buzznelson has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 0 lists, listed 0 words, written 3 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 0 words.
buzznelson has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 0 lists, listed 0 words, written 3 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 0 words.
Comments by buzznelson
buzznelson commented on the word pickle switch
Mollusque quotes G Books (1960-1964). You believe that is more valid then the living memory of men that used the term at least twenty years earlier?
June 6, 2011
buzznelson commented on the word pickle switch
"Pickle Switch" was not the official nomenclature of the control the bombardier used to release individual bombs. It was called that by the flight crew that flew the bombing missions.
The B17 bombardier had several options when deciding how to begin dropping bombs. He could use a device that released bombs at timed intervals or he could salvo the entire load.
The "Pickle Switch" was use when he wanted to release a single bomb. Then he would hold the switch in his hand while sighting through the Norden Bombsight. When he was satisfied he was on the target he pressed the release button that was incorporated in the center of the switch - "Pickling" away a single bomb.
This description was related to me by my father who was an engineer employed 41 years with the Boeing Company. During WWII he was the B17 Project Engineer.
Further substantiation was provided today, with a telephone conversation with my former Boeing Flight Test boss who was a WWII B17 pilot and flew 25 bombing missions over Europe.
If he was alive today, I can imagine my father reaction to the notion that Google provides the answer to all questions.
June 6, 2011
buzznelson commented on the word pickle switch
The Norden Bombsight used by American B17 Bombers during WWII often was claimed to be so accurate that, by using it, you could drop bombs in a "pickle barrel". Hence the switch used by the bombardier to release his bombs was referred to as the "pickle switch". Now, any switch use to fire weapons or start a start a particular event may be named a pickle switch.
June 4, 2011