Aircraft began with single-man crews as engines were too weak to support the weight of a second man. As engine power increased, more crewmen were added as neccessary. Because of a forward pilot's relative lack of vision to the rear, rear observers were placed in many World War I fighter aircraft. These observers were soon equipped with machine guns to protect the plane's emperiled rear. As airplanes grew larger, more crew were added to protect the bigger plane. World War II strategic bombers were strategic targets, so they required crews of up to ten to not only fly the plane and drop the bombs but to man machine gun emplacements on the sides, rear, top, bottom, and nose of the bomber.
However, computer and countermeasure technology evolved and began to replace gunners. Countermeasures could confuse missiles, the new aerial combat weapon of the age, which gunners couldn't shoot down anyway. Computers could man turrets that automatically tracked large targets. The B-52 strategic nuclear bomber, much larger than its World War II predeccessors, had a flight crew of four or five. It had large amounts of radar-confusing aluminum chaff pods, magnesium flares to distract infrared (heat-seeking) missiles, and a computerized rear turret with twin 20mm autocannon. One of the more common flightline pranks of B-52 crews was to turn on the computerized turret after the ammunition was unloaded. Techs walking past the back of the plane would look to see the turret with its twin barrels tracking them, the dry automatic loading mechanism clicking ominously. Very disturbing.
Warfare progressed back into the realm of dogfighting as aerospace fighters evolved. Advanced direct-fire weaponry made missiles obsolescent and guided bombs removed the need for dedicated bombadiers. Yet additional gunners never made a comeback, even though they could be useful once more.
TME has changed all that. With the new Luftsturmtiger, Escort, and Liberator aerospace craft, an aerospace vehicle can now protect itself from multiple directions at once.
GAME RULES
Multiple crew members allow aerospace fighters to 1) fire into more than one non-foreward/wing arc than once and 2) avoid secondary target to-hit penalties. Each additional crew member is given a single fire arc to manage the weapons in (unless he is operating an Aerospace Vehicle Turret). In addition to the pilot firing the nose and wing weapons at a single target, each gunner can attack an additional target with no penalty.
Critical hits against the weapons operated by the gunners cause damage to the gunners (like pilots). In addition, each weapon critical hit causes a chance that the gunner is instantly killed (see below for rolls).
Additional crew can be added in two ways:
Each crewmember has a dedicated life-support system in an enclosed capsule (read: cockpit). Each additional crewman costs 3 tons. The benefit of this system is that each gunner is enclosed and therefore 1) each gunner has six hit points, much like the pilot, 2) is only instantly killed on 11+ on 2D6, and 3) if he is killed, no detrimental effect is incurred on the rest of the crew (since only his compartment was breached). The downsides to this system are 1) if different gunners concentrate on a single enemy, they gain no bonus from advising each other and 2) killed crewmembers cannot be replaced by surviving crewmembers. If the pilot gets it, he gets it. Cost for each additional crewmember is 150,000 C-Bills, not including salary.
All crewmembers share the same life-support system in a relatively open cabin, much like a ground-based vehicle. It is somewhat compartmentalized, but is still inherently dangerous. The benefits of this way is that 1) each new crewmember costs only .5 ton, 2) gunners that concentrate on a single enemy get a -1 to-hit number bonus due to shared advice, and 3) killed crewmembers can be replaced by surviving crewmembers. The downsides are that 1) each gunner has only four hit points, 2) can be instantly killed on 9+ on 2D6, 3) instant kills can kill the rest of the crew--each crewmember, including the pilot, must roll 2D6, on 9+ they are killed, and 4) once the armor of the nose (if there is a nose gunner), cockpit, or fuselage (rear for Aerotech 2), all crew die. Cost for each additional crewmember is only 10,000 C-Bills, not including salary.
A crewmember is ensconced within an Aerospace Vehicle Turret. This has benefits from both of the above methods. Mass for this crewman is only .5 tons. He has 6 hit points, and is damaged only when turret sustains a critical hit. Is enclosed, so his death does not cause a chain reaction throughout the cabin nor can he be replaced if killed. Gains no bonus for concentrating on a target with another crewman. If the turret armor is destroyed, crewman is killed. Cost for additional crewmember is 20,000 C-Bills, not including salary nor cost of turret.