Clothing Return for S/Sgt of the 453rd bombardment group/732nd bomb squadron question

[manifestdestiny]

Hello all,

        Please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section.

 

My grandfather was discharged as a Master Sergeant in the 453rd bombardment group/ 732nd bombardment squadron in 1945. I know that he was initially trained to calibrate/work on both the Sperry and Norden bombsights and held the title of Automatic Flight Control Equipment Instructor while in the Air Corps. He was eventually promoted to crew chief just toward the end of the war. 

 

I have most of his paperwork from his time in the service (whatever survived Hurricane Betsy in 1965) including his clothing returns, flight logs, promotion papers, technical papers for the Sperry and Norden bombsights, and so forth.

 

 I have a question that many of y'all may be able to answer about his clothing returns in particular. I want to piece together what he would have been issued per his occupation, and I am hardly an expert in that field. It seems to me (and I could be completely wrong) that he was issued the same flight gear that flight crews were issued instead of ground crew gear. 

 

Was this normal for his line of work? Per his records, he spent a considerable amount of time in the air during the early months of 1944.

 

Is there any difference in what he was issued and what a regular crew member of a b24 would have been issued?

 

Anyway, I can post more of what I have from him if there is any interest in seeing it.

 

I have posted a picture of the clothing returns, a letter authorizing flight time, and a picture of my grandfather at either March Field or RAF Old Buckenham

[phantomfixer]

The list looks like all aircrew issue items...very cool to see these issue lists...please post more...

Dig the Air conditioned transport truck

[manifestdestiny]

Phantomfixer,

      Here are some more pictures of some of the paperwork I have. The paperwork is not in great shape at all. The house my grandparents lived in was severely flooded during Hurricane Betsy in 1965 (his medals, uniform, etc were all ruined as well). My next step is to properly archive this to avoid further deterioration, and then I will begin to assemble the gear he was issued on that clothing receipt.

 Anyway, picture one: nose and tail art from one of the B-24s he worked on.

                pictures two and three: what I assume is a sight seeing tour of the damage inflicted by the 453rd- dated May 1,1945

                picture four: the last entry posted of his flight hours while serving in the 453rd

                picture five: paperwork with his occupational specifications/rank upon discharge I believe

                pictures 6-10: a technical manual of the b-24 autopilot system (reproduction), and technical drawings of some of the machinery in the b-24. I have about twenty other similar drawings

[dmar836]

Pretty cool!

Dave

[phantomfixer]

thanks for the follow up pics...the C1 training guide is a nice piece... grandpops history......thanks for sharing it

[pararaftanr2]

To answer your questions, the clothing and equipment list you have is dated from December 1943, and would be typical for bomber crew in that time period. As he was overseas, and still on flight duty later in the war, some items may have been replaced as newer items became available. Ground crew would not be issued the items on your list.

[manifestdestiny]

Thank you for the clarification.

 

That is about what I figured and it is fairly interesting that his flight hours diminish substantially after June of 1944.

The next step will be to actually assemble the gear he was issued....looks like it'll take a while for sure