Pic's of my Grandad and his B-24

[Chris217]

Here are some various pictures of my grandfather, Capt. John F. Rivers, who was a lead Bombardier with the 833rd Bomb Squadron, 486th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force.

Here's his B-24 which was named "Superstitious Aloysius" Sudbury, Suffolk May 1944.

Close up of the nose art

My Grandad in his A-2 jacket.

Picture of his crews quarter's "The Scavenger Club"

The Berry Crew, left to right, Pilot Lt. Ernest P. Berry, Co-pilot Lt. Garland Hendricks (note the cowboy boots) Navigator Lt. Russell Knopp, Bombardier Lt. John F. Rivers.

FLAK

 

[Chris217]

486th B-17's in formation

Bombs Away!

After he competed his 30 missions he was appointed Assistant Group Bombardier of the 486th and was responsible for training lead bombardiers.
Here's a picture of a bombardier training class at Sudbury.

After a training mission over the "wash" with the Raddatz crew.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Some cool pics there, thanks for posting. I love that nose art.

 

[carter]

Bomb Squadron

Nice photos! Thanks for posting. I really like the photo of your grandad with his bicycle. Gas rationing kept them fit.

Wouldn't it be great if someone posted a photo of a bunch of USAAF guys in their A-2's riding bicycles?

:cheers1:

 

[dostacos]

If your Grandfather is still with us please THANK him for me.

My 17 yr old father was a drill instructor and decided he wanted more involvement. He transfered to a unit that used .22s knives and garrotes, they were scheduled for invading the home islands BEFORE the main invasion.

There mission was such that all their records "disappeared". Had their mission been actually activated he figured that none of them were expected to survive.

my dad never saw combat, trained men that did, but for the dedication of men like your grandfather I would never have been born, or my 3 sons, so thank you for me and my sons.

Dan

 

[Hondo]

Wow! those were awesome photos! his crew looked great Thanks for sharing :eusa_clap

 

[dhermann1]

I had a coworker (now retired) who flew B-24's during the war. He said he saw 3 or 4 crews wiped out in training accidents before theye ever left the US. The B-24 was EXTREMELY touchy on take-off, and was a real crew killer. Supposedly out of 18,000 originally produced, only 2 flying today.
Very impressive pics! Thanks for posting.
One of the reasons for our over all air superiority was the we kept or sent the best pilots home to train other pilots. This gave us a better overall competence, compared with the Germans and Japanese, who had a few super pilots, who flew till they died, and a lot of future USAAF and RAF targets.

 

[Smithy]

Thanks so much for sharing those Chris.

You must be immensely proud! Wonderful pics.

 

[RAF Man]

Those were excellent photographs Chris. Treasure them always.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Wonderful pictures all! You are lucky to have colored pictures taken by your Grandfather. I wish my Grandpop had taken some colored pictures.

 

[Chris217]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys! Glad you enjoyed the pics.

 

[Spitfire]

Thanks for sharing those great - and personal - pictures. A real treat!:eusa_clap

 

[PADDY]

Really enjoyed looking at those Chris.

What a fine set of pics to remember your grandfather by. Do you have any of his uniform or flying kit?

 

[Micawber]

Thanks for sharing the photos. Sudbury is not too far away from me either.

 

[kampkatz]

old photos

It would be good to preserve those pics,i.e. protect with plastic or mount in a sturdy album. Thanks for sharing.