sill- Star 1st Lt. John Popovics, Battery B, 21st AAA AW Bn. On the morning of 4 April 1951, while reconnoitering ahead of friendly lines, lieutenant Popovics and party of …

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Silver Star

1st Lt. John Popovics, Battery B, 21st AAAAW Bn. On the morning of 4 April 1951,while reconnoitering ahead of friendly lines,lieutenant Popovics and party of two weresubjected to heavy fore from concealed hostilepositions. After assuring himself of the safetyof his comrades. he ran and crawled acrossopen terrain to obtain reenforcements. Re.turning with a half track, he directed the de-struction of the enemy emplacements. As theinfantry began to cross the Yongpyong-chonRiver, he repeatedly exposed himself to adeadly small arms and mortar barrage toguide two half track platoons into positionand to ensure a continuous stream of effectivesupport fire. lieutenant Popovics valorousleadership, military ability and selfless devo-tion to duty are in keeping with the high tra-ditions of the United States Army. x x xVermont.

Silver StarPvt. 1st CI. James D. Moore, Battery B, 21st

AAA AW Bn. On the morning of 2 April1951, while traversing a narrow volley northof Sonjong-ni, Korea, Private First ClossMoore s half track platoon was suddenly at-tacked by a well-concealed hostile elemententrenched on the commanding slope. Afterhis comrades hod placed a machine gun inforing position, he voluntarily advanced toforce the enemy to disclose their positionsby drawing their fire to himself. Maneuver-ing stealthily to the flank, he suddenly at-tacked. taking the enemy by complete sur-prise. Thinking that they hod been ambushed,the enemy fired a hasty volley, abandonedtheir emplacements, and fled in disorder overthe hill. Privte First Closs Moores valorousaction reflects the highest credit on himself,his unit and the United States Army. x x xVirginia.

BRONZE STAR J\iIEDALAWARDS3rd AAA AW BN.

Major Hermon D. McCollum

1st Lt. Norman N. Semon (V)

1st It. Lawrence D. Shields

1st It. A. M. Wilson, III (V)

M-Sgt. Hubert L. Lindsey

M-Sgt. Wm. J. Southerland (V)

Sic. Manual Triano

21st AAA AW BN.

Major David C. Miss

Sic. David A. Basham (V)

Sic. Douglas L. Dever (V)

Sgt. John B. Cox

Sgt. Wm. H. Tildsley (V)

Cpl. Melvin D. Strow (V)

Pvt. Rolph R. Perkins (V)

50th AAA AW BN ISPI

Cpl. Jock R. McConnell

82nd AAA AW BN ISPI

Major Robert L. Tataczak (10LC)

Copt. Perry E. Foust (10LC)

Copt. James H. Hiscock

Copt. Thomas E. Kelley

Copt. Louis A. Sexton

1st Lt. Kenneth J. Baratt

M.Sgt. Clarence V. Dye

M-Sgt. Robt. W. Sweeney (20LC)

M-Sgt. Robt. L. Wood

Sic. Melvin J. Guillory

Sic. Louis T. Manko

Sgt. Fronk Dotson

Cpl. Harold D. Henson

Cpl. Chas. E. Stockford

Pic. John W. Bishop (10LC)

Pic. F. X. McCarthy (10LC)

PURPLE HEART AWARDS3rd AAA AW BN.

1st Lt. Bruce H. Cumming

21st AAA AW BN.

1st Lt. Melvin S. Gross

1st Lt. R. Y. Pork (10LC)

M-Sgt. Donald L. Treat

Sic. Clyde H. Beaver

Sic. Richard Roth

Sic. Wm. E. Shepherd

Sic. Buster W. Strasser

Sgt. Emil H. Fink

Sgt. Francis Hamilton

Cpl. Tony J. Anthony

Cpl. James Coleman

Cpl. James W. Karnes

Cpl. Thomas W. Snyder

Cpl. Wm. H. Vondell

Cpl. Bobby D. Yeager

Pfc. Richard L. Coin

Pfc. Tolly Canter berry

Pic. Eugene Cochran

Pic. Gregory Guinan

Pic. Roger L. Hyer

Pic. Denver B. Onellian

Pfc. Joseph H. Porter

Pic. Raymond S. Soto

pic. James W. Vaden

pic. John K. Werme

Pvt. William Brown

Pvt. Bobbie Jamison

Pvt. Donald T. Kirk

Pvt. Bill A. Rochet

50th AAA AW BN (SPI

Cpl. Fronk G. Manley

Cpl. Norman J. Ruest

Pfc. Raymond L. Rico

pvt. Wm. J. Shelaw *

THE UNITED STATESANTIAIRCRAFTASSOCIA TION

Founded in 1892Published from 1892 until 1922 as

THE JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARTILLERYPublished from 1922 until 1948 as the

COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL

OFFICERSLT. GEN. LEROY LUTES

PRESIDENT

i\IAJ. GEN. LYMAN L. LEMNITZERVICE-PRESIDENT

VOL. LXXXXIV NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1951 No.6

Publi.hed bimonthly b)' the United State. Antiaircraft Association. Editorial and executive offic••• 631 PennO)'lvania- Avenne. N.W.•Wa.hingtOn 4, D. C. T.rm.: $3.00 p.r year. Foreign .ubscription •• $4.00 per Year. Single copie•• 75e. Entered a. second.cIa .. matterat Wa.hingten. D. C.; additional entry at Richmond, Va.• under th. Art of March 3. 1879. Copyright, 1951, by the United Stat ...Autiaireraft Anociatlon.

COL. CHARLES S. HARRISSECRETARY-TREASURER

ADDITIONAL MEMBERS OF THEEXECUTIVE COUNCIL

BRIGADIER GENERAL S. R. MICKELSEN

BRIGADIER GENERAL CHARLES G. SAGE

COLONEL THOMAS F. MULLANEY, JR.COLONEL ROBERT H. KRUEGER

LIEUTENANT COLONEL PAT M. STEVENS, IIILIEUTENANT COLONEL H. GLEN WOODMAJOR EDWARD T. PEEPLES

Th~ purpou of Ih~ AJJodalion Jhall b~ topromou Ih~ ~ffid~n~1 of Ih~ AnliaircraflArlilhry by mainlaining ilJ Jlanaaras ana tra-aitions, by aiJJ~minaiing prof~JJional knowl.~dg~, by inspiring gr~alu ~/Jorl loward Ih~improv~mml of mal;'i~l ana me/hoas oftraining ana by fosUring mUlualunauJlana_ing, rnpul ana ~oop~ralion among all arms,bran~h~s 4na ~ompon~nls of the RegulMArmy, N41ional Guard, Organizea R~urvn,ana R~urv~ Offired Training Corps.

Th. JOURNAL prlnu articl •• on nbj.cu ofprole •• ional anti ..eneral interelt to perlonne] ofthe Antiaircraft Artlll • ..,. in ord.r to .Umulat.thoDl'ht and pro't"oke dilcul.ion. Howe't'er.opinionl e.xpreIJed and cunclu.ion. drawn Inarticle. are in no .enae ofliciaL They do not re-8.ect the opinion. or conclusions of anT officialor branch of the D.partm.nt of the Arm)'.

Th. JOURNAL do.. not carr)' paid .dYerti.in~.Th. JOURNAL pa,.. for ori~nal articl •• uponpublication. JIIanuscript .hould b. addr •••• d tothe Editor. Th. JOURNAL i. not r •• pon.ibl.for manulcripu unaccompanied by returnpOltal".

PUBLICATION DATE: Dec.mb.r I. 1951

CONTENTSCOVER: \Vith \'ivid memories of last winter ... members of the 21st

AAA A \V Bn. near Kwang-ju. Left to right-Sgt. JosephSlaome, Pfc. Jack Rothermel, Cpl. James l\lattera and p"t.George Bernasconi.

ANTIAIRCRAFT ARTILLERY IN KOREA.B)' Major General \Villiam F. Marquat .

THE WOLFHOUND'S FANGS. B)' 1st Lt. Robert C. Morrison .THE A-B-C'S OF GROUND SUPPORT.

