Operation Pinball: The USAAF's Secret Aerial Gunnery Program of WWII

By Ivan Hickman

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879384727
• ISBN13: 9780879384722
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Motorbooks International
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A nice, detailed account

A comprehensive description of the "Pinball"training program involving bomber gunners firing (mostly) harmless plastic bullets at fighter planes (almost) fully protected by aluminum armor, including the luftwaffe "experten" fighter pilots that shot down so many heavy bombers, forcing a search for better ways to train bomber machine-gunners, various "realistic" training schemes preceding the pinball like complex movie-simulator setups, stories from many pilots that flew the planes into the hail of plastic bullets including the author himself, and his impressions of the not only the pinball fighter but also the original P63 fighter and its predecessor the P39. After reading about the pinball on the net I got immediately obsessed to find out the details. The American military often seems to get credit for innovating realistic training and planning schemes, and the pinball must be one of the most bold, extreme examples of such. I was also attracted since the P39/P63 is one of my favourite designs in the "not highly rated but the idea sounds so good" category: amidship engine layout allowing accurate-aiming heavy nose armament, pilot-friendly tricycle landing gear, very compact cooling intakes, and high visibility canopy for its time. A real nice read, less than 100 pages but a large paperback packed with info and photos/diagrams.

The Strange but True Story of an Innovative WWII Gunnery Program!

Operation Pinball was one of the oddest U.S.A.F. programs ever. A gunnery program devised in WWII, it involved specially armored Bell Kingcobras making gunnery passes at various U.S. bombers who fired upon the P-63s using special frangible ammunition. The Kingcobra was specially modified so that hits on the P-63 registered as flashing lights, therein giving the bomber gunners more realistic training. Former 'Pinball pilot' Ivan Hickman describes this odd yet fascinating program in this 1990 release from Motorbooks. Conceived in the spring of 1942, Operation Pinball was up-and-running by May 1944, the P-63 being selected as the best Bf 109 stand-in. Prior to war's end, the now-redesignated RP-63s helped train hundreds of heavy bomber crews before they shipped off for combat. As with any such innovative program, mishaps did occur and several Kingcobras - and a few target bombers - suffered damage or were downed. Hickman, who was one of the Kingcobra shootdowns, does an entertaining job describing this oddball innovation. He traces the development of aerial gunnery, the impetus for the Pinball program, the background history of the P-39 and -63 and the checkered history of the Pinball program. OPERATION PINBALL is an entertaining read. The author includes many of his own memories along with personal reminiscences of other Pinball pilots and personnel. The book features dozens of interesting and rare photographs of pilots, 'targets' and 'shooters,' armament, turrets, etc. In all likelihood, OPERATION PINBALL will stand as the definitive book on this innovative program. And it's a great read to boot! Recommended.