Norden. Later in the war, fewer bombardiers were trained, and a “togglier” served in most planes. He operated the Norden bombsight, a complicated piece of machinery that took into account the plane’s speed, wind speed and direction, and drift to more precisely hit the target.

A lieutenant, the bombardier was responsible for loading the bombs on the ground, arming the bombs in flight, and most importantly, for accurately aiming and dropping the bombs. The bombardier also served in the nose compartment (position #2). In combat, the navigator was responsible for the left cheek gun (in the B-17F) and for both cheek guns in later models of the B-17F and in the B-17G. Although B-17s flew in large formations, each plane had to be able to find its way to the target and home if separated from the group. The navigator, a lieutenant, sat at a desk at position #3, where he carefully charted the plane’s position and course using dead reckoning, pilotage, radio aids, and even celestial navigation. The nose compartment was separated from the cockpit by a narrow crawlway. Close-up view of nose of Collings Foundation B-17G Nine-O-Nine, Buchanan Field, Concord, CA, June 2013 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)

Lancaster bomber crew audio