B-17 Bulkhead 6 Jump seats?

[CrewDawg]

I heard a rumor that there were optional jump seats installed on some B-17's on the aft side of bulkhead 6. That is the aft bulkhead separating the radio compartment from the waist, just forward of the ball turret. I was told that the seats bolted on to the bulkhead on either side of the radio compartment door opening and that the seat bottoms folded up out of the way when not in use. Someone sitting in these seats would be facing aft.

Does anyone have any information on these seats? Drawings would be ideal, but even pictures would help.

Thanks in advance,

[TonyM]

You might have this mixed up with a modified B-17 (such as the type used for personnel transport). On a standard B-17E/B-17F/B-17G there is very little room between the ball turret and the aft radio room bulkhead, certainly not enough room for six seats. The only way this can be done is by removing the turret. Some B-17s had three seats in the Radio Room---two on the starboard side for crew and one seat on the port side for the Radio Operator.

I just looked through my couple dozen B-17 books and can find no B-17 waist seating set up the way you describe. Early B-17s (B-17B through B-17D) have a gunner's seat on the right side of the fuselage aft of the main door and forward of the gunner position. I have manuals for B-17E through B-17G and can find no technical drawings or photos of the configuration you describe. Maybe I missed it, but I can recall no such configuration in my reference material.

My guess: this particular configuration can probably be found on modified B-17s.

Good luck with your research.

TonyM.

[CrewDawg]

Tony,
Thanks for looking. I was told that there were only two seats installed this way, one on either side of the radio room door. You're probably right that it was part of a passenger carrying conversion, and with my luck only one airplane was ever done this way and the drawings were on a bar napkin.