Ron
Frisco,
Different times, different units, different usage. 187th AHC and the rest of 25th division had door gunners on slicks so as to protect the legs as they hit the ground, also to shoot their way into and out of an LZ.
On ?ash and trash? missions to a safe areas, on occasion, no door gunner or even crew chiefs were used. However our CO really frowned on that because you never knew when grunts would call saying they had WIA?s. If you were close, you?d take the call. If the pilot had to fly into an AO were folks were shooting, he wanted his own gunmen.
The crew chief was on the drivers side. That?s were the fuel tank was located and refueling was part of his job description. OK, the fuel tank covered a good portion of the butt end, but the JP-4 gas cap was on the Crew Chief?s side. The door gunner was on the passengers side. There was a post upon which an aviation M-60 was mounted (they Gerry rigged our 60s so the trigger was similar to a 50, except you pulled, not pushed to fire). However, on occasion you?d find a 60 that was attached to the ceiling by a rope and the gunner didn?t use a seat belt, rather he used ?monkey straps?. In this way the guy could lean out and fire directly under the bird or fire further to the front and rear.
Ron, I?m sure there were a lot of units that did things differently but the short answer to your question is Door Gunners were always behind the co-pilot.
Stay healthy,
Andy
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