The waist gunner fought at an open window in a −40° gale. Standing in the fuselage of a B-17 or B-24 — for much of the war two of them worked back-to-back at facing ports — he swung a hand-held .50 caliber Browning against fighters that flashed past at closing speeds well over 500 miles an hour, trying to lead a target while the slipstream tore at him and the whole aircraft bucked and yawed. It was among the most exposed jobs in the entire air war, and the numbers were merciless: bomber-crew mortality ran far above almost any other branch of service. The gunners were the bomber's teeth, and knew every mission might be their last.

The figure stands ready in a shearling-collared flight jacket draped with linked .50 caliber belts, leather helmet and Mae West, kit in hand. He rounds out a heavy-bomber crew diorama with a fellow gunner, the Ball Turret Gunner, a Heavy Bomber Crewman, and their Bomber Captain.

W. Britain model 10124. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted base. Boxed.