B)' 1st Lt. William O. Keeling .A REPORT ON TASK FORCE HAl\lILTON.

B)' 1st Lt. 'William O. Keeling .WITH THE 21ST BATTALION ON A TASK FORGE.

By 1st Lt. Karl F. Bennett .A BATTERY'S FLYING TACKLE. By 1st Lt. Normalz G. HalpeCJI ..A PLATOON LEADER SPEAKS I-lIS MIND.

By 1st Lt. Paul S. Vallttlre , .PANAl\IA TARGET PLANES. By SFC Don Hatt .AIR DEFENSE TRAINING EXEHCISE-STATESIDE STYLE.

B)' Lt. Co!. George E. Myers .WESTERN AHl\IY ANTIAIRCHAFT COl\Il\IAND .REACTIVATION OF FOHT HANCOCK .INTERSEHVICE PHOBLEM-JOINT SOLUTION.

B)' Major J. R. Woods and Capt. J. J. Dieringer, USAF .I'LL BE COl\lIN' HOUND THE MOUNTAIN.

B)' Lt. CO!. J. W. Hutting, USAR .THE LOW-DOWN ON THE TI6 SHIELD.

B)' Lt. Co!. Charles E. H emy .BETTER WIND DATA. By Colonel Charles S. Harris .AW SIGHT TRAINING. By Lt. Co!. Arthllr L. Me)'er .32ND AAA BRIGADE. By Capt. James R. Lewis, lnf .AMMUNITION FOR 90MM GUN. By 1st Lt. Ralph J. Swann .TRAINING LITERATURE. By Major B. G. Oberlin .HONOR ROLL .l\IOVING TARGET INDICATORS. By Lt. Co!. L. AI. Orman .THE WILD RIDE OF JOI-IN H. WISDOl\1. By Jerome Kearful .ARTILLERY ORDERS .NEWS AND COl\Il\IENT .ANNUAL INDEX .

COLONEL CHARLES S. HARRIS, EditorLIEUTENANT COLONEL RICHARD W. OWEN, Associate Editor

S!{t lei Fred A. Baker, Business ManagerSgt leI Ralph N. Charleston. Cir. ~Igr.

Sgt lei James E. ~Ioore, Jr., Editorial Assistant

27

9

12

1315

1618 v

192022

23

24

2526323637424344 ,/

47484951

ANTIAIRCRAFT A~1By Maior Genera'

ANon-IEB climatic cycle ap-proaches in Korea as this seventh reportis submitted. There are definite indica-tions that the hot, dusty terrain-churnedinto a morass during periods of torrentialrains-once more is about to be trans-formed into a bleak frazen surface laterto be covered with snow and ice withaccompanying hazards of winter. Thelatter period has not yet arrived but thedays are getting shorter and the nights

give warning that winter is on the way.Those who ha\'e been "near missed"

by rotation have vivid memories of thelast winter-the advance to the YaluRiver; Chosin Reservoir; I-Iamhung andHungnam and e\'en the tough conditionsin the rear area services bases-and theyare not enthused. \Vith usual alertnessthe Quartermaster has provided new andmore efficient types of wearing apparelfor the coming winter and the troops are

hoping that supplies will be sullicient tomeet the full demand.

And with the antiaircraft artillervunits, the prevailing atmosphere is one dE"business as usual." The long ad\':Jncesand retreats of the early days, repletewith exploits of valor on every hand,have been replaced by the shorter butmore vicious limited objective offen-sives against tougher resistance fromdug-in defensive positions. The action

Somewhere in Korea: Headquarters of Colonel \X1illiam H. Hennig's 10th AAA Group.

,..-!Ii1a.~

has been characterized bv the divisionalunits as "plenty sweat" - types and thecitations keep on arriving. The hostilebogies are appearing from time to time,bringing with them the usual problemsof radar detection at low altitudes, diffi-culty of identification, firing at tree-toptargets without illumination or radartracking and difficulty in actually ac-counting for "kills." ~Iowever, th~re isplenty of evidence that the antiaircraftcrews are registering hits-perhaps thebest of which is the fact that the hostilebombing has been utterly ineffective.

The 68th Gun Battalion, still undercommand of the veteran Lieut. Co!. Rav-mond C. Cheal, experienced some dif-ficulty with Typhoon "l\largie" butmanaged to complete its target practiceschedule and accomplish a shift of tacti-cal positions in outstanding fashion. Socomplete was the work of the advanceparty for the tactical move that there wasscarcely any interruption in the defensecapabilities of the battalion as a whole.The advance party. under l\hjor HarrvLandsman, Capt. Boyd l\IcGinn, Capt.John B. White, l\I/Sgt. Salem F. Jonesand l\I/Sgt. Jack Rudy, was highly com-mended for its work. The battalion is

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1951

proud of its proficiency at installing war-tested communications nets with econ-omy of materials, speed and efflCiencv ofoperation and ease in construction b~inoemphasized. The battalion reports man~night alerts in its new positions whic!lmakes life interesting for the antiaircraftartilleryman.

The 21st A\V Battalion, commandedby Lt. Co!. Charles E. Hem\', with the25th "Tropic Lightning" Di\:ision, aftercomplete renovation of equipment anddevelopment of a communications svs-tem of which the battalion is jus~'"proud, returned to patrol and task forc~action against the enemy with the usualexcellent results.

t\ platoon of Battery B, commanded bv1st Lieut. It y, Park, engaged in som~concentrated action against a wcll duo-inenemy while in support of the 27th °In_fan try "\Volfhound" Task Force. Licut.Park's platoon engaoed the enemy at 400o ,yards and accounted for 25 enemy killedin action. Park and five member~ of theplat~n were wounded, These dug-inhostIle troops manage to inflict casualtiesbefore being dislodged but the antiair-~raft rapid fire weapons continue to per-form magnificently in driving them outof position. Lieut. Park has since re-turned to duty after recovering from hiswounds, One of the half track units ofthis platoon hit a ground mine, wound-ing three men.

Upon another occasion a platoon ofBattery B commanded bv 1st Lieut. 1\1.G. Gross participated in ; division attackdirectly supporting the 27th Infantrv:This platoon killed 26 enemy a~dwounded 30. Gross suffered th~ samefa~e a~ Lieut. Park in being hit alongWIth SIX members of his platoon but he.also, has returned to duty .

1st Lieut. \V. O. Keeling, Jr. led his!Jlatoon in support of the 24th Infantrym an attack aoainst an cnem\' en-o ,trenched along a ri\'er line. \ Veil co-ordinated fire support permitted thedoughboys to rout out the enemy in<luick order and the antiaircraft f~undmany enemy dead in a bunker which theantiaircraft artillery fire had reduced .Upon another occasion Keeling's platoonengaged in a terrific battle with ChineseCommunist defenders of a hill position.1his time the platoon was attached toTask Force Hamilton along with tanks,infantry and friendly artillery. t\ daylong battle ensued and afterwards hu~-dreds of the enemy were found deadThe enemy did ~onsiderable damag~with its antitank weapons but no dis-abled vehicles were permitted to fall intohostile'hands.

1st Lieut. Paul S. Vanture took hisplatoon of Battery D on a similar engage-ment as part of Task Force Lvnx in anaction to overrun, capture a~d destrovenemy personnel and materie!. .

The 1st and 2nd Platoons of BattervB have been awarded the U.S. Presi.dential Distinguished Unit Citation forh~ro~~comb~t action. The "Quad Light-nmg Battahon has been given 18 Silver

A Turkish gun crew mans U.S. quad.50s.

3

ANTIAIRCRAFT JOURNAL

Brig. Gen. J. S. Bradley, CG, 25th Infantry Division, with Brig. Gen. George B.Barth, Divarty commander, decorate members of the 21sr AAA A WI Bn. Left toright: Lieut. Col. Charles E. Henry, Bronze Star Medal; 1st Lr. John Gronsky, 1stCluster to The Silver Star; 1st Lr. Richard Y. Park, BSM; 1st Lt, Sruart Lassetter,BSM; Sgt. Floyd T. Barton, Silver Star; PFC George A. Bernasconi, BSM; Cpl.Lynwood E. Collins, Silver Star; SFC Paul L. McRoberts, BSM; SFC Charles H.Moudy, BSM; Cpl. Frederick B. Duke, Silver Star; Sgt. George Gillis, BSM;PFC Richard D. Brown, BSM; Sgr. Raymond R. Arcand, BSM; Sgt. Corey L.

