Atail gunner orrear gunner is acrewman on amilitary aircraft who functions as agunner defending against enemyfighter orinterceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane.
The tail gunner operates a flexiblemachine gun orautocannon emplacement in the tail end of the aircraft with an unobstructed view toward the rear of the aircraft. While the termtail gunner is usually associated with a crewman inside agun turret, the first tail guns were operated from open apertures within the aircraft's fuselage, such as theScarff ring mechanism used in the BritishHandley Page V/1500, which was introduced during latter months of theFirst World War. Increasingly capable tail gunner positions were developed during theinterwar period and theSecond World War, resulting in the emergence of the powered turret andfire control systems incorporatingradar guidance. In particularly advanced tail gunner arrangements, the tail armament may be operated by remote control from another part of the aircraft, such as the AmericanBoeing B-52 Stratofortress, astrategic bomber first introduced during 1955.
The first aircraft to ever have incorporated a tail gunner position was theSikorskyIlya Muromets bomber, which became active during theFirst World War and the last years of theRussian Empire. TheIlya Muromets prototype flew for the first time in 1913, with no guns on board and no rear position for the crew. When the war broke out, in 1914, only a fewIlya Muromets aircraft had been built, but increasing numbers were required because of thewar effort. After having entered the mass-production phase and having seen combat all along the first year of war against thefighter planes of the German Empire, a rear-defending position appeared to theImperial Russian Air Service to be increasingly vital to protect both the plane and its crewmen. Such an arrangement, during March 1916, saw light of day on the model S-25 (variant Geh-2) of the SikorskyIlya Muromets bomber plane. This aircraft was the first in history to include on its ending tail area a gunner position.[1] Mass-production ofIlya Muromets bomber commenced, with the final example being completed in 1918, by which time in excess of 80 aircraft had been reportedly completed. ThoseIlya Muromets that served after theRussian Revolution were inducted into theSoviet Air Forces.[1]
Another example of aFirst World War-era aircraft equipped with a tail gunner position was the BritishHandley Page V/1500. It was specifically developed as aheavy bomber byHandley Page, who designed a relatively large four-enginedbiplane for the era; it was reportedly capable of bombingBerlin from bases inEast Anglia.[2] However, the type did not enter service until the very end of the war, during the months of October and November 1918, and thus never saw any kind of combat action. The type did see use in subsequent conflicts, including a pivotal role in ending theThird Anglo-Afghan War, flying fromRisalpur toKabul to drop its payload of four 112 lb (51 kg) bombs and 16 20 lb (10 kg) bombs on the city and the royal palace, reportedly contributing to the Afghans' speedy surrender.[3][4]
Throughout theinterwar period, various new military aircraft were introduced that featured a gunner position on their tails; examples included the BritishVickers Virginia, introduced to service in 1924,[5] and the Japaneseflying boatKawanishi H3K (developed from theShort Rangoon), brought into service during 1930.[6][7] One of the first aircraft to operate a fully enclosed tail gun turret was the BritishArmstrong Whitworth Whitley. Performing its first flight during 1936, the Whitley entered service with the RAF, remaining in service until the closing months of theSecond World War.[8] The tail gunner position of the Whitley would be revised on later-built models, adopting a more powerfulNash & Thompson power-operated turret mounting four Browning machine guns.[9]
Across the overall history of its use in combat, the tail gunner was most active during the Second World War. For almost every aircraft model in which it was fitted, the tail gun position was constituted of an enclosed compartment inhabited by the gunner. During the Second World War, this extreme tail compartment typically conformed to theinside fixed gunner configuration, in which the gunner operated the articulated mount ofautocannon or machine gun fire (usually one or two weapons); examples of aircraft such fitted include the JapaneseMitsubishi G4M bomber (which had oneOerlikon 20 mm autocannon),[10] and the AmericanB-17 andB-29 bombers (which were fitted with a mount of two0.50 Browning M2 machine guns).[11][12]
