Servicing the Ball Turret with .50 Caliber Machine Gun

Here are some pictures and videos from Taigh Ramey’s Vintage Aircraft shop in Stockton California.

Close up of the inside of the rear gunner turret after removal from the airplane. Note the .50 caliber machine gun on the upper left.  On the right, I am holding a replacement gunner firing control box which has the pistol grip and gun trigger.  This grip is attached to a multi axis post which directs the entire ball turret to quickly rotate according to the control grip inputs.

The 3rd image here shows the magnitude of the armor plate that protected the gunner from incoming enemy fire. It is over 1” thick solid steel. The same on the side walls.