September-October - Air Defense Artillery

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45
FROlvI THE FIGHTING FRONTS 33
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l .1h5e 489,h gunne" h,d ,Iso been busy be£o,e. On
('larCh 17, 1945, the Krauts tried to knock out another
t
bridge. The span was across the Nahe River near the fa-
mous spa city of Bad Kreuznach, and the bridge had been
captured intact by ,the swift-moving 4th Armored Division.
The Jerries risked thirty-nine planes that day and
men of A and B Batteries allowed nineteen to return home
intact. Twelve German planes were destroyed and eight
probably destroyed. Among them were jet-propelled ME
262's. Two were destroyed and two more were probables.
Once again a batting average of .500%. Again on March
WI 20 the Luftwaffe attacked in force. This time the multiple-
t
mount gunners kept fourteen after school and sent the
remainder of the thirty-odd scurrying for home.
The 489th had come a long way since that first day-
July 13, 1944, \vhen they had landed on the Normandy
beach and were attached to the 4th Armored Division.
"\Ve've learned a lot," said Lieutenant Colonel Allen M.
~Iurphy, battalion commander. "For example, back in the
I States we learned to camouflage our vehicles. Over here we
, never do that. Vie like to have Jerry come down low and
lookus over so we can shoot the hell out of him." Murphy,
I
a robust Southerner with sharp, twinkling eyes, and a keen
sense of humor also had another combat slant about the
i employment of antiaircraft. "vVe were also taught to dig our
rehicles in," Colonel Murphy continued, "but we've found
that to be impracticable. \Ve move so darn fast that digging
in is out of the question. If the Krauts start shelling us,
I\'e just pick up and move to another
about our business."
position and go on
~ The 489th destroyed their first plane, a ME 109, on
j July 19, 1944. During the battle for France they swelled
their total to 26h planes destroyed. Since entering Germanv,
thev have more than doubled and redoubled that
nu~ber. The grand. total, as it stood April 20, 1945, was
128h destroyed and forty-one probably destroyed. Virtually
every type of German plane has fallen to the guns of the
489th including: sixty-eight ME 109's destroyed and probably
destroyed, seventy-eight FW' 190's definites and probables,
one ME 410 destroyed, two HE Ill's destroyed,
one JLI 87 destroyed, half credit' for the destruction of a
JlI 52. eleven ME 262's (jet-propelled) destroyed and
probably destroyed, four Arado trainers destroyed and
probably
stroyed.
destroyed. and three observation biplanes de-
-
Fewer enemy planes attacked the Fourth Armored back
in France, but those that came up were plenty tough. As
Corporal John S. Kovach put it, "You couldn't scare them
then, but now they fly high and scare easily. Just give them
a couple of bursts and they break up and head for home."
Although shooting airplanes down is really their specialty,
this 489th crew is a pretty versatile lot and are
proud of capturing more than 1,000 Germans. They have
found that the 1\'1-16 with the multiple 50's discourages
ground troops as much as airplanes. 1\ lore than once they
have had the opportunity to depress their muzzles and blast
away at ground targets.
At Avranches, a gun section commanded by Sergeant
John lIsuka was completely cut off from the rest of their
battery. After four hours their battery commander finally
contacted the section by radio. He told Usuka that he had
been cut off and ordered him to attempt to break through
to the Batter" CP which was located near the French village
of Le P~nt Gilbert. LInder heavy artillery and small-
arms fire, LIsuka climbed in his M-16 and with all ouns
C>
blazing led his second half-track, an M-15 across a bridge
onto the road heading north into Avranches. So tremendous
was the volume of fire put out by L1suka and his
crew that they literally had to push the enemy dead and
destroved vehicles aside with their half-tracks.
Aft~r clearing the bridge, LIsuka's- track tipped over on
an enemy road block, so L1suka protected the withdrawal
of his squad with an M-l rifle and a submachine gun. He
fired two bandoliers of .30-caliber ammunition and finally,
\\'hen his ammunition was exhausted, engaged three Germans
in hand-to-hand combat and succeeded in taking care
of all three of them. As the other track made its wav
through the wreckage, LIsuka and his squad climbed o~
and made their way back to the Battery CPo
No one will ever know just how much enemy equipment
was destroyed in this ground action, but it is known
that a bulldozer had to be called to clear the road before
it could be used by vehicles. For this action Usuka received
the Silver Star Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
On April I, 1945, B Battery was in column with the
Fourth Armored Division's Combat Command B. The
leading elements of the column spotted a Jerry airfield
near Eisenach, Germany, where Kraut pilots were frantically
trying to get their ships off the ground before the
tanks overran their field. Captain John J. Sibert called one
of his M-15's to come to the head of the column and pointed