Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

The nUclear arena
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and firepower of existing artillery and
shorter-ranged missiles, give deeper
support to ground combat troops, and
compen sate for the expanding dimensions
of the battle area. It also was
to augment army and corps artillery
fire and provide ballistic missile artillery
fire on all targets of interest to
the field army commander. Potential
targets included troop concentra tions,
command and logistical installations,
missile launching sites, airfields, and
communications centers. 19
The field artillery missile group
was the basic command-and-control
organization directing employment of
the Redstone, a field army or theaterlevel
weapon. During the period when
the Redstones were active, the group
normally consisted of a headquarters
and headquarters battery, two firing
batteries, an engineer company, and
an ordnance company. The headquarters
battery performed administrative,
communications, security, and other command and support functions; the engineer
company provided the liquid oxygen and the overall engineering support for the
firing batteries; and the ordnance company furnished the missiles, warheads, tools,
parts, and main tenance support for weapons and equipment peculiar to the missile.
Each firing battery had one launcher and carried one missile as a basic load, but
was highly mobile and air transportable. 20 Three Redstone missile groups were
eventually activat ed, two in Europe and one in the United States. Nevertheless,
even before the Redstone became operational, the Army decided to replace it with
the more promising solid-propellant Pershing missile. 21
Redstone missile
Although the Redstone missile system was viewed as a temporary arrangement
in its operational phase, it contributed to significant achievements in the field of
19 John W. Bullard, “History of the Redstone Missile System,” Historical Monograph Project no.
AMC 23M, 15 October 1965, pp. 121–22, 133, AMCOM files and copy in CMH files.
20 TOE 6–631T, 3 Mar 1958, w/change 1, 21 May 1958; TOE 6–630T, 3 Mar 1958, w/change 1,
21 May 1958; TOE 6–634T, 3 Mar 1958, w/change 1, 21 May 1958; TOE 6–635C, 15 Jun 1956; TOE
6–635D, 15 Mar 1957; TOE 6–635E, 11 Sep 1961. The 1958 and 1961 tables, under which the groups
were organized for most of the time, authorized a group headquarters and headquarters battery, two missile
batteries, an engineer company, and an ordnance company. The 1956 tables authorized a missile battalion
with a headquarters, headquarters and service battery, and one firing battery. The 1957 tables were similar
except that two firing batteries were authorized.
21 Bullard, “History of the Redstone,” pp. 102, 120–25, AMCOM files and copy in CMH files.