B-17 Ball Turret at Musée de L’Armee in Paris

[Craig59]

Finishing up 8 days in Normandy and Paris and thought some folks might like to see this B-17 ball turret on display. Sad, it doesn’t really serve much purpose here in moving forward the story of the U.S. effort to liberate France and it sure would be nice to see this bit of history slung beneath a B-17 - flying or static - where it belongs.

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[Warbird Kid]

Thanks for the picture! Hope to make it there one day. I dunno, you could say that having the turret there shows what some US airmen had to endure for the duration of the war to strategically bomb Europe into submission. Also, what B-17 is currently looking for a ball turret? I'm sure there are a few out there.

[Chuck Giese]

Extremely minor point, as displayed, that's the retractable B-24 ball turret.

[Craig59]

Extremely minor point, as displayed, that's the retractable B-24 ball turret.

Thanks, Chuck. I wouldn’t know the difference if one fell on my foot but, I know the same word would slip past my lips! They state it as being from a B-17.

[Dennis7423]

There are several restorations here stateside that are looking for a ball turret. Lucky 13, Desert Rat, and presumably Liberty Belle to name a few.

- Dennis S.
Thornton, CO USA

[p51]

I was in Paris last year with my wife and I really wanted to see this museum, to mostly see Napoleon's grave, but I was amazed at the incredible collection there. I got shots of this turret as well and I think it's fine where it is as they have a great WW2 collection.

[Chuck Giese]

Upon further review, let me rephrase my comment. The ball may be from a B-17, but the mount it is in (trunnions and ring) appear to be the retractable B-24 mount. The holes in the bottom of the ring are for the locator pins. Our B-24 ball turret mount left a few years ago, so my memory is a wee bit hazy.