An alternative arrangement in the form of thehydraulically or electrically powered and fully enclosed gun turret. This configuration typically rotated horizontally and mounting one, two or more automatic firearms; aircraft that featured such tail guns include the later-built variants of the AmericanB-24 bomber (various turret models were used, all equipped with two 0.50 Browning M2),[13] and several British bombers, including theAvro Lancaster (outfitted with aNash & Thompson FN-20 turret with fourBrowning .303 Mark II machine guns),[14][15] and theHandley Page Halifax (featuring aBoulton & Paul Type E Mk III turret that also mounted four 0.50 Browning M2s).[16]
During the closing years of the conflict, the American B-29 bombers were equipped with a tail gun position in which the gunner still had a direct view on his target while operating his synchronized weapons, but some other gun positions of this particular model of Boeing bomber were, for the first time in an aircraft, operated from other parts of the plane, each one spotting the target by means of aperiscopic viewing system.[17][12][18] Following the end of the conflict, thepostwar period saw more and more subsequent tail gun positions in aircraft inherited this viewing and sight method, ending afterwards with added radar sights and radar targeting systems, early testing of which had occurred during the Second World War; one such example was the radar-aimed FN121 turret that was fitted to some Lancaster and Halifax bombers was introduced during 1944.[14]
Another phenomenon that heavily affected the tail gunner's future came in the form of aircraft such as thede Havilland Mosquito. While many aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple defensive turrets, such as theAvro Manchester and Halifax bombers,de Havilland promoted the concept of a compact bomber that lacked defensive turrets and instead relied upon its speed.[19][20] Despite pressure by theAir Ministry to arm their proposal, de Havilland made no design changes and built the Mosquito as envisaged.[21][22] When the type commenced introduction 1941, the aircraft was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.[23] In practice, the Mosquito proved its effectiveness; despite an initially high loss rate, the bomber variants ended the war with the lowest recorded losses of any aircraft inRAF Bomber Command service.[24] Due to its success, aspects such as speed and altitude performance were often prioritised over defensive armaments on future bomber aircraft, such as the widely procuredjet-poweredEnglish Electric Canberra.[25][26]
The tail gunner was last heavily used in combat during theVietnam War on theUnited States Air Force's (USAF) largebombers. By this point, the position had become largely obsolete due to advancements in long-rangeair combat weapons such asair-to-air missiles, as well as modern detection andcountermeasures against such armaments. On 18 December 1972, duringOperation Linebacker II, USAF B-52 Stratofortresses of theStrategic Air Command conducted a major bombing campaign againstNorth Vietnam. As the bombers approached the target, they would be heavily engaged by North Vietnamese anti-aircraft units, firing barrages ofSurface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that exploded around the Stratofortresses.[27] After completing its bombing run, StratofortressBrown III was warned ofVietnam People's Air Force (NVAF-North Vietnamese Air Force) MiGs.Brown III's tail gunner, SSGT Samuel O. Turner, shot down aMiG-21 interceptor, becoming the first tail gunner to shoot down an enemy aircraft since the Korean War.[27]
On 24 December 1972, during the same bombing campaign, B-52 StratofortressDiamond Lil was attacking railroad yards atThái Nguyên when the tail gunner detected a MiG-21 8 miles (13 km) away climbing to intercept.[28] The aircraft took evasive action and droppedchaff and flares while the gunner fired around 800 rounds from 2,000 yards (1,800 m), causing the MiG-21 to fall, on fire.[29] That incident was the last tail gunner to shoot down an enemy aircraft withmachine guns during wartime.[30]
The final combat usage of tail gunners by the United States Air Force occurred in 1991, during theGulf War. During the conflict, a missile struck a B-52 by locking onto the tail gunner's radar; it is disputed whether or not it was unintentionalfriendly fire by an F-4 Phantom,[31] or if an IraqiMiG-29 had successfully fired upon the aircraft. The B-52 escaped heavy damage, but the incident motivated the decision to discontinue use of the position throughout the fleet.[32] On 1 October 1991, Master Sergeant Tom Lindsey became the last USAF tail gunner to serve on a B-52 sortie.[33]
The purpose of the tail gunner was principally to act as a lookout for attacking enemy fighters, particularly upon British bombers operating at nighttime. As these aircraft operated individually instead of being part of abombing formation, the bombers' first reaction to an attackingnight fighter was to engage in radical evasive maneuvers such as a corkscrew roll; firing guns in defense was of secondary importance. TheBritish slang term for tail gunners was "Tail-end Charlies",[34][35] while in theLuftwaffe they were calledHeckschwein ("tail-end pigs").
