Tom had a good (and probably frightening) view of the bomb run. He operated an Emerson Electric A-15 turret. Directly in front of him was a thick piece of 'bullet resistant' glass which moved up and down with the gun sight. Tom remembered it being frigid during the long hours spent cramped in the tight accomodations of the nose turret, even with the electric suits they wore. There was not a tight fit between the nose turret and the fuselage and cold air blew into the plane through the gaps.
    The crew's tour was late in the war, when the Luftwaffe had been largely driven from the skies. Flak was the greatest danger, as well as the most frustrating since there was no way to fight back. The crew's escort planes were a squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen.