Gunner's Trail, Trailhead Marker, Lehigh Acres, Florida, USA
Posted by: 
BoomersOTR
N 26° 34.245 W 081° 41.660
17R E 430850 N 2939080
Historical marker located at the beginning trailhead of the Gunner's Trail in Lehigh Acres, Florida.
Waymark Code: WM12NG8
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 06/22/2020
Views: 4
Located at the trailhead to the Gunner's Trail is the second in a series of four historical markers describing the remnants and relics remaining in the area from the former Buckingham Army Air Field and Flexible Gunnery School from World War II.
Historical marker contents:
The Gunner’s Creed
“This is my Ship. I have faith in the Pilot who flies it. I know the Navigator will direct a true course. I trust the Bombardier to destroy our objective. I believe in the abilities of the Crew. Yet the safety of my Ship and the success of our mission depends on me and my guns. I vow solemnly to perform my Duty. I am my Ship’s Gunner.”
George E. Mathison
1st Lt. Air Corps
Training at the Jeep Ranges
You are standing near the site of a former Buckingham Army Air Field gunnery range. It served as a training ground for enlisted personnel during World War II.
Recruits fired at targets visible above the nearby embankment while moving 25-30 mph in the back of a Jeep. Kalamazoo cars also carried large 6 foot square cloth targets on a triangular track, at which the students fired either .30 or .50 caliber machine guns. The smaller Kalamazoo car resembled a miniature railway car and was outfitted with a four cylinder auto engine to propel it around the track. While the cloth target was visible above the solid dirt embankment, the vehicle below the line of fire was protected.
Machine guns were mounted on stationary mounts and in turrets of E-5 truck trainers. Eight turrets with handheld guns were used on each range. the area behind the range was restricted for four miles, although a few grazing cows were still accidentally killed.
Gunning it in World War II
After completing a five-week course, successful graduates were assigned to various bomber groups to operate machine guns on B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, and B-29 Superfortress bombers flying high over WW II’s European and Pacific Theaters.
The newly trained gunners went from Florida’s hot, humid climate to flying at cold, subzero temperatures. This required them to wear heavy, high-altitude flight gear, which included gloves, heated jumpsuits, parachutes, life and flak vests, and oxygen masks. Gunners were located at several turret positions around the aircraft. One of the most dangerous turret positions was down in the ball turret - a cramped, circular enclosure that could turn 360 degrees mounted on the exterior belly side of a plane.
Marker Number: 0
Date: 0
County: Lee
Marker Type: Other
Sponsored or placed by: Lee County Parks and Recreation
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark.
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