Clayton, BSM.

Stars, 39 Bronze Stars for valor, 28Bronze Stars for meritorious service, twoCommendation Ribbons and 132 PurpleHeart medals. ~Iost of the awards forvalor were initiated bv Infantrv Com-

o 0

manders.

A1\'ONG the most widely publicizedrecen t actions of the Korean \ Var is thatat "Bloody Ridge" on the East-Centralfront. The hostile troops were firmlyentrenched on this hill which was thescene of back-and-forth infantrv assaultsfor some time. Some of the hottest actionof the war occurred in this area and theenem~' finally was permanently drivenout of position by determined efforts ofthe Eighth Army ground forces.

Lieut. Co\. Robert H. Johnston's 82ndA\V Battalion participated prominentlyin this action. Officers and men of Bat.tery B distinguished themselves duringone assault against a fanatical enemydefense force on this ridge. The antiair-craft weapons were skillfully employedin covering the LI. S. infantry advancesup the hazardous approaches of the ridgewhich was protected by three key defen-sive positions. The M 16 weapons timeand again used their devastating fire todefeat suicide counterattacks of the hos-tile forces seeking to halt our infantry'ssuccesses,

Capt. James H. Tyree, commandingthe battery, and 1st Lieut. I-I~nry S.Dunbar Ill, SFC Cyril B. J'vloxham,Sgt. Andrew Wimberly, Sgt. Martin 1\1.Margetich, Cp\. Leonard Marcinowski,Cp\. James B. Sayre, Cp\. Kenneth O.Hauk, and PFC James B. Ketchum werecited for outstanding performances dur-ing this famous engagement.

An interesting sidelight on Army lifein Korea is recorded in the records ofBattery B, 82nd A\V Battalion, with thedischarge for minority of SFC Donald J.Eskew. Although a veteran of two yearsand nine months of Korean service,holder of the Bronze Star 1\ledal formeritorious achievement and promotedto the rank of First Sergeant of the bat-tery, Eskew is only 16 years old. Hisremarkable record of achie\'ement ischaracteristic of the type of LI. S. Armysoldier found in our Korean antiaircraftartillerv forces.

The 3rd A\V Battalion, commandedby Lieut. Co\. John B. Goettl, assignedto the 3rd LI. S. Infantry Division, also

4

participated in some of the famous actionof the recent past in Korea. This unitwas engaged in close support of LI. S.and Puerto Rican Infantrv in the IronTriangle operations. Battery B, com-manded by Capt. James H. Furr, sup-ported the Puerto Ricans in their deter-mined attacks against entrenched enemyon two rugged peaks. 1st Lieut. \ VilliamHill's First Platoon rendered close firesupport to the attacking infantry forthree days of outstanding action. At theend of the period the enemy deadcounted amounted to over 400.

\ Vhen the objective finally was takenthere were more than 800 bodies of de-fending Chinese Reds found in the bat-tered defensive works attributable to alltypes of LI. S. Forces fire. During thisaction Capt. Furr and Sgts. First ClassHenry Fox and Martin Kittelson distin-guished themselves in the face of theenemy.

Battery A, Capt. Richard DevVitt,supporting the 7th LI. S. Infantry, per-formed outstanding service in anotheraction within the Iron Triangle sector.On one occasion four days of intensiveattack gained the objective for friendlyforces in which Battery A performed

with distinction. The platoons of 1stLieut. A. ~1. Wilson and 1st Lieut. P. H.Felder accounted for 97 enemy killedand the destruction of eight enemy ma-chine gun nests. ~Iaster Sergeant JosephFarre\. SFC John Downing and SFC\ Varren George were ou tstandin g.

LIpon another occasion Battery C,Capt. Jack \V. i\lorse commanding. sup-ported the 7th LI. S. Infantry in an at.tack. From defiladed positions on t\\'oHanks of the ad\'ancing Infantry ele-ments, the platoons of SFC Roy Raben-stine and SFC F. T ristini covered themovement with fire of such effect thatthe infantry troops suffered only minorlosses from well entrenched enemy fire.Corporals Leonard 1\lavs and Henrv\Viersema performed in outstandingmanner in furnishing protective fire andin taking out targets of opportunitywhich opened up on our forces ..

One of 1st Lieut. John Kinan's halftracks was hit by enemy fire during aperiod of heavy engagement but the pla-toon refused to abandon the weapon.1\lechanics repaired a damaged trackunder enemy fire and the vehicle -retiredunder its own power.

The 1\'139personnel carrier \'ehicles of

this baualion ha\'e been doing heavyduty evacuating the ground force\\'ounded during heavy action. CorporalsBillie B. Brock, Howard T. ~ 1iller andFrank Grooms, Jr. were cited by the 70thTank Baualion, 1st Ca\'alry Di\'ision foroutstanding performance in e\'acuating\\'ounded under fire.

THE 50th A\V Battalion, under com-mand of Lt. Co!. Lawrence J. Lesper-ance. has had difIiculties with highwater in its air defense tactical loca-tions. \ Vhile enemy action could notbudge the 50th A\ V Battalion defenses,nature forced an evacuation. After thehigh water receded the batteries movedback into their old positions bearing thetitle of "Driftwood Bovs" conferred bv..the Air force elements in the area.

The 50th was awarded a Korean Presi-dential citation by Syngman Hhee, Presi-dent of the Republic of Korea, alongwith units of the X Corps to which the50th Baualion was attached during theperiod covered by the citation.

This baualion reports a strange butinteresting incident illustrating the in-direct value of antiaircraft defenses. Ithad been reported that an enemy bogiehad been making frequent nightly visitsto one of our air installations causingconsiderable concern and some damage.It was arranged to shift some of the 50thA\V Baualion equipment to this area fora surprise defense against the hostilenight raider. Utmost secrecy was ob-served in the movement and the displace-ment took place swiftly under cover ofdarkness. After arrival of the antiaircraftequipment and personnel, no hostile airaction in that vicinity was experiencedfor six nights. \Vhen the antiaircraftequipment was returned to its permanentpositions~ however, the night prowlerreturned.

It is apparent that the enemy had in-formation of the AAA installations inthis area. The fact was established,however, that when friendly antiaircraftinstallations are present, the enemyplanes are reluctant to come to grips withthem. It would indicate a deep respectfor the potency of U. S. antiaircraft artil-lery weapons by the enemy. It furtherreveals one reason why the antiaircraftis not more frequently engaging theCommunist night raiders-the raidingplanes do not come around areas where


82nd AAA Bn. covers hostile hills.

an antiaircraft defense has been in-stalled.

The 15th AW Battalion, commandedby Lt. Co!. Franklin A. \Verner, furnish-ing antiaircraft defense for the U. S. 7thDi\'ision. has been busily engaged in theDeath Valley sector of operations on theCentral Front. The twin 40mm equip-ment has been found especially effectivein attacking hostile hill or ridge toppositions of the enemy in support of ourfriendly infantry advances. 1\lany coun-terattacks have been repulsed effectivelyand the multiple mount weapons havebeen found to be especially suited to thispurpose because of the tremendous firepower that can be shifted rapidly to thepoint of threat.

On one occasion a unit of Bauery Bled by 1st Lieut. Ernest Honaker ofOtway, Ohio was cut off behind theenemy lines during an engagement,fought off a vicious night attack by theChinese Communists and withdrew thefollowing day while closely engagedwith the opposing forces.

A platoon of Bauery 0, under Lt.Paul J. Tate, supported the infantry dur-ing the capture of Old Baldy area objec-tives. The enemy made a determinedcounterattack against our successful in-fantry, but the antiaircraft multipleweapons soon broke up the enemy forayand caused the hostile troops to £lee incomplete disorder.

