Tail gunner
 A World War II British poster depicting the rear-gunner of a Halifax bomber A rear gun turret on B-17 at Imperial War Museum Duxford  A rear gun turret on B-29 at Imperial War Museum Duxford  A rear gun turret of a B-24 at Imperial War Museum Duxford  A rear gun turret on B-52 at Imperial War Museum Duxford The tail gun armament and arrangement varied with users. US heavy bomber designs like the Flying Fortress and Superfortress favoured a fixed gunner seat with the guns themselves rotating about a point covering an arc of some 90 degrees or more. Two heavy machine guns of 0.50 inch was typical; some carried a third heavier caliber weapon. By comparison British heavy bombers designs standardized on a powered turret capable of 180 degree rotation armed with four 0.303 inch guns.
For German aircraft the gun position covering the tail was often in the dorsal position at the rear of the crew compartment or part way along the back of the fuselage. This gave a reasonable coverage above the line of the fuselage but might be supplemented by a ventral position that covered to the rear below the fuselage.
The tail gunner fulfilled a second role as a lookout for enemy aircraft attacking. This was a major role for British tail gunners when their aircraft were bombing by night. Operating as individuals instead of a box formation the bombers first reaction to an attacking fighter was to engage in manoeuvres such as a corkscrew roll; firing guns in defense was of lesser importance. The British slang term for the tail gunner was "Tail-end Charlie". In Germany they were called Heckschwein (tail-end pig) and doubled as radio operator on planes with small crews, like the Stuka.
The tail gunner found heaviest use during the World War II and early Cold War years on large bombers, but the position has become largely obsolete due to advancements in ranged air combat armaments such as air-to-air missiles as well as modern detection and countermeasures against such armaments.
[edit] Partial List of aircraft with tail gun positions
This is a list of aircraft to show the different approach to tailgun positions
[edit] Germany
[edit] United Kingdom
British bombers of the Second World War featured Nash & Thompson hydraulic or Boulton Paul electro-hydraulic tail turrets fitted with 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning guns almost as standard.
[edit] USSR/Russia
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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