Staff Sergeant CLAIR A. SHUGARTs--NOSE TURRET Gunner

 

Sergeant Clair A. Shugarts of Pennsylvania had a good (and probably frightening) view of the bomb run. He operated an Emerson Electric A-15 turret. Directly in front of him was a thick piece of 'bullet resistant' glass, which moved up and down with the gun sight. It was frigid during the long hours spent cramped in the tight accommodations of the nose turret, even with the electric suits they wore. There was not an airtight fit between the nose turret and the fuselage and cold air blew into the plane through the gaps. The nose turret permitted only movement of head, arms and upper torso. This meant that the legs and knees were always in one position. Sgt. Shugharts' greatest discomfort was having his knees get cold. Many times on the way back someone would take Sgt. Shugarts’ place so he could get his circulation going again. Frostbite, Enemy Aircraft, and Flak were the greatest dangers. Flak was the most frustrating since there was no way to fight back. From the nose turret he had an unobstructed view of about 300 degrees. When they neared a target the black puffs of flak would give them an indication of what they were going into. And all of it looked quite ominous. Sgt. Shugarts looked it in the eye without complaint.