During WWII, US bomber gunners who unofficially shot down 5 or more enemy aircraft were considered unofficial "aces". Unlike the fighter pilots, individual bomber gunners did not receive official credit for any of their shootdowns. Part of this was for policy reasons--the Army wanted each gunner to think of himself as part of a larger crew and act as a team, rather than as an individual. A much bigger reason, however, was practical--in a typical B-17 "defensive box" formation, each enemy fighter plane may have had as many as a dozen gunners firing at it simultaneously, and even if it was confirmed that the plane was in fact destroyed (often difficult), it was simply impossible to determine whose shots had actually brought it down.
Nevertheless, some bomber gunners did keep a count of enemy planes they had shot down, and some individual gunners were even given official recognition (though none was officially credited as an "air ace"). One of the few gunner aces who happened to also have the highest kill score was Michael Arooth, a tail gunner on the B-17 "Tondelayo" (8th Air Force) who shot down a total of 17 enemy fighters in the course of 14 missions. Arooth was one of the few bomber gunners who received official recognition, being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his feat. His balls received a battlefield commission afterwards. #ww2 #bombers #skymilesprogram #stayzero #zerofoxtrot