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

Navigator and Bombardier nose section

I have just climbed into the B-17G's access area through the forward hatch and am kneeling down and looking forward into the aircraft's nose section, which houses the navigator and bombardier. The seat directly ahead is for the bombardier. The famous Norden bombsight is directly ahead of the seat. The control yoke in its stowed position to the right is pulled down to the center by the bombardier and used to control the two .50 Cal. chin turret guns. A navigator’s table (not seen here) is located on the left side under the two rectangular nose windows. The .50 Cal. cheek guns with ammo feeds on each side are operated by the navigator.

Behind me at the rear of the access area is a 2-step ladder leading to the top gun turret area, an oxygen bottle and a few aircraft instruments.