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Why one B-24 gunner modified his ammunition against direct orders during WW2 — and became the deadliest bomber gunner in the Pacific with 16 confirmed kills. This World War 2 story reveals how questioning a single "safety regulation" changed aerial warfare.
October 31, 1943. Technical Sergeant Arthur Benko, top turret gunner aboard B-24 Liberator "The Goon," crouched behind twin fifty-caliber machine guns over Haiphong as 29 Japanese Zeros climbed toward his formation. The night before, he had modified every ammunition belt in a way that violated standard procedure. His armorer warned him. His squadron commander told him it was regulation. Every other gunner in the 308th Bomb Group called it suicide.
They were all wrong.
What Benko discovered through fifteen years of competitive marksmanship wasn't taught in any aerial gunnery school. Japanese pilots were killing American gunners by exploiting something in standard-issue ammunition that seemed helpful but was actually deadly. By the end of that engagement — the Halloween Massacre over Haiphong — seven Zeros burned in the rice paddies below. Within two weeks, three-quarters of his bomb group started loading their guns the same wa
October 31, 1943. Technical Sergeant Arthur Benko, top turret gunner aboard B-24 Liberator "The Goon," crouched behind twin fifty-caliber machine guns over Haiphong as 29 Japanese Zeros climbed toward his formation. The night before, he had modified every ammunition belt in a way that violated standard procedure. His armorer warned him. His squadron commander told him it was regulation. Every other gunner in the 308th Bomb Group called it suicide.
They were all wrong.
What Benko discovered through fifteen years of competitive marksmanship wasn't taught in any aerial gunnery school. Japanese pilots were killing American gunners by exploiting something in standard-issue ammunition that seemed helpful but was actually deadly. By the end of that engagement — the Halloween Massacre over Haiphong — seven Zeros burned in the rice paddies below. Within two weeks, three-quarters of his bomb group started loading their guns the same wa
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00:00At 7.30 a.m. on October 31, 1943, Technical Sergeant Arthur Benko crouched behind the twin .50 caliber machine
00:08guns in the top turret of a B-24 Liberator over Haifong, watching 29 Japanese Zero fighters climb toward his
00:16formation through broken clouds at 12,000 feet.
00:1932 years old, 17 combat missions over Japanese-held territory, 7 confirmed kills. The Japanese had scrambled 29 Mitsubishi A6M
00:30Zero fighters from Gyalam Airfield to intercept the morning raid.
00:35Benko's squadron had lost 11 gunners in the previous four months. The pattern was always the same. Japanese fighters spotted
00:42the bright streaks of tracer fire arcing from American bombers.
00:45They followed those glowing lines straight back to the gun positions. Most gunners never survived the first pass.
00:52Every B-24 gunner in the 14th Air Force loaded their ammunition belts the same way. Four ball rounds, one
00:59tracer. Four ball rounds, one tracer.
01:02The tracers were supposed to help gunners adjust their aim. The bright phosphorus rounds showed exactly where bullets were going.
01:09Benko thought that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. He had grown up in Bisbee, Arizona, captain of
01:15the football team at Bisbee High School in 1928.
01:18After graduation, he worked as an electrician in the copper mines. But his real passion was competitive shooting.
01:25He spent weekends at the rifle range. He loaded his own ammunition. He studied ballistics. He practiced until his hands
01:32cramped.
01:32In 1937, he placed sixth in the National Rifle Championship. In 1940, he won the Arizona State Rifle Championship.
01:41He was president of the Bisbee Rifle and Pistol Club. When he volunteered for the Army in 1941, he was
01:4730 years old.
01:48Most recruits were barely 20. The recruiting sergeant looked at his age. Then he looked at Benko's shooting scores.
01:54He sent him straight to aerial gunnery school at Las Vegas Army Airfield in Nevada.
01:59Benko graduated top of his class. He was assigned to the 374th Bomb Squadron, 308th Bomb Group.
02:06They deployed to China in early 1943. He became top turret gunner on a B-24D Liberator nicknamed the Goon.
02:16The first time Benko inspected his ammunition, he saw the tracer rounds loaded into every belt.
02:21He knew immediately what would happen. Japanese fighter pilots were not stupid.
02:26They would see the glowing streaks. They would follow them back. They would kill the gunner.
02:32That night, Benko sat in the armament tent with 500 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition spread across a wooden table.
02:39He carefully removed every single tracer round. He replaced them with standard ball ammunition.
