Bomb aimers

[Dr Jekyll]

There is an old recruiting poster at the RAF museum showing the various jobs on a Lancaster/Halifax type bomber, including bomb aimer. I always assumed the front gunner or someone doubled as a bomb aimer.

Did the bomb aimer really have nothing else to do for the rest of the flight? Not that I'm criticising bomb aimers of course, but being bored and scared sounds even worse that just being scared.

[Brewster Buffalo]

and whilst we are talking of bomb aimers.........

Bombardiers liked to boast that with the Norden bombsight they could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet. When asked if that was true, inventor Carl Norden often responded, "Which pickle would you like to hit?"...

I wonder if anyone really managed this or how the idea that this could be done arose... 1940s PR??

[Load Toad]

Didn't the bomb aimer double up as the front gunner - and when he wasn't doing either his position would have been beneficial for aiding with navigation?

[wiggy]

Talking of accuracy, here's the Wiki take on the Norden

Norden bombsight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norden_bombsight)

And FWIW the Hiroshima weapon, aimed by a Norden Sight, dropped from 32000 feet, missed it's target by about 800 feet....................

[WHBM]

I used to work for the Burroughs company, nowadays merged into the Unisys computer organisation but at the time of WW2 a leading producer of calculating machines used worldwide in offices, banks, etc. They got the contract for volume production of the Norden bombsight when demand far outstripped Norden's own limited production facilities. There was a large quantity of precision geared cogs and wheels inside the Norden, similar in concept to a calculating machine of the time. The production was still mentioned in the company literature 40 years later.

The Burroughs factory used was the one in Plymouth, Michigan, near Detroit.

International Metropolis Burroughs Adding Machine Plant - Plymouth, MI (http://www.internationalmetropolis.com/?p=85)

[Flash2001]

Did the RAF not have a device called SABS that was similar to the Norden?

After an excellent landing you can use the airplane again!

[rolling20]

The Bomb Aimer became a specialist trade in the RAF circa 1942. Before that the Observer did a multitude of jobs, inc naviagtion, dropping the bombs etc.
The B/A would have not just been there to 'drop the bombs'. In most cases they would have assisted with navigation via map reading where conditions allowed. They also dropped 'Window' through the chute , as well as manning the front guns.
A lot of B/A's were 'washed out' pilots, showing that it was a highly skilled trade. There were cases of B/A's flying home damaged aircraft with wounded/ dead pilots on board.
There is a great line from 'The 8th Passenger', whereby a 2nd Dickey is overheard telling his crew about his first trip...' Puker operational crew! The B/A slept all the way to the target....'