A fun feature that would be extremely helpful for bombers and night fighters, would be the option of getting more functionality from the other crew members, in addition to just shooting or dropping bombs.
Most of these "role playing" or "housekeeping" functions don't require animation, just adding the appropriate options to the commands menu, and maybe a bit of programming.
All Crew
Can inform the pilot of damage to parts of the plane the pilot can't see, but which they can.
Can render first aid to wounded crewmen in their compartment rather than doing their main jobs.
Can extinguish cabin fires if hand-held fire extinguishers are available rather than doing their main job.
Can inform the pilot of the location of friendly and hostile planes WHEN ASKED (not just randomly calling off the positions of other planes in the sky like they do now.)
Bombardier:
Arms bombs - Realistically, this could take considerable amount of time and a bit of risk since the bombardier sometimes had to work on a narrow, cramped catwalk in the bomb bay.
Navigator:
Can inform you of your exact location, temporarily allowing the pilot to see names of map features, or the map, even when that information isn't normally available. (Realistically, there is also the possibility that the navigator is wrong, in which case you get the wrong names, and possibly even the wrong direction on the map!)
Once you have a location fix (correct or incorrect), you can request ETA to a particular location at a particular airspeed. Again, realistically, this information might be incorrect.
This same info could be obtained by any plane if you've got Ground Control Intercept.
Flight Engineer:
Can automatically trigger fire extinguishers to extinguish engine fires.
Can automatically shut down and feather props on damaged engines.
Can inform the pilot of rates of fuel or oil loss due to damage.
Can inform the pilot of remaining flight time before an engine will stop due to oil or fuel loss.
Can inform the pilot of engine overheat or overspeed problems.
Radio Operator:
Can communicate with friendly radar and GCI facilities.
Can report that the radio is damaged/destroyed/isn't working.
Can try to fix damaged or destroyed radio equipment (a small chance)
Can report jamming attempts.
Can send out SOS messages that increase the chance of rescue in campaigns, should the plane ditch at sea or in an unpopulated area.
Note that unless some other crewman can operate the radio, a dead or badly wounded operator means that the pilot loses all benefits of having a radio.
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