July-August - Air Defense Artillery

tain the remainder of the battalion.
Depending upon the situation, the battalion
may be employed initially to furnish
antiaircraft and ground defense for
the drop zone, landing zone, or an airstrip
in the airhead as the case may be.
As soon as corps AM A\ V units can be
air landed the organic airborne AAA
battalion will be released from this mission
and will be available to the division
commander for protection of the di\'ision
artillery, for close support of infantry, or
such other missions as may be deemed
appropriate.
RECOl\L\lENDED FUTURE DEVELOP:\lENTS
As pointed out earlier in this article it
is believed that the present equipment of
the airborne AAA battalion is not adequate
for the various missions that may
be assigned. The major objections to the
present equipment are that it lacks mobility
once it is on the ground, and the
hre control and tracking equipment is
not adequate for the present and future
high speed enemy aircraft that may be
encountered.
There are two schools of thought on
the first point in question. One is that
the airborne battalion should have the
same equipment as the self-propelled
unit in order that the airborne division
will have the same effective AA1\ support
as an infantry division. The other
JULY-AUGUST, 1951
school of thought maintains that a
weapon can be developed which can satisfy
the requirements of being light and
substantial enough to be air dropped and
at the same time have the required degree
of mobility. The major argument
against the first line of thought is that
the airhead will have no protection for
the first few days of an operation, and
until air-landed operations can commence.
This period is considered to be
critical because once our plan is obvious
to the enemy, it is logical to assume that
he will concentrate his air attacks on our
airhead. The second line of thought appears
reasonable and can be effected by
the development of a removable turret
for AA1\ guns, similar to the present
!\I55, which can be air dropped, and
which can also be designed to fit into a
full tracked self-propelled mount similar
to the presen t 1\ 119. The most ad vanced
system of fire control capable of withstanding
the shock of parachuting could
be incorporated into the turret. Such a
removable turret would giv~ the airborne
battalion the capability of being used
early in an airborne operation. \Vhen
large cargo aircraft commence operations
in the airhead the tracked vehicle carrier
could be brought in. The turret could
then be placed in the carrier and thus
give the battalion the desired mobility
for sustained ground operations.
Artillery drop.
It is realized that such de\'elopments
are several years in the future and that
certain interim measures are desirable.
Among these might be the adop:ion of
the 1\ 119 si2ht and an on-carriaoe oaso-
~ '" "'.
line power unit for the 40mm gun. Thi,;
would gi\'e more effective fire control
and a faster rate of tracking.
AIRBORNE DuTY
In order to obtain duty with an airborne
unit it is merelv n;cessarv to submit
a letter through channels t~ the Adjutant
General, Department of the Army,
volunteering for parachute training and
duty. A physical examination is also required.
Upon approval the individual
will be sent to Jump School, at Fort Benning,
Georgia, and subsequently assigned
to either the 88th Airborne AAA Battalion
with the II th Airborne Division at
Fort Campbell, Kentucky or the 80th
Airborne AAA Battalion with the 82d
Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N. C.
If overseas duty is desired, one battery
which was formerly with the 88th Battalion
is now in Korea with the 187th
Airborne Regimental Combat Team.
\Vhile on parachute status with one of
the above units, and provided a jump is
made at least once e\'ery three months,
the individual receives hazardous duty
pay which is $50.00 a month for enlisted
men and $100.00 a month for officers.
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