September-October - Air Defense Artillery

I
t
FROl\l THE FIGHTING FRONTS
Myitkyina airstrip.
17
Signal Corps
t\s typical an action as any occurred on the capture of caliber .50 fire, evidently quite a surprise to them. Two of
~lyitkyina Airfield in May, 1944. The fighting for this the attacking planes were shot down, and the third was
strategic communications center had been particularly bit- smoking heavily as it left. \Ve lost one transport caught in
( ter, and the Japs were hanging onto the field itself with landing approaches and set on fire, and three of the twenty-
\grimdetermination. However, we had to have it in order odd planes on the field were damaged somewhat by enemy
( that Allied ground forces operating in the northern Irra- machine-gun fire. AA casualties or damage: none. Amwaddy
Valley could be adequately supplied by air-drop, as munition expenditure: 1,500 rounds.
IreII as to force contact with the Burma Road beyond, and Subsequently, the Japs were considerably more circumfinallywe
took it. . spect in their air attacks on J\1yitkyina. As additional strips
Allied headquarters announced the capture of the air- went into operation, more AA came in, and the heavy and
fieldat 1500 hours. In accordance with prearranged plans accurate fire finally forced them to deliver most of the atthemovement
of airborne engineers and antiaircraft troops tacks at night, the favorite hours being predawn. These at-
\\'asbegun immediately, and by 2015 the last plane load of tacks were much less effective. A raid in November, 1944;
AA machine guns, men and light equipment had arrived. is reported in which no damage was done except to some
The first plane, carrying the battery commander, four ma- telephone lines, a 40mm revetment and an air mattress be-
I chine gunners, two guns, ammunition and extra gasoline for longing to an Engineer officer, while we made claims of
thejeep, overshot the runway and crashed in a gulley about two planes damaged by 40mm fire and two by l\IIG fire.
400 yards off the end of the field. No one was hurt, nor About five enemy aircraft were involved.
\\'asany of the antiaircraft equipment damaged, but it was Administration was always a difficult problem, even in
difficult to move it back onto the runway. Assam. The AA officer for the operational area was in
That was only one of the problems, however. No pre- charge of tactical disposition of all the widely scattered units
rious ground reconnaissance had been possible, all opera- and was held responsible for all functions, with additional
tions were carried out in darkness, there was but the one AA continuing to come into the theater from time to time.
jeep with a trailer to shuttle the men and equipment to posi- This condition eventuallv became entirely too clumsv, and
; tions, and the field was still under fire from enemy snipers in June, 1944, an AAA Group was activ~ted, its per~onnel
f and mortars. Yet as 0100 hours all guns were emplaced and coming from two deactivated MG batteries and an A\V
'readY for action. After digging foxholes, the men not on
guard attempted to get some rest.
lI
Then, very early in the morning, the enemy broke
battalion. The remaining l\IIG batteries were formed into
airborne battalions of varying size, the composition of a
battalion being determined by geographical location of its
. through the perimeter defense and attacked the field. In batteries. Seldom did a battalion have more than one of the
the ensuing fight, one gun was damaged and put out of batteries deployed within easy administrative reach, but at
commission, with three men killed, and two members of least the situation was not impossible.
the crew of another gun were wounded. So the AA defense At the time of the reorganization Group headquarters
Wasminus one weapon before the air attacks started. No was in Assam, headquarters and the four batteries of one
more men had been brought than were absolutely necessary A\\T battalion were all in Assam, and headquarters and the
for the operation. four MG batteries of one of the airborne battalions were all
. Three enemy fighters launched a dive-bombing and straf- in India. However, another A\V battalion had one batten'
ing attack in the afternoon. A fourth stayed high for top on the Burma Road at the Salween River in China, whil~
_cover. They were greeted with a heavy concentration of headquarters and the other three batteries were in Assam;