Cacchioni, Thomas A.: my Air Force recollections (March 13, 1983)
ABSTRACT: F/O Thomas A. Cacchioni, D.D.S. Royal Canadian Air Force Cacchioni_T_0154_01.mp3 (Side 1) Born in Alberta circa 1922, lived in Kelowna. Joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at age eighteen. While undergoing pilot training he "buzzed" his girlfriend's home town and was dismissed from pilot training. Became a bomb-aimer and went overseas at age nineteen, toward the end of 1941. Flew Vickers Wellington bombers at the Operational Training Unit. Performed very well in training and was offered "special duties". As a young man he had a great incentive to prove himself a good Canadian, since he came from an Italian family. In Northern Ireland converted to Handley Page Halifax bombers and was posted to Tempsford, to No. 138 Squadron, Royal Air Force, the Special Duty Squadron. Training anecdotes. Finally operations began, dropping supplies and agents throughout Europe. Experience with a "Belgian" in London who turned out to be a German spy. Explains that Tempsford was the main supply centre for Special Air Service and the Special Operations Executive. A sister squadron, No. 161, flew Westland Lysander and Lockheed Hudson aircraft which landed in enemy territory to deliver and pick up agents. Describes some of the explosives and weapons that they dropped: pigeons, chemicals, printing presses, etc. (20:00) Flying nearly always done on moonlit nights at low levels. Aircraft casualties caused by light flak weapons and by hitting land hazards. He had good night vision and came to know northern France, Holland, and Belgium very well. Explains drop procedure, done at six hundred to seven hundred feet. Feels that the agents they dropped were extremely brave: life expectancy in Europe was about six months. Refers to tragic circumstances in Holland where some fifty agents were dropped into German hands. On the last trip of his tour he was offered a chance to deliver arms and ammunition to the Lyon area and then to fly to North Africa for a little leave. After the drop they became lost in fog and broke cover over Marseilles. Escaped quickly and, despite engine trouble, reached the shores of North Africa. Engines supposedly fixed, but on return trip (July 11, 1944) their engines gave out and they ditched in the Mediterranean close to an Italian hospital ship (under British control). Upon impact the fuel tanks burst and the fumes nearly killed the aircrew. Picked up by a lifeboat, landed in North Africa, flew home via Dakar. (35:00) Great admiration for aircrew. Anecdote about Jamaican navigator who nearly killed them by becoming lost. Returned to Tempsford. Volunteered for another tour -- in Burma. (45:00) Not allowed to go as he was Canadian. Returned to Canada eventually to attend the University of Oregon for dental training. Returns to an account of dropping dummy parachutists loaded with explosives on D-Day. (04:00) Cacchioni_T_0154_02.mp3 (Side 2) Comments on aircraft in squadron, experience with "Dambuster" squadron. Explains procedure and feelings when a night mission was on. Weather, drop zone, approximate location, description, etc. At the drop the aircraft speed was slow, nearly stalling. Feelings toward the Germans. His crew dropped between thirty and forty agents in forty-one operational missions. Procedure to be used in the event of ditching or crash landing; escape kits. Used to train for this in England. The "chop rate" (survival rate) was low because of the dangerous altitude. (25:00) Flew only five or six nights per month. Conditions in No. 138 Squadron. Comments on his pilot, "Hiram" Walker. Living conditions, horrible food, civilian contacts. How returned aircrew survived in civilian life. Attitude of Canadians and British toward the war. Own feelings of satisfaction about doing his job very well. (45:00) Psychological aspect of operations: not scared until his last few trips. Describes the nervous twitch many aircrew suffered: a facial and shoulder muscular contraction, the "operational twitch" caused by stress. (06:00)
Interviewer: Stafford, David A. T.
An interview/narrative of Thomas A. Cacchioni's experiences during World War II. Flying Officer Cacchioni, D.D.S. served with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Interview took place on March 13, 1983.
Rank: Flying Officer.
Interviewee: Cacchioni, Thomas A., b. 1922
- In Collection:
- 2 sound recordings (MP3)
- 52.16045, -0.70312
- 54.5, -6.5
- One original sound cassette (ca. 90 min.) : standard, mono. in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- CTA_154
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/david-stafford-fonds
- January 20, 2009
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 32 kHz. Digitized by QL, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Transferred from audio reel to audio cassette between 1987-1997. Interview migrated to digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2009. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
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