Tail gunner
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A tail gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner position on an aircraft operates a fixed heavy machine gun emplacement on the top or bottom of the aircraft with an unobstructed view toward the tail of the aircraft. While the term tail gunner is usually associated with a crewman operating a manned gun turret, possibly in a glass enclosure, tail gunnery armaments may also be operated by remote control from another part of the aircraft.
The tail gunner found heaviest use during the World War II and Cold War years on large bombers, but the position has become largely obsolete due to advancements in ranged air combat armaments such as air-to-air missiles as well as modern detection and countermeasures against such armaments.
The life of the tail gunner is commemorated in the Iron Maiden song "Tailgunner" from the No Prayer for the Dying album.
Partial list of aircraft employing tail gunnery
USA
- B-17 Flying Fortress - bomber
- B-23 Dragon - bomber
- B-25 Mitchell - bomber
- B-29 Superfortress - bomber
- Convair B-36 - bomber
- B-52 Stratofortress - bomber
- Armstrong Whitworth Whitley - bomber
- Avro Lancaster - bomber
- Avro Manchester - bomber
- Handley Page Halifax - bomber
- Short Stirling - bomber
- Vickers Wellington - bomber
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