02:45No phosphorus. No glow. No bright line pointing directly at his position.
02:50The other gunners thought he was insane. Tracers helped you see where you were shooting.
02:55How could you hit anything without them? Benko told them he had been shooting competitively for 15 years.
03:01He did not need glowing bullets to know where his rounds were going.
03:05He knew his gun. He knew his ballistics. He trusted his training.
03:09If you want to see how Benko's tracer trick turned out, please hit that like button.
03:14It helps us share more stories like this. And please subscribe if you haven't already.
03:19Back to Benko.
03:20The armorer warned him he was making a mistake. His squadron commander told him the tracers were regulation.
03:27Benko did not care. He flew his first combat mission with pure ball ammunition.
03:32No tracers. No glowing lines in the sky. October 31st. Halloween.
03:38The zeros were climbing fast. Benko rotated his turret. He checked his ammunition feed.
03:44500 rounds. Not a single tracer in the belt. The lead zero was 3,000 feet below and closing.
03:51In the next four minutes, everything Benko believed about aerial gunnery would either save his life or prove his squadron
03:57commander right.
03:59The first zero opened fire at 1,800 yards. Too far. The 20mm cannon rounds fell away beneath the goon's
04:07belly.
04:08Benko waited. His gunner's manual set to open fire at 1,000 yards. Benko had read that manual.
04:15Then he had thrown away half of what it taught. He watched the zero climb.
04:201,500 yards. 1,200 yards. The fighter's wings flashed in the morning sun.
04:26Benko tracked him through his reflector sight. His finger rested on the trigger.
04:31Not yet. 1,000 yards. The zero's nose lifted. The pilot was lining up his guns.
04:38Benko squeezed the trigger. The twin fifties roared. 50 rounds per second.
04:44No tracers. No glowing trail. Just invisible death cutting through the air at 2,900 feet per second.
04:51The zero's canopy shattered. The fighter rolled left and fell away trailing smoke.
04:57Benko was already tracking the second zero. He fired a three second burst. The zero's engine exploded.
05:04Two down in 40 seconds. The Japanese pilots had no idea where the fire was coming from.
05:09They saw American bombers. They saw muzzle flashes. But they saw no tracer streams. No bright lines showing them exactly
05:17which turret was shooting.
05:19They scattered. Benko rotated his turret to the right. A zero was making a beam attack on the B-24
05:26flying off the goon's wing.
05:27The Japanese pilot was focused on that other bomber. He never saw Benko's guns swing toward him. Benko fired. The
05:36zero's wing tore off.
05:38Three kills. Other gunners in the formation were firing. Their tracer rounds drew bright orange lines across the sky.
05:45Japanese pilots followed those tracers back to their sources. They concentrated their fire on the gun positions they could see.
05:52Two B-24s fell out of formation. 16 American gunners died in the next 90 seconds. But no Japanese pilot
06:00could see Benko's fire.
06:02His bullets arrived with no warning. No glowing advertisement of his position. He was invisible. He was death from nowhere.
06:11A zero dove beneath the goon and pulled up hard for a belly attack. Benko rotated his turret and fired
06:17straight down.
06:18The burst walked up the zero's fuselage and into the cockpit. Four kills.
06:24The air battle lasted eight minutes. Benko fired 640 rounds. His barrels glowed red from the heat.
06:32Five zeroes burned in the rice paddies below Haiphong. Two more spiraled into the gulf trailing fire and smoke.
06:39When the goon landed back at Chengkong Airfield in China three hours later, Benko's squadron commander was waiting.
06:46He had counted the gun camera footage. Seven confirmed kills. Seven Japanese fighters destroyed by one gunner in one mission.
06:55It was the highest single mission score for any bomber gunner in the 14th Air Force.
06:59The other gunners wanted to know how he had done it. Benko showed them his ammunition belts.
07:05Pure ball rounds. No tracers. They finally understood. The Japanese could not kill what they could not see.
07:14Within a week, half the gunners in the 308th bomb group had removed their tracers. Within two weeks, it was
07:21three quarters.
07:21The modification spread to other squadrons. Other bomb groups. Benko had started something.
07:28But removing tracers was only part of what made Benko different. His shooting scores were not luck.
07:34They were the result of 15 years of competitive marksmanship.
07:38He knew exactly where his rounds were going without needing glowing bullets to show him.
07:42Most gunners could not do that. Benko's kill count climbed.
