In WW2 it was common for the same kill to be claimed by many bombers, possibly even different gunners on the same bomber. However, efforts were made to only award the kill once. Also, gunner kills arent counted the same way that pilot kills are in official records. Gunners with 5 kills arent counted as aces or anything. RIOs and WSOs on modern 2 seat fighters are, however counted as aces if they get 5 kills. Indeed, the leading US scorer of the Vietnam war was a F-4 Phantom backseater, Col Chuck DeBellevue (6 kills). As mentioned in the earlier post, both crewmembers get = credit on the basis that it took both of them. As to who controls what, the pilot has control of the gun, and usually, but not always, is the one that physically fires the missiles by pressing the button. The backseater manipulates the radar, keeps the enemy aircraft locked up, defends against missiles by operating countermeasures such as the chaff, flares, and jammer, and keeps watch over the airplanes 6.
