Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

266 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
HHB
Chart 8—Airmobile Division Artillery Organization, 1965
AVN BTRY
DIV ARTY
105-mm. HOW
BTRY (Towed)
AERIAL
ROCKET BN
capability. The rockets were moved primarily by the CH–47s, and sometimes by the
UH–1Bs and UH–1Ds. One UH–1D, with 48-foot blades, and one UH–1B could move
a section, which consisted of the missile and its launcher, the windset and its allied
equipment, and a nine-man crew. In a typical mission, the Little John would be flown
to a predetermined launch site, where it took the crew about fifteen minutes to set up,
fire, and leave. Secur ity was obtained mainly through speed and deception. 38
The tests proved the validity of the airmobile concept, and by June 1965, the
Army had decided to make this type of division a permanent part of the force
structure and undertook a series of complex administrative changes to achieve this
end. On 1 July, the 1st Cavalry Division became the Army’s newly configured unit,
replacing the 11th Air Assault Division. The 1st’s division artillery had almost the
same organiza tion as that of the test division except that the Little John battalion was
eliminated (Chart 8). The division needed tactical air support from the Air Force to
compensate for the loss of the nuclear-capable Little John. Tactical air support, along
with the firepower organic to the divi sion, could provide the same support offered
by the Little John, whose range was short and within the limits of conventional artillery.
Because the 1st Cavalry Division was deploying to Vietnam, where nuclear
war fare was not anticipated, the rocket’s worth was diminished even further. At the
same time, the Little John batteries were elimi nated from the airborne divisions for
similar reasons. 39 With the buildup in conventional firepower instead of reliance
primarily on nuclear rockets and missiles, the Army had created a flexible artillery
force that would be tested during the next seven years of conflict in Vietnam.
38 Ibid., pp. 5–7.
39 “1st Cav Div (Airmobile),” inside back cover; Tolson, Airmobility, pp. 62, 131; TOE 6–700T, 11
Jun 1965; TOE 6–200F, 25 Jun 1965.