07:46Eight confirmed. Ten confirmed. Twelve confirmed by mid-November.
07:51He was approaching the records held by fighter pilots.
07:55Fighter aces got medals in publicity and returned home as heroes.
07:59Bomber gunners just kept flying missions until they died or completed their tour.
08:04November 14th, 1943. Two weeks after Haiphong.
08:09Benko climbed into his turret for a mission to Hong Kong. His confirmed kill total stood at seven.
08:14His bomber carried 2,000-pound bombs and six 500-pound incendiaries.
08:20The target was Hong Kong Harbor.
08:22And waiting over the harbor were more Japanese Zeros than Benko had ever seen in one place.
08:29The briefing had been short.
08:31Fourteen B-24 liberators from the 308th bomb group would hit Japanese shipping in Hong Kong Harbor.
08:38Intelligence estimated light fighter opposition.
08:41Maybe a dozen Zeros based at Kai Tak airfield.
08:44The bombers would approach from the north at 16,000 feet.
08:48Drop their ordnance. Turn for home.
08:51Intelligence was wrong.
08:53The goon lifted off from Cheng Kung at 0530 on November 14th.
08:57Pilot Captain Samuel Skousen held formation as the squadron climbed to altitude.
09:03Benko test fired his guns over the mountains of southern China.
09:06Both 50s functioned perfectly.
09:09He had loaded fresh ammunition belts the night before.
09:12One thousand rounds.
09:14Zero tracers.
09:15The flight to Hong Kong took two hours and 40 minutes.
09:19The formation crossed the Chinese coast at 14,000 feet and began their climb to bombing altitude.
09:25The South China Sea stretched grey and empty below them.
09:30At 0810, the bombardier spotted Hong Kong Island through broken clouds.
09:35At 0812, the first Zeros appeared.
09:38Japanese commanders at Kai Tak had been expecting the raid.
09:42They had scrambled every available fighter.
09:44Thirty-four Mitsubishi A6M Zeros climbed to meet the American bombers.
09:50Thirty-four.
09:51Benko counted them through his gunsight.
09:53More fighters than he had ammunition for.
09:56More fighters than his entire squadron could handle.
09:59This was going to be bad.
10:00The Zeros attacked in coordinated pairs.
10:03They had learned from previous encounters with American bombers.
10:06They no longer made single passes.
10:09They swarmed.
10:10Two fighters would attack from the nose, while two more came from the beam and two more from below.
10:16Overlapping fields of fire.
10:18Overwhelming defensive positions.
10:20The lead Zero came in high and fast.
10:23Benko tracked him and fired a four-second burst.
10:26The Zero's engine disintegrated.
10:28The fighter snapped inverted and fell.
10:31One down.
10:33Two more Zeros attacked from the right.
10:35Benko rotated his turret and caught the leader with a concentrated burst to the cockpit.
10:39The second Zero broke off.
10:42Two down.
10:43A Zero made a head-on pass at the goon.
10:46Benko could not bring his top turret to bear on a target directly ahead.
10:50He watched the nose gunner's tracers stream toward the fighter.
10:54The Zero's guns flashed.
10:56Twenty-millimeter rounds punched through the goon's nose section.
10:59The bombardier, First Lieutenant Malcolm Sanders, took a direct hit.
11:04He died instantly.
11:06Three Zeros attacked from below.
11:08Benko rotated his turret downward and fired at the leader.
11:12The burst hit the Zero's wing root.
11:15The wing folded and the fighter tumbled away.
11:18Three down.
11:19The formation was breaking apart.
11:21B-24s scattered across ten miles of sky.
11:25Some turned back toward China.
11:27Others pressed on toward the target.
11:29Japanese fighters pursued them all.
11:32Benko fired constantly.
11:34Short controlled bursts.
11:36Four seconds.
11:37Traverse.
11:37Fire.
11:38Traverse.
11:39Fire.
11:40A Zero exploded.
11:42Four down.
11:43Another fell away trailing smoke.
11:46Five down.
11:47The goon's number three engine began losing oil pressure.
11:50Black smoke streamed from the cowling.
11:52Captain Skousen shut it down and feathered the propeller.
11:56The bomber slowed.
11:58They were falling behind the formation.
12:01Falling behind meant dying alone.
12:03Japanese fighters concentrated on stragglers.
12:07Benko knew what was coming.
12:08He rotated his turret and waited.
