US Army Air Force

When the bombardier’s word is law

99th Bomb Group Association

The position of the bombardier in the glazed nose of a USAAF’s 99th Bomb Group Boeing B-17G, in 1944 based in Southern Italy, at Tortorella, Apulia. Which the duties and the responsibilities of the bombardier? From an excerpt from the Pilot Training Manual of the B-17 Flying Fortress: “Accurate and effective bombing is the ultimate purpose of your entire airplane and crew. Every other function is preparatory to hitting and destroying the target. That's your bombardier's job. The success or failure of the mission depends upon what he accomplishes in that short interval of the bombing run. When the bombardier takes over the airplane for the run on the target, he is in absolute command. He will tell you what he wants done, and until he tells you ‘Bombs away’, his word is law. A great deal, therefore, depends on the understanding between bombardier and pilot. You expect your bombardier to know his job when he takes over. He expects you to understand the problems involved in his job, and to give him full cooperation. Teamwork between pilot and bombardier is essential. Under any given set of conditions - groundspeed, altitude, direction, etc. - there is only one point in space where a bomb may be released from the airplane to hit a predetermined object on the ground. There are many things with which a bombardier must be thoroughly familiar in order to release his bombs at the right point to hit this predetermined target. He must know and understand his bombsight, what it does, and how it does it. He must thoroughly understand the operation and upkeep of his bombing instruments and equipment. He must know that his racks, switches, controls, releases, doors, linkage, etc., are in first class operating condition. He must understand the automatic pilot as it pertains to bombing. He must know how to set it up, make any adjustments and minor repairs while in flight. He must know how to operate all gun positions in the airplane. He must know how to load and clear simple stoppages and jams of machine guns while in flight. He must be able to load and fuse his own bombs. He must understand the destructive power of bombs and must know the vulnerable spots on various types of targets. He must understand the bombing problem, bombing probabilities, bombing errors, etc. He must be thoroughly versed in target identification and in aircraft identification. The bombardier should be familiar with the duties of all members of the crew and should be able to assist the navigator in case the navigator becomes incapacitated. For the bombardier to be able to do his job, the pilot of the aircraft must place the aircraft in the proper position to arrive at a point on a circle about the target from which the bombs can be released to hit the target. The bombardier should be familiar with the duties of all members of the crew and should be able to assist the navigator in case the navigator becomes incapacitated. For the bombardier to be able to do his job, the pilot of the aircraft must place the aircraft in the proper position to arrive at a point on a circle about the target from which the bombs can be released to hit the target”. Victor Sierra