September-October - Air Defense Artillery

FROJ\I THE FIGHTI:\lG FRONTS
:re ,'olcanic rock made diooino of a conventional pit im-
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-ible. Grease traps of this type have been constructed
proven most effective.
Urinals consist of a pipe with a helmet or cone welded on
end. The open end is screened. The pipe is stuck in
ground with a two-foot cube of coral fill. An air pipe
rl~tkeeps it odorless.
The Quartermaster laundry units wash some of our
Iothesbut not enough. These windmill washers help fill
gap. They are easily constructed-some scrap and a
breeze are all that is needed. Breezes are usually blowing.
Salt tablets are used by those whose work entails physical
labor. The tablets make manv ill and these men must resort
to a tablespoonful of salt in a ~anteen cup of water.
This sanitary consciousness has paid dividends. Although
we've been bivouacked in unsanitarv conditions, have weathered
a rainy season and have been' near the native villages
with all of their endemic diseases our sick list from all causes
including accidents and a large percentage of chronic ailments
has never exceeded three per cent.
l From Connecticut to the
Philippines
•
l
By Captain Welles Eddy, Coast ~rtillery Corps
\tThe 21lth Antiaircraft Automatic \Veapons Battalion,
riginally the automatic weapons battalion of a Connectit
National Guard Coast Artillery (AA) Regiment, was
ducted into Federal service in January 1941. At the time
. f this writing the battalion has completed three years of
rerseas service, having participated in the East Indies,
-Papuan, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago and Philippinecampaigns.
For the part they played at Papua they
recei\'edthe Presidential Unit Citation.
The battalion climaxed its lengthy tour in Australia,
1 Ie\\' Guinea and the Admiralty Islands by shooting down
record-breaking number of enemy planes upon reaching
the Philippines. During the two-month period following
he landing on Leyte the total confirmed score was: forty-
'our planes destroyed, thirteen probably destroyed, twentyight
damaged. The number of planes engaged totaled
340.
At the outbreak of war the battalion had been given only
one towed-target practice, and that with 37mm guns. As
thefirst month of the war came to a close they were assigned
the defense of Boston harbor installations, which included
the Fore River Ship Yards and \Vatertown Arsenal. This
~xperiencein cold weather operations was short-lived, and
as not been repeated since.
New Year's Eve 1941 brought news of our battalion
being alerted for foreign service, and by February we were
\rell on our way toward the South Pacific. \Vhile the
original destination was the East Indies, the rapid Japanese
advance there brought the voyage to an end in Australia.
The initial over~eas assignment given us was the defense
of a Northern Australia fort and airdrome with our twelve
\rater-cooled guns per battery, plus a few 37mm guns.
While here we experienced the first of countless high-level
bombing attacks in which the men were unable to fire a
shot. The batt.alion's fire power was increased by the arrival
of 40mm guns with M6 directors and M3 remote control
systems. Since field and technical manuals were not avail-
able, training in these new weapons was largely of our own
designing. Gun mechanics worked closely with Ordnance
companies, which kept one jump ahead of the using arm.
This training proved invaluable later at remote jungle strips
and ports where replacement parts and ordnance detachments
were not available.
In October 1942, two batteries of the battalion moved
with their new guns to Port Moresby. Although no lowflying
targets presented themselves, the men learned how
to live in the tropics, with its poor sanitation and its health
proble-ms-to say nothing of maintaining morale under such
difficult conditions.
Toward the close of the Papuan campaign, the remainder
of the battalion made its way up the jungle-fringed northern
shore of New Guinea to the secret unloading point at Oro
Bay. Battery "A" was the first AA unit to land at Oro Bay.
Battery "B" soon followed, with Battery "D" remaining at
Port Moresby. On this fever-ridden coast the men manned
their guns and helped unload supplies for the infantry at
Buna and Sananda Point.
Jap dive bombers and strafers were engaged with good
results. In April 1943, a one-hundred-plane raid was overwhelmed
by U. S. fighter planes. Thereafter, daylight
targets became less frequent.
Not until February of 1944 were all batteries again
brought together under battalion headquarters. In the
meantime, Battery "C" had made several airborne missions
to hastily constructed jungle air strips in the Markham Valley.
They eventually reached the coast at Finschhafen and
joined the rest of the battalion. A few enemy planes were
shot down by Battery "C" during these movements.
In February 1944, the battalion was alerted for the Admiralty
Islands campaign and was attached to the 1st Cavalry
Division. Our first experience in landing guns from
invasion craft was made in the face of enemy fire. Once
again a few low-flying targets came over the defended area.
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