Bombardier 1Lt. Val Kozlowski (Billy Zane) is depicted looking through the Norden bombsight and releasing the bombs with the salvo switch when he sees the target in the crosshairs. In real life, the lead bombardier would find the target in his sight long before the release point, lock his sight onto the target, enter all relevant data on the bombs and known crosswinds, and then the sight would fly the plane to the release point and drop the bombs automatically. Bombardiers on other planes would hit their salvo switches when they saw the lead bomber drop their bombs. If done right, the system was capable of pinpoint accuracy. In combat conditions however, unrecognized crosswinds, battle damage to the autopilot system, and turbulence from flak bursts could all affect accuracy. As a result, some targets were hit perfectly, while other were literally missed by a mile.