Battery C supported an Ethiopianunit during one of its attacks and im-mediately became a favorite with theUN infantry contingent. This is be-lieved to be the first instance of the useof U.S. AAA troops in support of Ethio-pian combat organizations.

Lieut. Don Brown has organized aunit of 1-.13-AI personnel carriers to

shuttle infantry troops to and from ex-treme forward area positions. The unitis called "Battery X." The armored ve-hicles transfer the combat infantry troops

swiftlv and with mInimum losses andare most popular with the troops. Thiscombat ta:o.;service is operating under a"You call-\Ve haul" motto.

Sgt. Billy C. Lewey, Tuscumbia. Ala.and PFC Gerald L. Hurhs, Vallejo.Calif. volunteered to enter enemy rearareas during Operation Cleaver to re-cover wounded infantrvmen. Both re-turned across a fire swept open spacewith badly wounded doughboys andha\'e been recommended for Silver Starawards.

New arrivals in the Battalion include1-.lajors \V. P. ~Iathers and L. l'Iiliar;Captains H. \\T. Reidburg. 1-1. Postol.A. J. Baer, C. \V. Bland and D. Bruce;Ist Lieutenants 1'1. A. Limbert. C. Far-rar, J. N. Peck and E. D. Bayne.

T HE 78th Gun Battalion, com-manded by Lieut. Co!. John B. Parrott,has had some contact with night bogiesbut the enemy has been £lying at tree-topheight and quickly disappears as soon asfired upon. Capt. Arthur Brooks' Batteryo claims one shot down.

The 933rd AW Battalion, commandedby Lieut. Co!. Charles E. Hoden, hasbeen engaging in target practices at aEUSAK firing point in Korea. It is wellequipped for night defense and is pre-pared to make a showing if the enemynight Riers show up within range. Theunit commanders in this battalion are:1st Lieut. Clyde F. Childs, Headquar-ters Battery; Capt. Hay R. I-layden, Bat-tery A; Capt. Iverson O. ~ litchell,Battery B; 1st Lieut. George C. I-lamp-ton, Battery C and Capt. John C.Tucker, Battery D. Capt. Dennis J.Ahern has the 51st SMRUE. attached.

Colonel William H. Hennig's 10thAA Group Headquarters, controlling theantiaircraft troop units in the Kore<lnAir Defense, has been most active inconducting training and target practiceoperations for all antiaircraft organiza-tions in the Korean area. Lieut. Co!.T. \V. Ackert, group executive, is onTOY with EUSAK Headquarters, act-ing as Colonel1-lennig's deputy and anti-aircraft adviser to General James A.Van Fleet's headquarters.

\Vith winter approaching, the 10thGroup Headquarters, having experi-enced one cold season in Korea, is busilyengaged in winterizing its housing andequipment. Se\'eral new developments

5

in sealing construction against cold ha\'ebeen de\'ised and are being installed.

The Group Headquarters has organ-ized a Korean orphans' charity committeeto provide for a group of 300 war or-phans during the coming cold season. Itis estimated that thousands of homelessorphans will undergo extreme sufferingduring the winter of 1951-52 unless stepsare taken at once to provide for them.The committee consists of chaplains andspecial sen'ice officers. They are: ChaplainJohnson and Capt. Turck; ChaplainFord and Capt. Harris; Chaplain Brooksand Capt. \ Villard; Chaplain Calter andCapt. Owens; Chaplain \Voosley andCapt. Owens; Chaplain Hopson andCapt. Jaffa; and the group executive.Lt. Col. Young. group special servicesofficer. Capt. William F. Rawcliffe andgroup member 1st Lieut. Paige.

Funds in the amount of more than$5.000 already have been raised. \\liththese finances it is planned to importclothing and food badly needed by these

children through cooperation with theUnited Nations Civil Affairs Command.The 10th Group supports the ChangChoen Garden orphanage. If sufficientfunds are later raised. each battalion ofthe group will take o\'er a separateorphanage.

U. S. 1\'a\'y aviation F-4Us broughtdown se\'eral of the night raider enemyplanes during the period of this report.They were identified as the PO-2 type,slow mO\'ing planes with limited range.Several of these PO-2 planes disinte-grated when hit but one landed behindUN lines. The plane was wrecked aridthe pilot killed.

So another phase of antiaircraft artil-lery history in the Korean \Var passes.After all there are only so many thingsYOU can do in combat and these unitshave done about all of them bv thistime. The narratives may appear repeti-tious to some readers but the actions arein different sectors, by different organi-zations and involve different men. To

BOOKS RECEIVED

those who are participating 111 antiair-craft artillery support of attackingground forces there is nothing monoto-nous about the situations. They areslugging it out with a cunning andvicious enem\' but are demonstratino• <>superiority in every type of operation.They are learning lessons that willinsure future Yictories at a smaller COStof human life. They are preparing them-selves to be the nucleus of the antiair-craft troop component of the expandedU. S. Military Force and to carryonwith the same determination and lovaltvas that now being demonstrated i~Korea.

The value of antiaircraft in groundsupport is fully appreciated in Korea.The Eighth Army has assigned ~116quad caliber .50 weapons to each divi-sion in order to have this devastating fueeffect always with them. This is mUll'recognition of how the antiaircraft troopshave sold their weapons and lhemsel\'l'sduring the Korean \Var.

6

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THE WOLFHOUND'S FANGSBy 1st Lt. Robert C. Morrison

THE 21st AAA A \V Bn. (SP), underthe command of Lt. Co!. Charles E.Ilenr\', arri\'ed at Pusan on a cold, bitterdav in earl" Januarv, and before wegr~w fond of that po;t we headed northon a 300 mile march to join the 25th''Tropic Lightning" Division,

Baker Batten', under the command ofCapt. 1\lichael' B, Kaminski, a dynamicex-tanker, was promptly placed in sup-port of the 27th Infantry "\Volfhound"Regiment.

1\ly platoon, the First, immediatelyjoined Task Force Doh'in which drovenorth through Anyang, Yongdongpo,Kimpo, and on to the sea. The SecondPlatoon, under the command of 1st. Lt.John Popovics, a few days later joinedTask Force Bartlett which leapfroggedup the seacoast and cleared the westernsector to Kimpo. At the breakup of thetask forces, by the appreciation shownand the praise received, we knew BakerBattery was an accepted part of theWolfhounds-a fact which raised ourmorale higher than it had ever been.

\Vhen we first joined the vVolfhounds,we were organized according to theTO&E. However, after the initial taskforces, the battery was reorganized intothree firing platoons, a practical andhighly effective solution to the problemsinvolved in a marriage with the infantry.The infantry regiment normally operateswith two battalions on the line, usingthe reserve battalion to rotate and restone battalion.

I-laving only two platoons with whichto support the infantry made it necessaryfor our platoons to remain on the lineall the time with no chance for reservewithin the regiment. The pace of con-stant attack under this condition was anunnecessary hardship on the men and

lieut. Morrison entered the military serviceIrom Tennessee, graduated USMA in 1950,and joined the 21s1 AAA AW BN at ForI Bliss,Texas.

He has been awarded the Silver Star, OLe,and the Bronze Star lor gallantry lor actionin Korea.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBERr 1951

equipment, hence the reorganization.The fact that 95% of our tracks were

in action at all times during this periodof stress merits the highest praise of ourdrivers and the maintenance crew. 1\lanytimes mechanics and drivers worked mostof the long winter nights so that platoonswould be up to full strength for the nextdav's attack. \Vhen the Third Platoonw,;s organized 1st Lt. John Gronsky be-came its pilot. The platoon was com-posed of four 1\1I6's and one 1\115 andwas attached to the Second Battalion.Lt. Popovics' platoon, the Second, wasattached to the Third Battalion, whilemy platoon, the First, remained with itsfoster parent, the First Battalion.

As a further part of the reorganizationeach platoon received one mechanic per-manentlyattached. This attachment wasa terrific boon, since the high caliber me-chanics we had were able to performnear miracles on the line, thus savingmuch valuable time which normallywould have been wasted waiting on themaintenance crew to arrive. These greas)'geniuses have perfected the art of re-placing a thrown track to a point that theaid of a winch from another track is theonly tool needed in addition to the usualsocket set. Soon after our arrival ourfarsighted battalion commander, Lt. Co!.Charles E. Henry, had given each bat-ter)' two extra 2Y!-ton trucks to be usedfor ammunition. This addition to thebattery was one of our biggest assets.