Both the specific armament and arrangement of the tail gun varied considerably between countries. During the Second World War, the majority ofUnited States Army Air Forcesheavy bomber aircraft, such as theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress andBoeing B-29 Superfortress, used a fixed gunner position with the guns themselves in a separate mounting covering an approximately 90-degree rear arc. Typical armament was two 0.50 inchM2 Browning machine guns. In contrast,Royal Air Force heavy bombers, such as theAvro Lancaster andHandley Page Halifax, used a poweredturret capable of 180-degree rotation containing the tail gunner and four 0.303 inchBrowning machine guns. A similar arrangement was used in the AmericanB-24 Liberator heavy bomber (but with two 0.50 inch heavy machine guns.) Most British turrets were manufactured by two companiesNash & Thompson andBoulton & Paul Ltd, it was common for the same turret model to be fitted to a number of different aircraft.
The majority of wartimeGerman andItalian aircraft, including smallerground attack aircraft anddive bombers, lacked a tail gunner position; instead, there was commonly adorsal gun fitted behind the cockpit orventral gun along the belly of the aircraft replaced the tail gunner position covering the tail. This position was blocked by the fuselage but allowed better weight distribution. In the autumn of 1944, the British began deploying Lancasters fitted with theAutomatic Gun-Laying Turret, which was fitted with a 3 GHz(9.1 cm) radar. The image from the radar's cathode ray tube was projected onto the turret's gunsight, allowing the gunner to fire on targets in complete darkness, with corrections forlead andbullet drop being automatically computed. Due to it having the frequency that it did, it might potentially be spotted by any Luftwaffe night fighter fitted with theFunk-Gerät 350 Naxos radar detection system, which was primarily used to home in on the earlier H2S bombing radar system's emissions.
One important development for the Luftwaffe that never made it onto its larger night fighters or strategic bomber designs would have been the Borsig firm's "quadmount", hydraulically poweredHecklafette HL 131V manned tail turret, fitted with a quartet of the firm's ownMG 131 machine guns. Prototype examples of the HL 131V were trialed in the late spring and summer of 1943 on a trio ofHe 177A-3 examples set aside as the V32 through V34 prototypes. This innovative design never made it to production status, only existing as a series of engineering department mockups with Heinkel andJunkers, among others (for their aircraft designs that were intended to mount them) and as the aforementioned working prototypes.[36] The HL 131V turret's design was advanced for a German-origin manned emplacement, using hydraulic drive to both elevate the turret's side-mount gunmount elevation units through a +/- 60º vertical arc either side of level, with a capability for horizontal traverse (of the entire turret) of some 100º to either side, all at a top traverse angular speed of 60º per second.[37]
.jpg)
(in German)Der Schwerpunkt der Abwehr feindlicher Angriffe liegt bei dem bemannten Vierlings-Heckstand HL 131 V, der von der Firma Borsig entwickelt wurde. Der Stand hat hydraulischen Antrieb und bei gleichzeitigem Richten von Höhe und Seite eine maximale resultierende Richtgeschwindigkeit von 60°/sec. Der Schwenkwinkelbereich beträgt +/- 100° in horizontaler und +/- 60° in vertikaler Richtung. Die Munition ist in 4 Kästen zellenseitig untergebracht und wird durch Gurtfördermotoren dem Stand zugeführt. Die Schußanzahl beträgt pro Lauf ~1000 Schuss.