12:10Six zeroes peeled off from the main battle and dove toward the goon.
12:16Benko counted them.
12:17Checked his ammunition counter.
12:19400 rounds remaining.
12:21He would need every single one.
12:24The six zeroes came in waves.
12:27Two from above.
12:28Two from the beam.
12:30Two from below.
12:31Classic Japanese fighter tactics.
12:33Overwhelming a single target from multiple angles.
12:37Benko took the high pair first.
12:39They dove out of the sun at 400 miles per hour.
12:42He led the first zero by three aircraft lengths and fired.
12:46The burst caught the fighter's engine.
12:48Flames erupted from the cowling.
12:51The zero rolled onto its back and fell away burning.
12:55Six down.
12:56The second zero from above broke right.
12:59Benko tracked him through the turn and fired a two second burst.
13:02The rounds walked across the zeroes fuselage.
13:05The canopy shattered.
13:06The fighter went into a flat spin.
13:09Seven down.
13:10The beam attack came from the left.
13:13Two zeroes in tight formation.
13:15They opened fire at 1200 yards.
13:18Their 20 millimeter rounds tore through the goon's left wing.
13:21Hydraulic fluid sprayed across the aluminum skin.
13:25Benko rotated his turret and engaged the leader.
13:27His first burst missed.
13:29He corrected and fired again.
13:32The zeroes wing exploded.
13:33Eight down.
13:35The second zero from the beam continued his attack run.
13:39His guns flashed.
13:41Rounds punched through the goon's tail section.
13:43The rudder shredded.
13:45Captain Skousen fought to keep the bomber level.
13:48Benko fired at the attacking zero.
13:50A three second burst.
13:52The rounds hit the fighter's fuel tank.
13:54The zero disintegrated in a ball of orange fire.
13:58Nine down.
13:59The two zeroes attacking from below pulled up hard.
14:03One positioned himself directly beneath the goon where Benko's top turret could not reach him.
14:08The other climbed for another pass.
14:11Benko rotated his turret to track the climbing zero.
14:14His ammunition counter read 140 rounds.
14:17He squeezed the trigger.
14:19Nothing happened.
14:21The guns had jammed.
14:23He cleared the jam in eight seconds.
14:25Pulled the charging handles.
14:27Recharged both weapons.
14:28The zero was 500 yards out and closing.
14:32Benko fired.
14:33The burst shredded the zeroes tail section.
14:35The fighter spun out of control.
14:38Ten aircraft damaged or destroyed in 12 minutes.
14:41But the goon was dying.
14:43Number three engine dead.
14:45Number four engine overheating.
14:47Hydraulics failing.
14:48Rudder damaged.
14:50The bomber was losing altitude at 300 feet per minute.
14:53Captain Skousen called the crew on the intercom.
14:56They were 40 miles from the Chinese coast.
14:58He did not know if the bomber would make it.
15:00He ordered everyone to prepare to bail out.
15:03Benko looked down at the South China Sea.
15:06Japanese patrol boats moved between the islands.
15:08The water was cold.
15:10November.
15:11If they went down in the ocean.
15:13Japanese vessels would reach them within an hour.
15:15Capture meant torture.
15:17Execution.
15:18He had heard the stories.
15:20The goon crossed the coastline at 8,000 feet.
15:23Still losing altitude.
15:24Captain Skousen aimed for Quailin Airfield.
15:28160 miles inland.
15:29The number four engine began throwing sparks.
15:32At 6,000 feet.
15:33The number four engine caught fire.
15:36Flames streamed past the wing.
15:38The fire suppression system failed.
15:39Captain Skousen gave the order.
15:42Bail out.
15:43Now.
15:43The co-pilot.
15:45First Lieutenant Ralph Bowers.
15:46Went first.
15:47He jumped from the nose hatch and his parachute deployed clean.
15:51The navigator.
15:52First Lieutenant Daniel Palmer.
15:53Followed.
15:54Benko climbed down from his turret.
15:56The radio operator.
15:57Technical Sergeant William Novak.
15:59Was already at the waste gun window.
16:01Three more crew members were lined up.
16:04Benko grabbed his parachute pack.
16:05The bomber was at 4,000 feet when he reached the hatch.
16:09Below him was occupied China.
16:11Japanese troops controlled every village.
16:13Every road.
16:15Every rice paddy.
16:16Captain Skousen shouted from the cockpit.
16:18He was staying with the aircraft.
