My friend Tom Russell sent me the following note yesterday discussing the Ball Turret Gunner:
“Interesting blog this am. Buddy Linton, former Chuck Co. Delegate and father of Jane, Ellen and Puff, was a ball turret gunner. I don’t know survival rates but it must have been awful. He passed earlier this year at age 99.”
After I called Tom to thank him for telling me about this turret gunner connection, I then texted my friend Jane Linton who had just visited Buzzy’s Country Store a couple months ago. (Jane and her sister Puff drop into the Store while visiting St. Mary’s College for the annual alumni reunion.) Jane’s response follows:
“Yes, Dad did top turret and ball turret. He lost consciousness in the ball turret after it had been hit. The ball turret gunner had been hit, Dad was put in, to take over, oxygen supply had been cut off and he lost consciousness too. 10 days in an oxygen tent, etc.. Didn’t fly any more. Yes, we lost him 2/11, at 99 1/2 years.”
I then found Mr. Linton’s obit which is well worth reading. Here is an excerpt discussing his military career:
I also found this in an article discussing the B-17 Leading Lady bomber that he flew on:
Here is a photo of another B-17 Bombardment Group. While the accompanying write up does not explain it, the arrowed line someone added to the photo shows where the young man, smaller and dressed differently than his cohorts, would be positioned as the turret gunner:
Also, check out this video about the ball turret gunner being one of the most dangerous jobs in the war (click here.)
So, my thanks again to Jane Sypher for directing me to this fascinating subject that I knew nothing about previously. Thanks also to Tom Russell and Jane Linton for info on Mr. Linton and his wartime experiences.
Music-wise there is a song titled “Ball Turret Blues” that I have included below. However, since a couple of Janes were involved in this post, thought I would check out “Songs About Jane” which was Maroon 5’s first album. That debut effort from Adam Levine and his band mates yielded five singles, four of which became huge hits for them: This Love, Harder to Breath, She Will Be Loved and Sunday Morning. Here is the one that did not become such a big hit for them. Ironically enough, the Jane who inspired the album title was Adam Levine’s girlfriend at the time, but they broke up as the album was being recorded. Sounds to me like this tune was written towards the end of their relationship. Maybe Adam and/or Jane felt like they were trapped in a ball turret. (I know, I went a long way just to cite that as a conclusion. Sorry.)
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