The ammo trucks were kept constantlywith whichever two platoons were on theline at the time, thus assuring a constant,rapid resupply of ammunition. Due tothe fact that we spent as much timeahead of the Wolfhounds, in Rankingattacks, as we do abreast of them, therehave been manv instances when the in-stantaneous availability of ammunitionsaved not only the infantry from anambush but also prevented us from beingsurrounded without enough ammunitionto fight our way back. Our ammo driverswere shelled and machine-gunned morethan they liked, yet their front line serv-

ice to the platoons was always superiorand at times e\'en heroic.

Xi\' the dri\'e to the Han we constantlyperfected the teamwork between the in-fantry, tanks and ack-ack. Because of theunshakeable tenacit\. of the \Volfhoundswe could place our tracks in night de-fensive positions which might be con-sidered tacticallv unsound if we hadbeen with a less formidable outfit. Ourconstant goal was to support the infantryno matter where the support was needed,We built bridges, corduroyed mudholes,and winched half buried half tracks inan effort to place our tracks anywherethe infantry wanted us, until we begancalling ourselves the t\ck Ack Engineers.Using a tank to break the rice-paddydikes, to tow a track thru a mudhole,or to tow a track up a steep cross-countryslope was standard procedure. In suchstatic positions as the Lincoln Line weeven used a D7 bulldozer to push ourtracks into positions along a 600 meterridgeline.

Because the infantry prefers enfiladefire to overhead fire, we always buttonup for the night, foxhole to foxhole withthe "doughs." It is a familiar sight tolook at the l\.ILR from an OP and seehalf-tracks squatting among the rice pad-dies, perched on small ridges, or tuckedawav in narrow draws, wherever thereis a potential hotspot that night.

At night the situation largely deter-mines the method of fire controL Ourplatoon CP's are always on a direct wireto the infantry battalion switchboard aswell as the SCB 300 radio, thus assuringpositive communications with the infan-try under all conditions. When the sec-tions are split up among the companies,firing is usually under control of thecompany commander. This is easily ac-complished one of two ways. First,thru the infantrv chain of command,using a sound ~wer phone to the in-fantry squad leader nearest the tracks,or second, from the company commander

7

thm the AA platoon CP to the tracksvia SCR 508. When, as in some cases,the platoon is itself cO\'ering one sectorof the front the firing is controlled bythe infantry S-3 or company commander,thm the AA Platoon CP to the tracks,via SCR 508.

During the day, in the attack, thesvstem of lire and tactical control isslightly different. Communication is en-tirely by SCR 300 and SCR 508 untilthe objective is taken and wire laid bythe infantry battalion wire team. Ini-tially in the attack the platoon is placedin direct support of the assaulting com-pany or companies. The company com-mander together with the S3 determineswhether our mission will be to advancewith the infantry, to support with flank-ing fire from a forward position, or toforce our way to the rear of the objectivefor an ambush. This latter mission, usu-ally assigned in the later stages of theattack, is the one which more than anyother strengthens our bond with theWolfhounds, for its success dependsupon mutual aggressiveness. When sentaround to the rear of a hill we know theWolfhounds will always somehow get tothe top with support if we need it, whilethey likewise know that when theylinally do make the top our tracks will bewaiting on the other side to chew up anyenemy "bugging out," and more impor-tant to mop up any enemy reorganiza-tion for an immediate counterattack.

As the tactical situation changes theplatoons often get a call to leave onecompany and support another which isharder pressed at the time. Sometimesthis means a mere shift in position ofseveral hundred yards, but at other timesdue to impassable mou:q.tainsand a weirdroad network it means miles of travel.One instance in particular brings thisout. After crossing the Han River theapproach to the main E-W MSR wasblocked by a 700 meter ridge parallel tothe MSR. As we neared the head of thevalley in support of Baker Company, Ireceived orders to join Able and supportthem in their advance. In order to dothis it was necessary to follow a routeapproximating a 350 degree arc coveringslightly over 15 miles. Before that 2Y2-day operation was completed we hadmade the same trip six times linallyreaching the MSR late one afternoon.From then on the trip to each of the£lank companies was only one mile!

8

As we worked our way further andfurther north our tactics had to be al-tered to meet the increased mortar andartillery fire with which the Chinesedefended the central sector. As soonas the day's attack was completed andthe objective secured the platoon wouldwait in nearby defilade until night-fall. In the meantime, the squad lead-ers and section chiefs would accom-pany the platoon leader on a detailedreconnaissance of their positions forthe night. The tracks would then moveinto position after dark and move outin the attack at dawn. Moving into p0-sition after dark not only had the ad-vantage of protection from artillery ob-servation, it also concealed the actualposition of the tracks in the MLR untilthe last possible moment. This becameincreasingly important as the Chineselearned the effectiveness of the quadsand made their attacks on sectors not cov-ered by our fire. More than once ourtracks caught the Chinamen with theirbugles down and covered the groundwith surprised yellow bodies.

With the confidence acquired by sav-age, relentless attacking and aggressive-ness fired by the high moral of a tough,grizzled fighting team our versatility soonapproached the boundless limit expectedby the Wolfhounds.

In one instance the second platoonwas probing far out ahead of the infan-try, toward the battalion objective, whenthey discovered the terrain would per-mit complete encirclement of the villageand hill. Moving in underneath theenemy mortar fire the tracks took up po-sitions which completely isolated thehill. They then eradicated the remain-ing Chinese and radioed the amazedbattalion commander the objective wassecure.

ONE night during the late April Chi-nese offensive serves as another goodexample of this versatility. The enemyhad overrun a hill on the right flank andwas pressing toward a battalion CP inthe rear. Both my platoon and the Thirdwere covering the sector of a wide valleyallotted to our respective battalions. Leav-ing the First Platoon to cover the entirefront the Third Platoon streaked downthe MSR and up into the valley wherethe CP was beginning its fight for life.When the Third Platoon arrived at

dawn, the Chinese were already stream-ing dovm the hillsides but as the quadsbarked the tide inunediately began tocrumble before the withering fire. As itgot lighter the increased visibility aidedthe tracks in completely disrupting thebreakthrough, as the Third Platoonstacked up more than 400 dead, stoppingthe lead elements some 25 yards fromtheCP.

A linal example of the versatility theWolfhounds appreciated so much, andone with which I am more familiar, oc-curred in early June. In two days we ledand supported the attack, blocked a nightprobing attack, completed a rescue mis-sion, and aided a mop up operation. Dueto the peculiar nature of the terrain thefirst two days of the operation were spentin aggressive patrolling. The battalionsector was the size normally covered by aregiment, narrowing down to a battalionsize sector after the next series of objec-tives, Sugarloaf on the right, and Tomon the left.

The MLR followed a cliff-like ridge-line to the east, skirted the edge of asmall lake, then climbed up the face of arazor-sharp, 800 meter, N-S ridge. Myplatoon held the left flank of the line bybending back slightly in order to covera 1500 yard gap between us and thefriendly unit to our left. The day of theattack we were to drive up an E-W val-ley 1800 yards long leading to the baseof Tom. Accompanied by two tanks wewere to clear out what resistance wecould, set up a base of fire for the in-fantry, and wait for them to movethrough us. It was the perfect setup fora tight situation and a tough fight; Holly-wood could have done no better. Thesmooth, calculated killing method inwhich the crews handled this hellhole,is a tribute not only to them but to thecool courage and fighting spirit of theentire battery. The platoon advanced bysections using the leapfrog method oflire and maneuver, while the sectionchiefs themselves used the same proce-dure, track bv track, within their section., .

As we rounded each wooded lingerprojecting into the 200 yard-wide valleythe ground reverberated from the roar ofseven tracks as they chopped up snipers'nests and cut the burp gun artists to rib-bons. At the dead end of the valley wemade the final turn and walked into ahornets' nest. Green and white tracersturned our shields black with their white


heat at such close range. The tankerswere unable to use their big guns due to

the thick foliage. but at such close range.50 to 75 yards, our armor piercing ammu-nition did a highly creditable job on thebunkers.

