Are tail-gunners bullet-proof?

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

There is a small indicator - some small star-like yellow flash. I'm not 100% sure, but I think, it shows a hit to a pilot/gunner. Its not a sign of inactivity though.

At the moment it is impossible to tell if a gun position still poses a threat or if it is safe to attack a bomber from this direction

Do you think, this would be a realistic feature? To me it sounds arcade.

[Juri_JS]

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

Do you think, this would be a realistic feature? To me it sounds arcade.

At the moment I am unable to look in my books and I can't give you any quotes, but I remember reading combat reports were fighter pilots were clearly able to see when a gunner had been killed or a gun position was no longer occupied, so I wouldn't call it unrealistic.

It would be necessary to have diffent effects for different gun positions. Some examples:
For the gun positions on the fuselage sides of the He-111 or B-17, were the gunners were standing behind the guns, it would be enough to remove the gunners. For the gun positions on the upper side a shattered glass effect could be used. On planes like the Po-2, Sturmovik or Swordfish a destroyed machine gun could be shown or the guns barrels could just be lowered to one side.
Like in reality a player would have to be close to his target to see if a gun position is still active so these effects would be very realistic and not in any way arcade.