How a B-17 Gunner Did the Impossible

On May 1, 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 306th Bomb Group was on fire and about to break apart over German-occupied France. On board, a 31-year-old ball turret gunner named Maynard Harrison Smith was about to perform actions that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Despite a difficult personality and a crew that did not initially like him, Smith would take on an impossible mission to save his comrades.

The Man Behind the Turret

Maynard Smith was far from a typical soldier. At 5’4″ and already twice-divorced, he had a reputation for stubbornness and temper. Nicknamed “Snuffy” after a comic strip character, he often clashed with fellow airmen. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and trained as a ball turret gunner, a cramped and dangerous position under the aircraft, perfect for his stature.

The Mission Over St. Nair

Smith’s first mission targeted heavily defended docks at St. Nair, France. The flight went smoothly at first, but a navigation error led the bombers to approach Brest instead of England. At low altitude, the formation came under intense anti-aircraft fire and was attacked by Luftwaffe fighters. B-17 649, with Smith in the ball turret, was the most vulnerable.

Heroism in the Face of Fire

As tracer rounds flew past, Smith’s turret controls failed, forcing him to hand-crank the turret. Fires broke out in the fuselage, and crew members began bailing out. Smith refused to leave, alternating between fighting fires, manning the waist guns, and tending to a critically wounded tail gunner.

He extinguished flames with an extinguisher, water, and even urine, all while under enemy fire. His efforts kept the B-17 flying and saved the lives of the seven crew members who remained on board.

Recognition and Legacy

After landing at Portreath Air Base in England, the battered B-17 broke in half, yet the crew survived.

Smith received the Medal of Honor, becoming the only enlisted man in the Eighth Air Force to earn the award during World War II. His career continued briefly, but he was eventually grounded and later returned home, still celebrated as a war hero.