Modern aces

The US had two pilot aces in Vietnam, one Navy and one Air Force each
claiming
five and three Weapons Officers two Air Force and one Navy. As important
as
the rear seater is in a two seat fighter aircraft there is to me something
a
little disengenuous about crediting them as aces. For example both Navy
aces
flew together as a team. To compare their claims at first glance it seems
they
downed ten aircraft together and there is a photo of thier aircraft with
ten
victory markings but in fact together they only destroyed five.

Well, the RIO gets the same grave or prison cell if you screw up. It seems
only fair he shares the credit for the kills. A good RIO is worth his
weight in gold. A fair to middlin' one isn't worth 300 pounds of JP. I've
experienced both.

I've never seen a publicity shot of the Cunningham/Driscoll jet with ten
kills displayed, just the five.

R / John