Just watching some WWII movie and a question just came to me...

Pilots that shoot down another aircraft get "kills", five to be an ace but,

what did the gunners (B-17, etc.) get when they shot down another aircraft?

I tried ye old Google with no luck (although somebody will prove me wrong).

I've seen some old pictures with the actual phrase, "unofficial ace Sgt________, who shot down 8 enemy planes...."

Point is, I don't think there is a title, officially.

A friend of my step father's has 2 kills as a B-24 waist gunner (and apparently has the only waist-gun kill that was filmed). His is usually listed as kills or "downed aircraft".

I asked a friend of mine who is currently on gunner on 60's, and he said that if he happens to get an air-to-air kill the pilot gets the credit.

The AF Historical Research Center has a website that has every kill listed since Korea. You can find it here. I did a search for B-29s and B-52s and the gunners are listed as the dudes with the credit.

In the Vietnam war two B-52 tail-gunners got one-kill each in 1972. SSgt. Samuel Turner on 18 Dec. and A1C Albert Moore on 24 Dec. Both kills were made using a .50 cal. Cool stuff.

Hypothetical: How would an air-to-air kill be scored (ie - who would get credit) if it was a gunship taking out a helicopter below it? And.... what if the person firing the weapon was the enlisted sensor operator in a trainable gun mode of fire rather than the pilot?

Edited May 9, 200718 yr by Airp

The AF Historical Research Center has a website that has every kill listed since Korea. You can find it here. I did a search for B-29s and B-52s and the gunners are listed as the dudes with the credit.

Heritage Hall, a USAF Museum dedicated to USAF (and AAC) enlisted men & women, has a nice section describing kills made by air - air gunners - with credit to the gunner. It's at Gunter and is a great place to visit if you're there and have some free time.