#B17Bomber

Every day we literally lose hundreds of veterans around the world from the Second World War. This makes sitting down and discussing an in-depth subject such as what B17 Flying Fortress’s were armed with against the German fighters that tried to shoot them down so much more valuable when we actually get to talk to one of the crew members on those heavy bombers in the European Theater of Operations. James Lee Hutchinson was a gunner turned radio operator on a B17G in 490th Bomb Group based in England during the war. He went on 20 combat missions by the time he was twenty years old and when the war ended in May 1945. In this episode he discusses the finer points of taking care of the seven M2 .50 BMG heavy machine guns mounted throughout the bomber, and how the crews would use the guns.