“ Remember this when reviving a passed out crew mate in the waist in the vicinity of the ball turret--the long recharger hose used to charge the oxygen bottle on the ball turret can be plugged directly into a walk-around bottle attached to the unconscious crew member's mask.
If other long recharger hoses can be obtained from Tech Supply they will be extremely handy attached at the pilots station, in the bomb bay and to the recharger outlet at the right waist gunner's station. This would permit the engineer, who in flight is continuously filling his walk-around bottle, considerable liberty. ”

“ Breathing becomes shallow -- and the demand system gives just what is asked of it -- a weak inspiration brings a small squirt of oxygen. So, you'll have to help him with artificial respiration, learn it -- your flight surgeon will show you how.
Caution: Above 20,000 feet, get assistance to give artificial respiration. It will be strenuous work -- a job for several men, not one. Take turns of one to three minutes each.
THE B-29 AT HIGH ALTITUDE
The B-29 is designed to permit you to fly at high altitude without the usual disadvantages of extreme cold, diminished pressure, and decreased oxygen. ”

“ Ship's oxygen supply, charged to 450 pounds, lasts 6 hours or less.
THE "EMERGENCY" VALVE IS DANGEROUS -- it should be used with extreme caution. A whole system can be depleted of oxygen in an hour or less if the "emergency" is opened only a quarter of a turn. Emergency "ON" changes regulator into a constant flow system and wastes precious oxygen. Use only to revive an unconscious crew member or to check line to make sure it is clear. Always make sure that "Emergency" is TIGHTLY TURNED OFF before ship leaves the ground. ”

“ In case of loss of the entire oxygen supply of any one system, the affected crew member may move to any other convenient regulator in the ship with these exceptions:
The nose gunner may not move to the navigator-bombardier regulator if the entire system is out. The radio operator may not move to the bomb-bay regulator if the entire system is out. The bottom turret gunner may not move to the camera tunnel regulator. ”

“ If explosive decompression occurred at 30,000 ft, the pressure altitude of the cabins would change from 8,000 ft to 30,000 ft in less than one second. What would happen in such a case?
PHYSICAL EFFECTS:
The human body is affected very little by explosive decompression. IF YOU GET OXYGEN YOU WILL SUFFER NO HARMFUL EFFECT. You may feel a little distension of the belly or a little rush of air from the lungs, but this is generally slight and of no consequence. Your ears should clear automatically since you are going up, not down. ”

“ Only older ships will be equipped with the bouncing ball which is no longer manufactured. These indicators do not tell HOW MUCH oxygen you are getting ... they merely indicate that some oxygen is flowing through the system when you take a breath. They may be working O.K. even though your oxygen supply is inadequate. The COLOR OF YOUR FINGER NAILS is a better guide to the amount of oxygen you are getting, providing your hands are warm. If they become bluish above 20,000 feet check mask and connections for leak. ”

“ The important thing in explosive decompression is to get oxygen rapidly. To get oxygen rapidly you MUST at all times:
Wear your helmet with the mask attached-let the mask hang from the helmet. Otherwise you may lose your mask and helmet. Keep the regulator hose clipped to your clothing and your mask plugged in. ”

“ Leave the mask on--it will protect your face. If the skies are filled with enemy planes it may be wise to continue the free fall. By now you can start breathing without danger of serious oxygen-lack. Any dimming of mental acuity would be of such short duration that you'd have plenty of time to pull the ripcord. ”

“ Because of the extreme cold to which gunners are subjected under combat conditions, you MUST learn to remove and replace the mask quickly and accurately WEARING HEAVY GLOVES. It is not easy to manipulate a mask or unjam a .50 cal. gun with numb fingers in heavy flying gloves. PRACTICE these things on every training flight with gloves ON.
FITTING THE MASK TO THE FACE -- There are two considerations in obtaining a proper fit:
An AIR-TIGHT SEAL of mask to face. Comfort of fit without undue pressure. The A-10-A and A-14 masks come in three sizes. ”

“ Use oxygen from ground level on night missions to prevent night blindness. Increased altitude increases oxygen supply AUTOMATICALLY. Percentage of oxygen delivered keeps you at ground level efficiency. Ships oxygen supply, charged to 450 pounds lasts 10 men from 7 to 9 hours. ”