By constantly shifting tracks as theyneeded ammunition we matched enemvnre. returned from three directions, for2Y.! hours. \Vhen the infantrv nnallv, .moved through us we had expended 84.-000 rounds, knocking out two of thethree machine guns and fifty to sixtydug-in enemies. That night the Chinesefollowed a friendly patrol into the line;so one section was saddled up and sentto join the fireworks display. \Ve caughtthem in a rocky pass and shattered guitea few links in the Chinese chain of com-mand before their withdrawal. The nextday, as the infantry attacked, the enemyslipped around their Ranks in smallgroups, finally regrouping in the valleyleading to Tom.

There they cut off several litter jeeps,some walking wounded, and the com-

pany wire crews. Answering the battal-ion commander's call we again enteredthe valley. ad\'ancing almost to the menwho were pinned down before drawingfire not onlv from our front but also fromour left rear. By maneuvering the rear-most track so the crew was shielded bvanother track the fire to our left rear wasneutralized, and after a thirty minutebattle we managed to pin down the bulkof the enemy to our front, thus allowingthe wounded and litter jeeps to clear outof the vallev.

No sooner had we cO\'ered our ownexits than two platoons of infantryjoined us for a mop-up of that samepocket of infiltrators. Entering the val-lev for the third time we covered theinfantrv's advance as the\' closed in on..the bunkers. \Ve learned afterward,from the dead counted by the infantry,that we had chewed up the eguivalent oftwo enemy companies, knocking out onemachine gun nest, while the infantrytook two more. Bv this time casualtieshad cut our strength to five tracks of four

men. each but the objecti\'e was takenand our missions had all been completed.

CLOSE support of the infantry natu-rally im'oIYed casualties, Of our averageoperating strength of 120 to 130 men 68have recei\'ed purple hearts. Because ofthis. manpower is always a critical item,but there are alwa\'s those who rise tomeet any need. This is well proven bythe se\'en Sih-er Stars and the elevenBronze Stars for Valor which ha\'e beenawarded bv our own battalion and theinfantry battalions. True, the 1\\V menin Korea have not received the recogni-tion which the Combat Infantry Badgesignifies; however Baker Battery hasbeen well recognized by the recentaward of the Presidential Unit Citationfor our part in the Han River crossingof 7 1'lar 51, when the entire batterysupported the assaulting Third Battalion.

Our greatest pride. however, is ourname, given by the \Volfhounds them-selves-The \Volfhound's Fangs.

The A-B-C's Of Ground SupportBy 1st Lt. William O. Keeling

UPON his arrival in Korea a lieu-tenant bearing the 1'IOS of 1174 mayfind himself in rather a peculiar quan-dry. Primarily his training and experi-ence have emphasized the rules andtechniques of engaging aerial targets.However, in this theater the targets ofmany A\V units are terrestial and dif-ferent rules and techniques are em-ployed. It is the purpose of this articleto attempt an explanation of the job ofan A\V platoon leader in a ground sup-port role.

Lt. William O. Keeling entered the militaryservice from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1943.Integrated into the Regular Army 17 December1948. Joined 8attery "0," 21st AAA AW 8N(SPI, in Korea 1 February 1951 to commandthe First Platoon. Awarded the Silver Starand Bronze Star.


Under the leadership of Lt. Col.Charles E. Henry, the 21st AAA A\VBattalion (SP) has acted in the groundsupport role for the 25th Division sincethe battalion's arrival in Korea. Operat-ing on the theory that a job worth do-ing is worth doing to the best of yourability, the 21st has performed its mis-sion in an exemplary manner and isnow a respected and valued memberof the ground support team.

COORDINATION

Full cooperation and understandingbetween the A\V platoon leader and theinfantry unit are prime requirementsof ground support. The infantry mustbe fully aware of your capabilities andlimitations and vice versa. Before the21st was ever committed, Col. Henry

supplied the infantry units with amimeographed form wherein were listedthe capabilities and limitations of ~heM 16. These details arc often of majorvalue.

Personal contact with battalion com-manders, S3's, company commanders,and platoon leaders is a must. Normalcontacts may suffice, but I heartily rec-ommend that you make it a point topay at least a daily visit to the infantrybattalion hearquarters. In this way youbecome a familiar ngure and the dis-cussion of your weapons is invaluablein giving the supported unit a clear,concise picture of what you can do forthem. These visits also gi\'e you an ideaof what is scheduled for the next dayand allow you to plan and make thenecessary contacts.

9

Get to know the battalion 83! Hereyou lind the scheduled operations andwhat they require of you. Here also the82 can give you an idea of what theenemy is doing. If you are wen ac-quainted 'with the battalion commanderand his 83, you are in a position to learnthose details which in the linal analysisdetermine how effective your supportwill be.

You must also learn the fine art ofsaying no. Sometimes you will be askedto do a job that is beyond YOUI' capabili-ties; a negative answer and the reasonstherefore will usually result in either analteration of the mission to permit yourparticipation or in finding another mis-sion for you. However, be sure you haveadequate grounds for a negative reply!Look things over very carefully and ifan affirmative possibility exists, give ita whirl.

To sum up. Get familiar with the unityou are supporting. Learn their prob-lems and requirements. Let them learnyour side of the story, your problemsand requirements. In a very short whileyou will find yourself working in anatmosphere of mutual trust, respect andconfidence.

TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT

Generally, you will find this topic canbe broken down into four general types:direct support of the attack, task forces,blocking positions, defensive positions.

In direct support of the attack themain requirement is locating positionswell within your most effective rangesso that you can deliver accurate andeffective fire throughout the entire at-tack. Considerations affecting yourchoice of positions are: accessibility, timerequired to move into position from yourpresent location, size of the area, prox-imity to the enemy, and alternate po-sitions.

In the attack it is best to pay closeattention to the size of the area you areto occupy. Quite often you will sharethis spot with tanks and overcrowdingis not advised! You may also find it ex-pedient to utilize part of your platoonas a reserve force. This affords more am-ple room for maneuvering, and also pro-vides you with replacements if one ofthe striking force vehicles becomes dis-abled.

The infantry welcomes AW supportin an attack due to the tremendous vol-

10

ume of fire that can be delivered in ashort time. At 800 yards a platoon ofM16's can literally blanket a hillside. Infiring a support mission you must givethe problem of range serious thought.Positions at ranges of 1000 yards ormore restrict your support to prepara-tion fires alone. Dispersion at long rangesmakes overhead fire a very risky propo-sition. If positions can be found within500 to 700 yards of the objective, over-head fire becomes an extremely effec-tive method of support. Good communi-cations and a proper display of panelscan ensure effective fires to the very lastminute before the final assault. Theseranges can also make life miserable forany hostile counterattacks that may de-velop.

Area size and alternate positions areworthy of serious consideration. Theenemy often reacts to M16's like a dogto fleas. If you have room to maneuverthese unwelcome attentions can be re-duced in effectiveness. If enemy reactionis vigorous, alternate positions are a must.You are courting extreme discomfort tostay put in a place too long.

Defilade, if available, is most welcome.However, it must be a secondary con-sideration unless you can utilize it andstill accomplish your mission.

Task forces presuppose close coordi-nation with tanks. In this type of oper-ations armor and AW can do quite abit for each other. The tank is betterable to withstand flat trajectory weap-ons, automatic weapons fire from thefront, and mines. On the other handthe M16 can sweep the flanks withdevasting effectiveness, protect the ar-mor against rocket launcher teams, andquickly discourage any mass attacks.

To best utilize each weapon's capabili-ties it is usual practice to employ oneor two tanks as the lead vehicles andthen scatter the M16's throughout thecolumn with the last vehicle again atank. In this manner maximum securityand fire power are afforded throughoutthe column.

TASK forces cover a variety of ~is-sions, but I am using the term to de-scribe any operation wherein armor andAWare required to operate in advanceof friendly lines. Here again close co-ordination is of the utmost importance.Engineers, armor, infantry and AWare

assembled in varying proportions andsent forth on their mission, and eachunit must carefully dovetail its effortsinto the smooth close cooperation of theentire team.

