Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

162 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
Table 14—Principal Artillery Equipment,
Infantry Division, 1940–1945
1 Oct 1940 1 Aug 1942 15 Jul 1943 24 Jan 1945
Entire Div Entire Div Entire Div Entire Div
Equipment Div Arty Div Arty Div Arty Div Arty
Airplanes, liaison 10 10 10 10
Antitank guns, 60 24 109 24
37-mm.
Guns, 57-mm. 57 57
Guns, 75-mm. 8 8
Machine guns, 77 60 133 84 236 89 237 89
.50-caliber (HB)
Howitzers, 75-mm. 18
Howitzers, 105-mm. 36 36 42 36 54 36 54 36
Howitzers, 155-mm. 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
Rocket launchers, 557 166 558 166
2.36-inch
HB = heavy barrel
sections), an ammunition train (with a headquarters and three ammuni tion sections),
and a battery main tenance section, fur nished ammunition and other supplies and
services not only to the firing and headquarters batteries but also to the battalion
as a whole. 11
In addition to the howitzers under the tactical control of the division artillery
commander, the infantry division also had light field artillery weapons assigned
to each infantry regiment. In 1920, a so-called howitzer company had been added
to the infantry regiment anticipating that an accom panying howitzer would be
developed for it. When initially organized, the company used Stokes mortars and
one-pounder cannon. Because of shortages in personnel, the Regular Army howitzer
companies were soon reduced to platoons, although the National Guard continued to
support full companies. Various weapons were used in the interwar years—mortars,
37-mm. guns, and .50-caliber machine guns among others. Because no adequate
accompanying howitzer was developed, the howitzer company was eliminated in
the 1939 triangular reorganiza tion and 37-mm. guns were placed in the new antitank
company within each regiment. In the spring of 1942, the infantry was to receive
its long-awaited accompanying howitzer with the addition of a cannon company to
each regiment that was to be equipped with six 75-mm. howitzers and two 105-mm.
howitzers, all self-propelled. But the AGF Reduction Board eliminated the cannon
company in its revisions of early 1943. Restored in July, the company was now
11 TOE 6–26, 15 Jul 1943; TOE 6–36, 15 Jul 1943; TOE 6–27, 15 Jul 1943; TOE 6–37, 15 Jul 1943;
TOE 6–29, 15 Jul 1943; TOE 6–39, 15 Jul 1943.