"I can't even imagine being jammed into the ball turret for upwards 8 hours. The fatigue would have been extreme."
I could not
agree more!
The trouble is, for myself, that any picture I have seen relating to this showed a very limber, smaller stature gunner entering the turret while on the runway.
Could this have been done for some preparation or other necessary pre-mission reason?
I have also read several times how the Japanese were really bad about leaving their ground crews/mechanics behind when retreating from the islands we took.
Makes me wonder if some of the reliability issues the later Japaneses fighter planes had could have partially been blamed on lack of trained and left behind personnel capable of repairing and maintaining these new planes.
Very bad form old chap!
https://www.hhhistory.com/2021/09/ww...ners-that.html