16:20He would try to land it at Quailin.
16:22The engineer.
16:23Technical Sergeant Archie Flayhardi.
16:25Stayed with him.
16:26So did Novak.
16:27Benko looked at the burning engine.
16:30Looked at the altimeter.
16:313,800 feet.
16:33He made his decision.
16:35He jumped.
16:36His parachute deployed at 3,000 feet.
16:38He drifted down toward the hills of southern China.
16:41And toward whatever was waiting for him on the ground.
16:46Benko hit the ground in a bamboo grove.
16:4917 miles northeast of Hong Kong.
16:51He rolled to absorb the impact.
16:53Cut away his parachute harness.
16:55Gathered the silk canopy.
16:57And stuffed it under a fallen log.
17:00Japanese patrols would be searching for American airmen.
17:03A white parachute visible from the air.
17:05Meant capture within hours.
17:08He checked his survival kit.
17:09Compass.
17:10Water purification tablets.
17:13Silk escape map of southern China.
17:15$47 in Chinese currency.
17:18A small pistol with one magazine.
17:21Eight rounds.
17:21The 308th Bomb Group had briefed all air crews on evasion procedures.
17:27Move at night.
17:29Avoid roads and villages.
17:31Head north toward free China.
17:33Chinese guerrillas operated in the mountains.
17:36They would help downed American airmen reach nationalist lines.
17:41Benko oriented his compass.
17:43North was up the ridgeline.
17:45He began walking.
17:46He covered three miles before sunset.
17:49The terrain was steep.
17:51Dense vegetation.
17:53No trails.
17:54He heard voices in the valley below.
17:56Japanese or Chinese, he could not tell.
17:59He kept climbing.
18:01At dusk, he found a position in thick underbrush and stopped to rest.
18:06He had not eaten since breakfast at Changkong 13 hours earlier.
18:11His survival kit contained no food.
18:14He drank water from a stream and settled in to wait for full darkness.
18:18He thought about the goon.
18:20Whether Captain Skousen had made it to Quailin.
18:23Whether the crew who bailed out had survived.
18:26Whether anyone was searching for him.
18:28He did not know that five of the seven crew members who bailed out were already safe.
18:34Co-pilot Bowers had landed near a Chinese village.
18:38The villagers hid him for two days.
18:40Then, guerrillas escorted him to Nationalist lines.
18:44Navigator Palmer made it out.
18:46So did Waist Gunner Staff Sergeant Casper Thierry Lyson.
18:50So did Tail Gunner Technical Sergeant Robert Kirk.
18:53So did Observer Captain James Edney.
18:56He did not know that Captain Skousen had performed a miracle.
18:59Despite the dead engine and fire damage and shredded controls, Skousen had wrestled the goon to the runway at Quailin.
19:05The landing gear collapsed on touchdown.
19:08The bomber skidded 1,500 feet and stopped 50 yards from a revetment.
19:13Skousen, Flayhardy, and Novak walked away without injuries.
19:17The goon would never fly combat again.
19:21But the crew had survived.
19:23He did not know that Bombardier Sanders was the only man who died in the aircraft.
19:27Or that he and Sanders were the only two casualties from the mission.
19:31What Binko did know was that he was alone in Occupy China with a pistol and eight bullets.
19:37At midnight, he resumed walking.
19:40He followed the ridge line north.
19:42The moon gave enough light to navigate.
19:44He moved slowly, carefully.
19:47Every sound made him freeze.
19:49Every shadow could be a Japanese patrol.
19:52By dawn, he had covered another seven miles.
19:55He found a concealed position on a hillside and tried to sleep.
19:59Exhaustion hit him hard.
20:00He had been awake for 26 hours, flown a combat mission, bailed out of a crippled bomber, walked 10 miles
20:08through enemy territory.
20:09He slept for three hours.
20:11Then voices woke him.
20:13Close.
20:14Maybe 50 yards down slope.
20:16He looked through the brush.
20:18Six men in uniform moving up the trail.
20:21Japanese infantry.
20:22They were searching the hillside methodically.
20:25One of them carried a parachute.
20:27White silk.
20:28Not his.
20:29Someone else from the crew.
20:31Binko pressed himself flat against the ground.
20:34The patrol passed within 30 feet.
20:36They did not see him.
20:38But they were moving in the direction he needed to go.
20:41North.
20:42Between him and Free China.
20:44He waited two hours.
