The Rear Gunner
Short Movie (1943)
Starring:
Burgess Meredith (Pvt. L.A. Pee Wee Williams)
Ronald Reagan (Lt. Ames)
Tom Neal (Instructor Sergeant)
Dane Clark (Benny)
Jonathan Hale ( Commanding Officer)
Knox Manning (Narrator)
Documentary-style drama on training of aerial rear gunners in World War II. Private PeeWee Williams, a Kansas farm boy, transforms his home-grown shooting skills into those necessary to an aerial gunner in the tail turret of an American bomber.
Consolidated B-24D Liberator
North American T-6 Texan
The Japanese Zero fighters are in fact North American T-6 Texan. Whichever does straffing has hinomaru painted.
Junkers Ju-87B Stuka
Gunner course includes recognition exercices. A big model of the Stuka is shown to students.
Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress
Boeing B-17C/D Flying Fortress
The final flypast is done with older Flying Fortresses. Despiste the poor quality of this screenshot, a careful study reveals the lack of rear turret and the smalest , more vertical tail.
The waist gunner post of the B-24 during the aerial combat is in fact those of B-17C / Fortress I.
Lockheed Hudson I
Same aircraft seen in other movies - IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.
Please, note that the upper gunner of the Consolidated B-24 used in fact the rear turret of the Hudson.
Martin B-10
Twin engine airplane in the background.
This one has the front turret dismounted.
Douglas B-18 Bolo
Behind B-24's, we can guess a B-18 Bolo.
In the distance, the tail is not this of a C-47 (it lacks the spin in front of it). This tail looking alike this of the Douglas DC-2 is the one of the Douglas B-18 Bolo (wearing probably the code 7373).
North American T-6 Harvard
Fake Nakajima B5N, as usual in these films. Probably based upon a AT-6B (or D variant).
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