This Deceased Air Force Profile is not currently maintained by any Member.
If you would like to take responsibility for researching and maintaining this Deceased profile please click
HERE
This Remembrance Profile was originally created by Sgt Stephen Willcox - Deceased
Contact Info
Home Town Leicester, MA
Last Address 5109 Alps, El Paso, Texas
Date of Passing Mar 05, 1961
Location of Interment Saint Joseph's Cemetery - Leicester, Massachusetts
On the morning of March 5, 1961, SSgt Rivers' KB-50J aircraft (#49-328) departed McClellan AFB in California and performed a refueling mission enroute to Briggs AFB. The aircraft and crew had been on TDY in the Pacific since Feb 13th. They stopped at Hawaii before landing at McClellan AFB. At 7:58 p.m. on final approach to runway 21 at Biggs AFB, the aircraft crashed 6 miles from the airfield. All 9 crewmembers were killed. The plane "slammed into the desert as if for a belly landing. It skidded along through grease-wood and mesquite for more than 300 yards. then it hit a sand dune and exploded in a terrific burst of red and orange flame." TX
s.
Other Comments:
TSgt Rivers was born in 1929. Source: American Legion, Cherry Valley Post 443, St. Cherry Valley, MA,
TSGT Bernard Rivers enlisted in the U.S. Army air Forces on September 21, 1946 in West Hartford, CT. After his training he was a crewmember in a Boeing RB-29A with the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Sqadron based a Yakota Air Base, Japan. On his fourteenth mission his aircraft (#44-61727) was intercepted and shot down by a MiG-15 fighter. Some accounts indicated the aircraft was shot down on the Chinese/North Korean border, others (most notabley the Soviet Union) indicate the aircraft was in the Far East Soviet Union over the Sea of Japan. Based on statements of repatriated crew members the following describes the events of that evening: The aircraft departed Yokota Air Base, Japan, at 1858 hours on July 3, 1952 for a night reconnaisance mission. The RB-29 reached the Sinanju area at approximately 2330 hours and encountered sporadic ground fire directed from the bridge complex area. Shortly thereafter it was attacked by MiG-15 aircraft and severely damaged. At approximately 2343 hours, while at an altitude of 19,000 feet, the crew abandoned the aircraft which crashed some 20 miles southwest of Sinanju. Crew members aboard were 1Lt. Joseph B. Moreland; 2Lt Francis A Strieby; 1Lt Kenneth S. Brazil; A1C Edwin D. Combs; A1C Kenneth H. Bass; A2C Donald L. Hand; SSgt Bernard F. Rivers; A1C Eugene B. Evers; Captain Theodore R. Harris; SSgt Richard L. Albright; SSgt Clifford H. Mast. The Soviets indicated the "elements of the 351st 1AP encountered a USAF B-29 while on a combat sortie. At 2246 hours, Major Anatoly Karelin (Russian Ace) observed one B-29 in the searchlight beams near Khakusen at an altitude of 7200 meters and attacked it. Orienting on the flaming aircraft, the pilot conducted three more attacks and shot down the B-29. The bomber started to break up midair and fell two kilometers west of Khakusen..." SSgt Rivers became a Prisoner of War on July 4, 1952. He was released from prison on August 31, 1953.
Korean War/Third Korean Winter (1952-53)
From Month/Year
December / 1952
To Month/Year
April / 1953
Description The military stalemate continued throughout the winter of 1952-1953. Allied Sabrejet pilots, meantime, persisted in destroying MiGs at a decidedly favorable ratio. In December the Communists developed an ambush tactic against F-86 pilots patroling along the Yalu River: MiG pilots would catch the UN aircraft as they ran short of fuel and headed south to return to base. During these engagements, some of the F-84 pilots exhausted their fuel and had IO bail out over Cho-do Island, 60 miles southwest of Pyongyang.
United Nations forces held the island and maintained an air rescue detachment there for such emergencies. To avoid combat while low on fuel, Sabre pilots began to fly home over the Yellow Sea. MiG pilots at this time generally sought the advantages of altitude, speed, position, and numbers before engaging in aerial combat. The UN pilots, on the other hand, relied on their skills to achieve aerial victories, even though they were outnumbered and flying aircraft that did not quite match the flight capabilities of the MiG-15s.
One memorable battle occurred on February l8, 1953, near the Sui-ho Reservoir on the Yalu River, 110 miles north of Pyongyang; 4 F-86Fs attacked 48 MiGs, shot down 2, and caused 2 others to crash while taking evasive action. All 4 U.S. aircraft returned safely to their base. While the Fifth Air Force maintained air superiority over North Korea during daylight hours, the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command on nighttime missions ran afoul of increasingly effective Communist interceptors. The aging B- 29s relied on darkness and electronic jamming for protection from both interceptors and antiaircraft gunfire, but the Communists used spotter aircraft and searchlights to reveal bombers to enemy gun crews and fighter-interceptor pilots.
As B-29 losses mounted in late 1952, the Bomber Command compressed bomber formations to shorten the time over targets and increase the effectiveness of electronic countermeasures. The Fifth Air Force joined the Navy and Marines to provide fighter escorts to intercept enemy aircraft before they could attack the B-29s. Bomber Command also restricted.missions along the Yalu to cloudy, dark nights because on clear nights contrails gave away the bombers' positions. FEAF lost no more B-29s after January 1953, although it continued its missions against industrial targets. On March 5 the B-29s penetrated deep into enemy territory to bomb a target at Chongjin in northeastern Korea, only 63 miles from the Soviet border. While Bomber Command struck industrial targets throughout North Korea during the winter of 1952-1953, the Fifth Air Force cooperated with the U.S. Navy's airmen in attacks on supplies, equipment, and troops near the from fines.
In December 1952 the Eighth Army moved its bombline from 10,000 to 3,000 meters from the front lines, enabling Fifth Air Force and naval fighter-bombers to target areas closer to American positions. Beyond the front lines, the Fifth Air Force focused on destroying railroads and bridges, allowing B-26s to bomb stalled vehicles. In January 1953 the Fifth Air Force attempted to cut the 5 railroad bridges over the Chongchon Estoary near Sinanju, 40 miles north of Pyongyang. Expecting trains to back up in marshaling yards at Sinanju, Bomber Command sent B-29s at night to bomb them, but these operations hindered enemy transportation only briefly.
As the ground thawed in the spring, however, the Communist forces had greater difficulty moving supplies and reinforcements in the face of the Fifth Air Force's relentless attacks on transportation. At the end of March 1953, the Chinese Communist government indicated its willingness to exchange injured and ill prisoners of war and discuss terms for a cease-fire in Korea. On April 20 Communist and United Nations officials began an exchange of POWs, and 6 days later, resumed the sessions at Panmunjom.