20:46Then he tried to move around the patrol's position.
20:49He made it half a mile before he heard dogs barking.
20:52Japanese troops used dogs to track downed airmen.
20:55The barking was getting closer.
20:57Binko started running.
20:59The dogs found his scent.
21:00The barking became frantic.
21:03Voices shouted behind him.
21:04He ran harder.
21:06He covered 200 yards before the trail ended at a cliff.
21:0920 feet down to a river.
21:11No other way forward.
21:13The dogs were 100 yards back and closing.
21:16Binko looked at the water.
21:18Looked at his pistol.
21:19Made his choice.
21:20He jumped.
21:23The river was shallow.
21:25Four feet deep.
21:26Binko hit the water hard.
21:27The current pulled him downstream.
21:30He surfaced and swam for the far bank.
21:32The dogs reached the cliff edge above him.
21:35Their barking echoed off the rocks.
21:37Japanese soldiers appeared at the cliff.
21:39They fired.
21:41Rifle rounds slapped the water around him.
21:44Binko dove under and kicked hard.
21:46The current carried him around a bend.
21:48He came up for air and kept swimming.
21:50He made it to the far bank and climbed out.
21:53His clothes were soaked.
21:55His pistol was gone.
21:57Lost in the river.
21:58He ran into the forest and kept moving.
22:01The pursuit continued for three hours.
22:04Japanese patrols had spread across the valley.
22:07They knew an American airman was in the area.
22:09They had found parachutes.
22:11They had tracking dogs.
22:12They had radio communication between patrol units.
22:16Binko had wet clothes and no weapon.
22:18He tried to circle north.
22:20Japanese troops blocked that route.
22:22He tried to move west.
22:24More troops.
22:25The patrols were tightening a net around him.
22:28Standard Japanese infantry tactics for hunting down enemy personnel.
22:32By mid-afternoon on November 15th, Binko was exhausted.
22:37He had not eaten in 32 hours.
22:40He had walked and run nearly 20 miles through mountainous terrain.
22:44He had no water, no food, no weapon, and he was surrounded.
22:49At 1600 hours, a Japanese patrol found him, hiding in a ravine three miles from where he had landed.
22:57He had no way to fight, no way to escape.
23:00He surrendered.
23:01The Japanese soldiers bound his hands and marched him to a forward command post.
23:06They searched him, found his dog tags.
23:09Technical Sergeant Arthur J. Benko.
23:12Serial number 6917171.
23:18374th Bomb Squadron.
23:20308th Bomb Group.
23:22Japanese intelligence officers knew about the 308th Bomb Group.
23:26They knew about the November 14th raid on Hong Kong.
23:30They knew American bombers had attacked the harbor.
23:33They wanted information, targets, bases, squadron strength, future operations.
23:40Benko gave them his name, rank, and serial number.
23:43Nothing else.
23:44What happened to Arthur Benko after his capture
23:47is documented only in Japanese military records recovered after the war.
23:52He was classified as killed in action.
23:55His body was never recovered.
23:57He was 32 years old.
24:00Bombardier Malcolm Sanders, who died when his aircraft was hit over Hong Kong,
24:05was the only other fatality from the goon's final mission.
24:08The five other crew members who bailed out all made it to safety.
24:13Captain Skousen's emergency landing at Quailin saved three lives, including his own.
24:18The goon sat damaged at Quailin for two months.
24:21The 308th Bomb Group stripped the bomber for parts.
24:24The aircraft was eventually repaired enough to fly non-combat missions.
24:29It served as a transport for the rest of the war.
24:32In 1946, the goon crashed into the Philippine Sea while flying supplies.
24:38Four crew members died.
24:40The bomber that had survived Hong Kong finally went down.
24:43But in November 1943, as the goon limped back to Quailin and Arthur Benko disappeared into Japanese custody,
24:51nobody in the 14th Air Force knew the final count from the Hong Kong mission.
24:57Intelligence officers reviewed gun camera footage from all surviving B-24s.
25:02They interviewed returning gunners.
25:04They compiled combat reports.
25:06They counted confirmed kills.
25:08Benko's top turret cameras had recorded the entire engagement.
25:13Intelligence officers watched the footage frame by frame.
25:16They counted each zero hit.
25:18Each fighter destroyed.
25:20They verified each kill against witness statements from other crew members who had seen the Japanese fighters go down.
