Subject: Aircrew casualities
From: "Gord Beaman" )
Date: 9/16/03 8:12 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

(ArtKramr) wrote:

Bombardiers were actually among the best in survival rate if not the best
(I
think
the navs were the best), because many of the attacks were from the rear,
and
because they had an escape hatch in their compartment that was easy to get
to.

Guy


In the B-26 we had no escape hatch at all. The bombardier had along path to
creawl in front of the copilot then out the bombay. A long trip indeed.
Maybe
we should break down the losses by aircraft type rather than lumping all
bombers together

Arthur Kramer

Lancasters were good to Bombardiers (and nose gunners), they had
their own good sized hatch in the bottom of the nose compartment,
matter of fact the Pilot and Engineer used that hatch too.
--

-Gord.


They fixed the B-26 problem for bombardiers when they built the A-26 Invader. I
sat a on a trap door. One twist of the handle and you were out. It was nice to
leave the B's for the A's just for that escape hatch..



Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer