I was looking at the Firefly today…
The Firefly must have the only gunner - who doesn’t have any gun!
I mean, he’s a brave fella. He’s riding behind his mate, separated from him by a huge fuel tank, into combat. Neither he nor the tank has any armour, but luckily his mate has armour protecting him from behind. You know, in case his gunner (the one without a gun) shoots at him. Through the fuel tank full of highly volatile aircraft petrol.
Design Team: “Well, mistakes were made, let’s not dwell on it!”
This gunner’s is a job I don’t want to have. Directly after “land mine quality control”.
One COULD argue that the Firefly is meant to fly in harm’s way and that therefor the armour plate is protecting the fuel tank and the “gunner” from whatever is coming at them from the front.
Which makes perfect sense as well, I mean, okay, the pilot is a sieve, and the plane is plummeting towards the ground, but at least the fuel is “safe”. And the gunner.
Who cannot even reach his mate to put on some bandaids.
Design Team: "Well, yes, it seemed like a good idea at the time… "
"Take me out to the black,
Tell them I ain’t comin back.
Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can’t take the sky from me…"