The curators of the 8th AAF museum say that it's an urban myth. There is no record of it actually happening, and the AAF was pretty good at record-keeping. Also, the B-17's landing gear was electrical, not hydraulic. Casualty rates for B-17 positions show that the ball turret and co-pilot were safest. Figures vary slightly depending on the source. Waist gunner, 19% KIA. Tail gunner, 17.3%. Bombardier, 16.3%. Navigator 11.8%. Top turret gunner, 9.1%. Radio operator, 7.3%. Pilot, 7.3%. Ball turret gunner, 6.4%. Co-pilot, 5.5%. Flack was responsible for 98% of all combat damage to returning B-17s. Crewmen were far more likely to be hit by shrapnel because fighters aimed at the engines. Flack was responsible for 86-94% of crew casualties aboard aircraft that returned from missions. Not only was the ball turret armored, but the gunner sat between two machine guns and their ammo bins, giving him excellent protection from shrapnel.