25:26The final tally was nine confirmed aerial victories for Technical Sergeant Arthur Benko on November 14th, 1943.
25:36Combined with his seven confirmed kills from the Haiphong raid on October 31st, his total stood at 16.
25:4416 confirmed kills.
25:46No other bomber gunner in the United States Army Air Forces had ever achieved that score.
25:51Fighter pilots with 16 kills received distinguished service crosses.
25:56Some received medals of honor.
25:58Their names appeared in newspapers.
26:00Their faces appeared in newsreels.
26:03Arthur Benko had beaten every fighter ace record for enlisted gunners in the Pacific,
26:07and he had done it without a single tracer round giving away his position.
26:12The question was whether anyone would remember.
26:16In January 1944, National Geographic published a feature story on the 308th Bomb Group.
26:23The article included a photograph of the goon's crew standing in front of their bomber at Chengkong Airfield,
26:30back row, fourth from left, Technical Sergeant Arthur Benko.
26:34The caption identified him as missing in action.
26:37The article mentioned Benko's record, 16 confirmed kills, highest scoring bomber gunner in the 14th Air Force.
26:45It mentioned his innovation, removing tracer rounds from his ammunition, creating invisible fire that Japanese pilots could not track.
26:54By the time the magazine reached American newsstands, Benko's modification had spread through the entire 14th Air Force,
27:01then to the 10th Air Force in India, then to the 20th Air Force flying B-29 missions against Japan.
27:08Thousands of bomber gunners removed their tracers.
27:11Loss rates among aerial gunners decreased by 18% in the first quarter of 1944.
27:18Benko's squadron commander submitted a recommendation for the Medal of Honor.
27:22The recommendation cited 16 confirmed aerial victories, combat action under fire, innovation that saved American lives, leadership that influenced tactics
27:32across multiple air forces.
27:35The recommendation moved up through channels.
27:3714th Air Force Headquarters approved it.
27:40China-Burma-India Theater Headquarters approved it.
27:43It reached the War Department in Washington in March 1944.
27:47The War Department denied the Medal of Honor.
27:50Their reasoning was documented in the official response.
27:53Aerial gunners, regardless of kill count, did not qualify for the nation's highest award under existing criteria.
28:01The Medal of Honor was reserved for actions involving extreme risk beyond normal combat duties.
28:06Shooting down enemy aircraft from a defensive gun position, even 16 aircraft, did not meet that threshold.
28:14Fighter pilots with 16 kills received distinguished service crosses.
28:18Some received Medals of Honor.
28:21The difference was that fighter pilots were officers.
28:24Gunners were enlisted men.
28:25The War Department never stated this officially, but the pattern was clear in the awards records.
28:30Banco received the Silver Star posthumously.
28:33The citation praised his exceptional aerial gunnery skill and his innovative removal of tracer ammunition.
28:39He received the Legion of Merit for his contribution to bomber defensive tactics.
28:43He received the Purple Heart for being killed in action.
28:46His wife received the medals at a ceremony in Bisbee, Arizona, in June 1944.
28:51Their 12-year-old daughter stood beside her.
28:54Local newspapers covered the event.
28:56Then, the story faded.
28:57After the war, the Air Force compiled statistics on aerial gunner effectiveness.
29:02Technical Sergeant Michael Aruth of the 379th Bomb Group held the highest confirmed kill count in the European theater.
29:0917 victories.
29:11Aruth survived the war.
29:13Arthur Banco held the highest confirmed kill count among gunners killed in action.
29:1716 victories.
29:19Second highest overall in the entire United States Army Air Forces.
29:22His name appeared on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
29:28His body was never recovered from China.
29:30The Japanese kept poor records of prisoners executed in forward areas.
29:35Banco's fate was officially listed as killed in action, November 15, 1943.
29:40No other details.
29:41Bisbee, Arizona erected a memorial after the war.
29:45A cenotaph on Highway 90 between the Old Town and New Town.
29:49Arthur Banco's name was carved into the stone.
29:52Hometown hero.
29:53Killed defending China from Japanese invasion.
29:55In 1948, the newly independent Republic of China erected the monument to the aviation martyrs in the War of Resistance
30:03against Japan in Nanjing.
30:05Over 2,000 American airmen had died defending China between 1941 and 1945.
30:11Arthur Banco's name was among them.
30:13But in America, Banco faded from memory.
30:16Fighter aces became famous.
30:18Their names filled history books.
30:21Richard Bong.