Mines are .an even greater hazard insuch operations. Time permitting, theengineers can remove or detonate themas they sweep a clear lane in advanceof the vehicles. A tight schedule orheavy enemy fire may reduce the timeallotted to mine clearance to the pointwhere only obvious evidence of theseweapons can be checked. Then vehiclesmust proceed cautiously and a sharplookout must be maintained for likelylocations of mines. Mines are one of theprime reasons for making a tank thelead vehicle. Tanks can absorb the det-onation of mines with comparativelylittle damage unless a multiple instal-lation is encountered. Even a singlemine can deliver a harrassing jolt to anM16, and at best the front of the ve-hicle is damaged very heavily. At worst,the gas tanks are struck and a raginginferno results. Either way the crewsuffers a severe shaking-up as a mini-mum of injury.

The range and power of AW fire isan extremely useful aid to the advanceof the force. It renders close-in attacks.something approaching suicide. Roadblocks are difficult to man in the faceof the murderous fire an M16 can bringto bear. In addition, long range lire canbe used to rake hill masses suspected ofharboring enemy positions. If the mis-sion of the force is to seize an objective.AW provides assault fires as in supportof the infantry. It may be utilized asa support force to provide security andcovering fires for the withdrawal of theunit. If the job .is that of clearing theenemy from villages the tracer and in-cendiary projectiles in the torrent ofAW fire is an unsurpassed medium ofarson, and burning buildings are soonempty of hostile occupants. Teamedwith the powerful flat trajectory weap-ons of the tanks and the fighting poten-tial of the infantry, AW is a potent ad-dition to the groups that go out to seekthe enemy in his own bailiwick.

BLOCKING positions are an im-portant factor in the withdrawal offriendly forces. The AW platoon leaderin conjunction with the supported in-


fantry picks out positions along the routeof withdrawal from which he can coverthe retrograde movement. Ideal spotsare river banks, the mouths of valleys,and main routes of hostile advance. Thistype of operation also £uds AW againemployed with armor.

As prearranged, the blocking posi-tions are occupied, friendly troops passthrough them and pr~eed to new de-fensive positions. As the rear guardmoves by, the blocking force pulls outand follows providing coverage of theunit's rear. Often the blocking forceawaits the enemy's lead elements anddelivers fire designed to inflict maximumcasualties, disorganize the hostiles, anddisrupt the pursuit thus gaining addi-tional time for friendly units to organizetheir new position. The mobility of thearmor-AW team plus its heavy firepower make it an ideal combination forsuch rear-guard actions.

Defensive positions utilize the M16fire power to the maximum, especiallywhere mass attacks are common. Theinfantry line with its bunkers, barbedwire, mine fields, and concentrations ofmortar and artillery constitutes a formi-dable obstacle in its own right. Coupledwith the power of AW, such a positionassumes the proportions of a very toughnut. M16 positions should be dug atleast out of hand grenade range fromthe barbed wire. Quite often a protec-tive horseshoe of wire is placed abouteach vehicle. A recommended distancein rear of the MLR is about sixty yards.High ground overlooking the MLRshould be utilized if available. If con-cealment is available, it is advisable tooccupy the firing position after sunsetand move out just as daylight is break-ing. In this way the very conspicuoussilhouette of the M16 is kept out ofsight as much as possible.

AW fire power neatly complementsthe final protective lines of the infantry.The FPL is a calculated system of firedesigned to integrate the fires of allweapons into a series of interlockingbands with as little dead space as pos-sible. However, the 1\.145turret by thenature of its design can easily and quick-ly bring heavy, accurate fire to bear inany direction. This makes it an ideal

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER,1951

addition to the FPL. Given a poSItIonoverlooking the infantry wire, the M16can systematically sweep the area andalong with the patterned fires of theFPL lay down a heavy blanket of firealong the entire position. A massedenemy, silhouetted as he strugglesthrough defensive wire, will suffer mur-derously at the hands of heavy, close-range AW fire!

RECONNAISSANCE

The importance of a complete recon-naissance cannot be too heavily empha-sized. A map reconnaissance, while use-ful, is not sufficient. Where possible theAW platoon leader must cover theground thoroughly before his first ve-hicle enters an area. Terrain such as thatencountered in Korea makes actual cov-erage of the ground a must. Cross-coun-try movements quickly become night-mares of bogged and struggling ve-hicles if a route has not previously beenfully reconnoitered. The rice paddy is aperfect case in point. From a distance alllook about the same. A closer inspectionwill reveal that some are firm enoughto sustain the weight of an M16. How-ever, other paddies will have a thin crustcovering a deep sticky gumbo that willstop an M16 as surely as a mine. Recon-naissance can make all the difference inthe world.

The inaccuracy of Korean maps isanother factor in favor of ground recon-naissance. The map may show an ade-quate road running right through thepositions you wish to occupy. Checkthat road if you can. Too often you willfind a trail that would insult even amule! An M16 hung up on a cowpathor paddy dike is not calculated to re-duce a man's proclivity towards pro-fanity! Check the map and then gocheck the ground.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications can be one of themost persistent headaches encounteredby the A\V platoon leader.

Get every type of communicationavailable to you. We use the SCR-300regularly with the infantry, but some-times that may fail you. Wire is a mustwhen available. If able, the infantry

wiII gladly run you a wire from theirswitchboard. The fact that armor andAW both employ the SCR 508 and 528radios opens another means of communi-cation. A channel can be quickly turnedto that of the tanks. This hook-up isessential for working with tanks. It alsois a useful alternate to your oV\'1lsystemin emergencies.

Lastly the SCR 694 in your personnelcarner will link up with your batteryCP when FM contact fails.

To sum up, utilize every availablemeans of communication. Good com-munications is a mighty handy item tohave at your disposal.

IF I HAD My WAYI would like to see the advent of a

replacement for the M16. The halftrack has labored mightily and valiantlyat the task required of it. It has far ex-ceeded the expectations of all concerned.However, it has some critical draw-backs. The vehicle's cross-country mo-bility is not good, nor is its flotation. Thelack of crew protection is a serious de-£ciency. Even with the appearance ofarmor shields, the lot of the AW can-noneer is far from enviable. He remainsunduly exposed to enemy fire. Lastly,the maneuverability of the M16 leavesmuch to be desired.

The 1\116should be replaced by a fulltrack chassis similar to that of the M19.I prefer the light tank chassis to that ofthe M39 because it does not have aradial engine as a power plant and soavoids the problem of hydrostatic lock.

Thus mounted the 1\145 turret shouldbe provided with armor shielding withrounded surfaces that are large enoughto give full protection to the cannoneer,with side and overhead cover.

The utilization of a full track chassiswould, of course, answer the questionof maneuverability. The AW close sup-port vehicle would then emerge as onecapable of movement in aU but theroughest or soggiest terrain and betterequipped to protect its crew during ac-tion.

Of course, reasons of economy maybe used to rebut my argument, but whereis the economy in attempting a job withinadequate equipment?

11

A Report On Task Force HamiltonBy 1st Lt. William O. Keeling

THREE A.i\l. the 20th of Septemberwas the hour when the men of TaskForce Hamilton awoke to begin thatforay against the Chinese Forces in thevicinity af Hagujong. The previous day'sbriefing by i\laj. Raymond W. Rig.gsby,53 of the 89th i\ledium Tank Battal-ion had indicated a strong, well-dug-inenemy would be waiting for us. In addi-tion there was a strong possibility thatHat trajectory weapons had been addedto an already hea\'ily manned position.Now we were to test that position.

The mission of the task group was tolaunch an infantry company towards ob-jective "Blazer" and then press a harass-ing tank attack on objective Clobber.The sketch shows the proposed opera-tion:

The infantry was to move along theoutposted hill and launch the attack onBlazer. i\leanwhile the tanks and halftracks would give them supporting fires.Once the infantry was pressing up

First Lieutenant W. O. Keeling, Jr. enteredthe military service from Pillsburgh, Po.