“ Freezing of moist oxygen at extremely low temperature. Obstruction of openings in regulator. Hole in rubber diaphragm in regulator. Breathing too deeply may produce a partial vacuum inside mask causing air to leak in from bottom or sides. BREATHE NATURALLY. Don't expect to get oxygen from an empty walk-around bottle. If not fully charged, the bottle may last only a minute or two. Improper use of walk-around equipment. OXYGEN DISCIPLINE
It is mandatory that every member of a heavy combat crew be highly trained in oxygen discipline. ”

“ THE RAPID DISCONNECT REQUIRES CONSTANT ATTENTION whether you are plugged into a fixed station or into a walk-around bottle. A pull of at least 12 pounds should be required to separate the male and female connection of the rapid disconnect. The security of the connection can be increased by spreading the groups at the tip of the male connection. ”

“ The same procedure must be employed even if one or more of the systems is already fully charged since there is no way of equalizing pressure among the different manifolds. Do not attempt to use any system in which the pressure is less than 50 to 75 pounds per square inch. Under these conditions the oxygen flow is very weak. More dangerous is the possibility of moisture getting into the oxygen line through the main recharger valve. This will result in freezing in the line or one of the regulators on the next trip to high altitude. ”

“ Lend your mask only in extreme emergency. Protect your mask from hot sun, moisture, and rough treatment. Report all defective oxygen equipment to ground crew and to personal equipment officer immediately on landing. See that it has been repaired or replaced before another altitude mission. OXYGEN SYSTEMS IN THE B-17
The Army Air Forces use the low pressure system (maximum charge 450 pounds per square inch) in preference to the high pressure system (1800 pounds per square inch) for these reasons:
Cylinders do not explode when hit. ”

“ Through long hours of tiring training you have developed superior judgment, ability to make decisions quickly, and efficiently in firing and in other duties. Most of your training has been confined to relatively low altitudes in a relatively "normal" environment. ”

“ Pilot uses Engineer's regulator hose from right front system. Right front system out: Bombardier on walk-around bottle plugged into Navigator's recharger hose. Engineer same on Pilot's recharger hose. Copilot on top turret regulator hose (hose too short in later models) . Left rear system out: RO on one regulator from across aisle. ARO on regulator right radio compartment. AE on walk-around bottle on recharger hose, right radio compartment. AG on waist regulator, right. AG on tail regulator, right. Right rear system out: RO regular position. ARO on bomb bay regulator. ”

“ The turrets on the earlier models (B-17F) are supplied with F-l type cylinders having a capacity of approximately 14 cubic feet when fully charged to 450 pounds. Under these conditions a fully charged bottle lasts one man approximately 2 hours. (Note: these bottles are recharged from the ship's supply during flight, so it will not be possible to fully charge them after several hours of flight on oxygen. They will be no fuller than the pressure in the system from which they are charged--front left system for top turret; rear left system for ball turret) . ”

“ Application of this formula is much simpler in the B-24, since usually only one, and at the most two, men are using a single system.
VARIATIONS:
The exact location of the demand regulators in a ship is variable, depending upon the model, place of installation, etc. It is extremely important that you familiarize yourself with the location of the regulators in your ship, so that you can move from one to the other in darkness, in case of emergency. ”

“ Always have a reducing valve between high pressure supply cylinders and ship's oxygen system.
Attach recharger hoses to cylinders of both turrets in B-17 or B-24. Open valves on both commercial, high pressure cylinders on recharger cart. Turn in reducing valve on recharging cart to 100 pounds in the low pressure gage. Insert nipple of hose from recharger cart into filler valve of plane just inside nose escape hatch (B-17) or left side of fuselage (B-24 and B-29) . Fully open valve at end of hose and wait until oxygen stops flowing. ”

“ Failure to do this has caused more pass-outs in second and third phase training than any other single cause ... unless you include carelessness. And careless people don't last long in the kind of work you're specializing in! ”

“ Tunnel -- During an explosive decompression a high velocity wind passes through the tunnel sufficiently strong to blow a man out the exits, and cause serious injury. The newer ships will have tunnel doors with small port hole openings ”

“ Hold mask to face firmly with left hand. Disengage mask clip from helmet with right hand. Holding mask snugly in position with left hand, take 3 or 4 deep breaths of oxygen. Remove mask with left hand, HOLDING BREATH. The right hand is free to service mask, to blow nose or to administer food or drink. Hold mask in left hand. ”