30:22Tommy McGuire.
30:23Gregory Boynton.
30:25All household names.
30:27All officers.
30:28All pilots.
30:29Bomber gunners were forgotten.
30:31Even the ones who had changed how aerial warfare was fought.
30:35Even the ones who had saved hundreds of lives with a simple innovation.
30:39Even the ones who held records that would never be broken.
30:42Arthur Banco's daughter never married.
30:44She died young.
30:45The family line ended.
30:47The competitive shooting trophies from the 1930s disappeared.
30:51The Arizona State Rifle Championship medal was lost.
30:54The photographs from Ching Kong Airfield survived only in military archives.
30:59By 2025, most Americans had never heard of Arthur Banco.
31:04Most military historians focused on fighter pilots and bomber commanders.
31:08Enlisted gunners received footnotes.
31:10But the innovation survived.
31:12Modern military aircraft still avoid using tracer ammunition in situations where revealing gun
31:18positions creates tactical disadvantage.
31:20The principle Binko proved in 1943 remains valid.
31:24Invisible fire is more effective than fire that advertises its source.
31:28One man's refusal to follow standard procedure.
31:31One man's trust in his own training.
31:34One man's stupid ammo trick.
31:3616 confirmed kills.
31:38And a legacy that outlived his forgotten name.
31:43The last photograph of Arthur Banco shows him standing beside the gun at Cheng Kong Airfield in late October 1943.
31:51Two weeks before Hong Kong.
31:53He is 32 years old.
31:55His arms are crossed.
31:57His expression is calm.
31:59He looks like exactly what he was.
32:01A man who knew his craft better than anyone else in the sky.
32:05The photograph was taken for National Geographic.
32:08The magazine wanted to document American bomber crews in China.
32:12They wanted heroic images.
32:14Men standing beside their aircraft.
32:16Men who were winning the war in the Pacific.
32:19Benco was not trying to be heroic.
32:22He was trying to survive.
32:24And he understood something that most gunners never learned.
32:27Survival in aerial combat was not about courage.
32:30It was about mathematics.
32:32Ballistics.
32:33Probability.
32:35Eliminating variables that got you killed.
32:37Tracer rounds were a variable.
32:39They showed enemy fighters exactly where you were.
32:43They turned defensive gunnery into a beacon that said,
32:46Come kill me.
32:47Benco removed that variable.
32:49The rest was training.
32:51Fifteen years of competitive shooting.
32:54Thousands of hours at rifle ranges.
32:56Loading his own ammunition.
32:58Understanding trajectory.
33:00Wind.
33:01Lead time.
33:02Bullet drop.
33:03All of that transferred directly to aerial gunnery.
33:06While other gunners relied on glowing tracers to show them where their rounds were going,
33:10Benco already knew.
33:12That knowledge kept him alive through seventeen missions.
33:15It gave him sixteen confirmed kills.
33:18It changed how the entire United States Army Air Forces thought about defensive gunnery.
33:23And it died with him in occupied China at age thirty-two.
33:27The 308th Bomb Group flew missions for another twenty months after Benco disappeared.
33:33They bombed Japanese shipping.
33:35They bombed railroads.
33:37They bombed supply depots.
33:39Gunners continued removing their tracers.
33:41Loss rates stayed lower than they had been before Halloween 1943.
33:46Nobody talked much about why they were removing tracers.
33:49The modification had become standard procedure.
33:52New gunners arriving from the States were taught to strip tracers from their belts before their first mission.
33:57It was just how things were done.
34:00The origin of the practice faded into squadron lore.
34:03In 1997, a military historian researching bomber defensive tactics found Benco's combat reports in the National Archives.
34:11The historian published a paper on aerial gunnery innovations.
34:15Benco's name appeared in academic journals.
34:18Military history websites picked up the story.
34:21A few researchers began documenting his record.
34:24In 2006, the Air Force published a retrospective on enlisted aerial gunners.
34:30Author Benco was featured.
34:32Sixteen confirmed kills.
34:34Innovative tactics.
34:36Killed in action.
34:37November 15, 1943.
34:40His cenotaph still stands on Highway 90 in Bisbee.
34:44Travelers occasionally stop to read the inscription.
34:46Most do not recognize the name.
34:49A few take photographs.
34:51Fewer still understand what he accomplished.
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35:10Stories about gunners who saved lives with innovation.
35:13Real people.
35:15Real heroism.
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