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Fortress gun safe9/28/2023 Small ammunition boxes rested on the top of the turret and additional ammunition belts fed the turret by means of a chute system. The gunner released the latch and removed the cover which allowed space to clear the action. To remedy that, the front end of the cover was "slotted". Normally, the gunner accessed the firing chamber by releasing a latch and raising the cover to a position perpendicular to the gun but this was not possible in the ball turret. Access was severely restricted by the guns' location in the small turret. In many cases, when a stoppage occurred, it was necessary for the gunner to "reload" the gun, which required access to the firing chamber of the guns. Another factor was that not all stoppages could be corrected by charging (cocking) the guns. The charging handles were located too close to the gunner to be operated easily, so a cable was attached to the handle through pulleys to a handle near the front of the turret. 50 caliber machine guns which extended through the entire turret, located to either side of the gunner. This left him positioned with his eyes roughly level with the pair of light-barrel Browning AN/M2. The gunner was forced to assume a fetal position within the turret with his back and head against the rear wall, his hips at the bottom, and his legs held in mid-air by two footrests on the front wall. There was no room inside for a parachute, which was left in the cabin above the turret. He would put on a safety strap and close and lock the turret door. The gunner placed his feet in the heel rests and occupied his cramped station. To enter the turret, the turret was moved until the guns were pointed straight down. The Sperry ball turret was very small in order to reduce drag, and was typically operated by the smallest man of the crew. Ball turrets appeared in the nose and tail as well as the nose of the final series B-24. The ventral turret was used in tandem in the Convair B-32, successor to the B-24. The design was mainly deployed on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator, as well as the United States Navy's Liberator, the PB4Y-1. The Sperry-designed ventral system saw widespread use and production, including much sub-contracting. The Sperry nose turret was tested and preferred, but its use was limited due to poor availability of suitable aircraft designs. Development of the spherical Emerson was halted. Sperry and Emerson Electric each developed a ball turret, and the designs were similar in the nose turret version. ( July 2016) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. This section possibly contains original research.
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