Bombardier and Navigator's Compartment

Here I am on my knees in the B-17's front access area and looking fore into the bombardier and navigator's compartment.

Easily seen are the navigator's chair immediately in front of me and his work table on the left. The .50 Cal. left cheek gun is seen suspended at the top left of the nose section while the right cheek gun is seen on the right side along with its ammo feed. The two cheek guns are staggered in the nose of the fuselage, with the left gun positioned more fore than the right gun.

The bombardier's seat and the famous Norden bomb sight are located forward by the Plexiglas nose but are mostly obstructed by the navigator's chair. The small yoke (bicycle-style handlebars) at the right front is used by the navigator to control the power-operated chin turret and its two .50 Cal. Browning M2 machine guns.