Oral History Interview with Eugene R. Cronin, February 1, 1972 Page: 6
This book is part of the collection entitled: UNT Oral Histories and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Oral History Program.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Cronin
6
town called Cerignola and another town called Spinazzola.
Marcello: How many missions did a crew have to fly before they
were rotated back to the States again?
Cronin: In those days there was a difference between mission
and sortie. A sortie was a trip over a target. A
mission was defined by the brass as the length of time
you were in the air. We could have one sortie and get
credit for two missions. You could not have one sortie
and get credit for three missions. But you had to do
fifty missions or twenty-five sorties.
Marcello: How many did you have before you were shot down?
Cronin: Well, this is of historical importance--it was the
thirteenth.
Marcello: The thirteenth. Incidentally, what was your function
on this bomber crew?
Cronin: I was a nosegunner and a togglelier.
Marcello: What is a togglelier?
Cronin: A nosegunner fires machine-guns from the front of the
ship and sits in the front of the ship. He toggles
bombs on a lead ship. Contrary to most people's opinions
at the time, when we went overseas there was not a
bombsight on every plane. In a squadron there was one,
and generally a back-up plane had a bombsight, and
everyone else toggled or triggered as the lead ship
dropped his bombs. It was sort of a pattern-type bombing
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View three pages within this book that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Marcello, Ronald E. & Cronin, Eugene R. Oral History Interview with Eugene R. Cronin, February 1, 1972, book, February 1, 1972; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1529237/m1/8/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Oral History Program.