Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
“Nine-O-Nine”

This frontal close-up of the B-17G “Nine-O-Nine” shows the Plexiglas nose cone that serves as frontal protection for the bombardier and navigator’s compartment. Immediately below the Plexiglas cone is the powered chin gun turret with twin .50 Cal. machine guns, which are operated by the bombardier. The left-side cheek gun is seen above the swastikas.

The two rectangular windows behind the cheek gun are located above the navigator’s table. The pilots flight deck windows and the top ball turret are seen above and toward the rear of the navigator’s windows.

The open nose hatch door is seen at the bottom right of the photo. The pilot, copilot, navigator and bombardier often use the nose hatch to enter the plane. The nose hatch is also the navigator and bombardier’s primary exit for bailout. The yellow bombs in the nose art indicate bomb runs while the Swastikas indicate German planes shot down.