Lockheed Vega B-17G Cheyenne modification upgrades in color!

[Micawber]

Another chum from the same group, a navigator, bailed out the nose hatch after several planes were hit by FW 190's. So he bails out the nose hatch, drops clear and waits a bit then pulls on the chute release and quickly realises he is looking at the release handle is in his ....hand but the chute has not deployed, coming to his senses he manages to tease a bit of silk out and he eventually gets enough out to catch the slipstream and pull the rest of the chute out the pack.

 

[Micawber]

B-24 nav and bombardier were supposed to exit out the nose-wheel hatch...

 

[Monsoon]

That nose hatch is small. The exit procedure reminds me of how we were taught to jump from the crew entrance door on a C-130.

Jettison the door, squat down as small as you can in the lower left hand of the door opening, and sort of tumble out as close to aircraft you can to avoid the props.

Yeah, I know. Screw that.

 

[Micawber]

Mind you I recall being told by a vet how he watched from another aircraft a neighbouing ship get hit and start to go dow, how all the crew got out except the copilot - he remembered seeing that guy attempt to exit via a cockpit window only to get snagged by his chute pack then pinned in the slipstream, be went down with the aicraft half in, half out the window.

Or another guy relating how he saw the perpex nose get blown off the aircraft above and to one side, how he saw the bombardier fall out mortified to see he had no chute pack and how the guy struggled like he was climbing a ladder trying to get back into the plane ....

Priviledged to have heard these things and more. Lest We Forget.