22. Not all of the airborne aces were pilots
Official recognition has never been given to scores of airmen directly responsible for five or more aerial victories over enemy aircraft. These were the men who served as aircrews, in the Air Forces and Naval Aviation units during World War II. Several men who flew in heavy bombers operated machine guns, destroying enemy fighters attacking their groups. In the US Navy, rear gunners in torpedo planes, dive bombers, and assault aircraft defended their craft and others. Frederick Barker of the RAF destroyed 13 German airplanes, serving in a Bolton-Paul Defiant. Staff Sergeant Michael Arooth received credit for 17 aircraft destroyed as a tail gunner in B-17s.
Regardless of the side on which they served, they endured frigid conditions, anti-aircraft fire, and the high-speed fighters puncturing the thin skins of their aircraft with heavy-caliber bullets and shells. In recent years, some attempts have been made to identify them and compile accurate lists of their contribution to their nation’s respective war efforts. In the United States 8th Air Force alone, gunners on B-17s and B-24s destroyed over 6,000 enemy aircraft, with another nearly 2,000 listed as probably destroyed. America’s list of aviation aces, which demands five kills for entry, ignores the names of the many gunners who meet that criteria.