Joined the 21st AAA AW BN jSPI in Koreain early January 1951.

He has been awarded the Bronze Star andSilver Star.

12

Blazer, all but one platoon of tanks andthe half tracks would mO\'e on to roughup Clobber, while the remaining ve-hicles would continue supporting the in-fantry. Once launched, the entire groupwould remain in contact until ordered towithdraw b\' division.

Assembled for its mission, Task ForceHamilton included: Able Company ofthe 89th Tank Battalion; King Com-pany, 35th BCT; 1st Platoon, Dog Bat-tery, 21st AAA A\V Battalion (SP); aplatoon of engineers from the 65th Com-bat Engineer Battalion; and an additionaltank platoon.

Thus it was that the task force namedfor Lt. Co!. William T. Hamilton, Jr.,commander of the 89th, awoke in theinky hours of the morning of the 20th tothe task confronting it. Soon there wasthe bustle of men rolling and stowingtheir bedrolls and the coughing of \'e-hicle motors springing to stuttering life.As engines warmed to operating le\'els,conversation became a matter of shoutedexchanges. At the same time, radio voicesof the group began the ritual of the com-munications check and of final instruc-tions. At the appointed time Task ForceHamilton moved out with the bullishroar of tanks filling the air.

Like a long metal snake, the grouptwisted along the road moving ever closerto the IP until at last as the chilly dark-ness began to fade into the hazy light ofearly morning, a halt was made until0530, our zero hour. The infantry dis-mounted and began its march to the IP.

Under the co\'er of friendly artillery,the task force resumed the march untilthey reached the i\ILR. Here the variousgroups deployed to their assigned loca-tions. As ordered, the half tracks took uppositions at the barb wire and madeready to cO\'er the next phase of the ad-vance. So far, the operation was goingwithout difficulty.

The tanks now began their movementahead of the i\lLR towards Blazer withfriendly artillery fire rolling ahead of

Typical Tank-AA advance formation.15th AAA A \Y/ Bn.

them. At this point, the infantry beganmoving up the hill it was to utilize toapproach the objective. This movementtouched off the first link in the chain ofChinese resistance. Very quickly, a briskfire fight sprang up as the enemy at-tempted to halt the infantry before theycould assemble for the attack. Soon after-wards the lash of Chinese fire was tostrike the tanks. About 2000 yards aheadof the IP, the lead tank was hit twice byantitank fire of killing power. Soon thevehicle was an inferno, shooting up longsheets of Hame and billowing clouds ofblack smoke. In prompt retaliation thetankers leveled murderous fire on thehostile weapon and destroyed it. Theensuing battle was a bitterly contestedduel between grimly determined tankersand fanatical Chinese who fired from thehills and swarmed in the tall grass of thevalley. At times the enemy was closeenough to toss grenades at tank com-manders while he was met with fire fromcarbines and .45's. All the while the.enemy was seeking the next target for hisdeadly antitank guns, and soon anothertank fell victim to their screaming pro-jectiles. Once again, the enemy gun wentdown under the answering fire of thetanks and so the struggle continued.


~ leanwhile at the 1\ ILR. the halftracks were raking hills to silence snipersand mortars harassing the tank's leftrear. Permission was asked of the taskforce to mO\'e to more ad,'ance positions.The request was denied due to the Rattrajectory fire being encountered and theveritable rain of shells our artillery washurling at the enemy. The infantry hadbeen restrained from attacking Blazerdue to the fierce resistance and so but-toned up in place to await further orders.

Shortly thereafter, the tankers suc-ceeded in evacuating some of theirknocked out vehicles and brought themback to the 1\ ILR. Howe,'er, this alsoblocked the fire of the A\V platoon. Be-fore this situation could be remedied.enemy artillery and high velocity gunsbegan ranging in on the half tracks andpermission was granted to move to newpositions. This move was barely com-pleted when Rat trajectory fire landed on

what had been the right Rank of the pla-toon. As efforts were made to completethe organization of the new position, theenemy brought obsen'ed artillery fire tobear on the area and se,'eral casualtiesresulted. Throughout the day this firecontinued to fall and was augmented bywhat was believed to be a medium tank.

In this manner, the struggle wore oninto the afternoon. Se,'eral air strikeswere called in and added their deadlyefforts to the vicious pounding beinggi,'en the Chinese. In the course of thefight the tanks lost a vehicle to mines andthe enemy antitank guns claimed new,'ictims. Their efforts cost them five tanksbefore contact was broken.

At approximately ]800. the with-drawal order was gi,'en and slowly TaskForce Hamilton began to withdraw. Byvarious routes, the group pulled back be-hind sheltering ground and reformed.Finally, the task force began the march

to the assemblv area where wearv men..would sleep that night, before returningto parent organizations.

The task force's job was done. It hadrun head on into a savage struggle witha determined enemv. In those tanks thatfell to antitank fire la,' dead men. i\lorethan a score had been wounded. Theenemy had landed some heavy punches.but, had taken a terrible mauling in re-turn. E,'ery available ounce of firepowerhad been turned on him with deadh- re-sults. i\lore important was the characterof the men who had faced the enem\'that day. In the face of hea",' resistance,they h~d stuck grimly to th~ir positionsand giving better than they recei,'edproved themselves the equal of anythingthe enemy could send aoainst them. As• 0

final testimony, not one vehicle was leftto be pillaged by the Chinese. Thetankers evacuated every knocked outtank.

With The 21st Battalion On A Task ForceBy 1st Lt. Karl F. Bennett

TOl\.lORROW is the day! After twoweeks of relati,'e inactivity coupled withtwo last minute cancellations of move-ment orders, it appeared that Task Force\Vinston was finally to get under way.All day of ]9 May ]95], my entire pla-toon appeared just a bit on edge. Thestrain of waiting for final movement or-ders was wearing on the nerves, andwhen I was called to the 3rd BattaHon,24th Infantry CP at ]800 hours, ]9 May]95], I proceeded with a feeling of relief.

The situation that I encountered atthe Battalion CP was somewhat differentthan that in other regiments in the divi-

tieut. Karl F. Bennett entered the servicefrom Pennsylvania in 1942. He was commis-sioned in Sept. 1949 and attended the ABcourse at Fort Bliss. He ha. been with the21st Bn. since 11 Jon. 1950 and recently re-ceived t~e Bronze Star W!"V" device for ac-tion performed in Task Force Winston.


sian. Here I expected to be thoroughlybriefed on enemy intelligence, their ca-pabilities in the area where we were toattack and the objectives that we were tofight for. Only part of this informationwas forthcoming. However, I was toldthat tire force would consist of B Com-pany, 89 Medium Tank Battalion, BtryA, 2]st AAA AW BN (SP) and the24th Infantry. Much of the other infor-mation that I desired was obtained bvtalking to various staff officers. On myway back to the platoon I decided to stopby B Company and see if the tankers hadany more information that I could use.At the CP I was met by Capt. John Bel-cher, and ]st Lt. George i\laynard, pla-toon commander. Since B Company hadbeen attached to the 24th lnfantrv forquite some time, these officers were ableto gi,'e me many valuable tips on themethods that the 24th employed. Thiswas the -beginning of one of the best

examples of teamwork that I have everseen.

At dawn on 20 i\hy ]951, Task ForceWinston departed. for the l\lLR. Ourpositions were approximately five mileseast of Seoul and the task force pro-ceeded due north. All was routine andno contact with the enemy was madeuntil ]630 hours. At that time I Com-pany was ad,'ancing across rice paddiestoward the village of Chin-8\van-ni. Thequads of the First Platoon, A Batten',were in the vanguard. \\Then the infan-try reached a point approximately twohundred yards south of the village, theywere confronted with stiff small armsopposition. Immediately the infantrytook what cover they could and the halftracks went into action.

All six tracks of my platoon deployedand commenced firing; within five min-utes the entire village was ablaze. ICompany again attempted to advance

and again was forced to take cover. \Vecontinued to deliver fire on targets ofopportunity and suspected targets. Aboutthat time, enemy mortar rounds startedcoming in on us. 1st Lt. Stuart H. Las-setter, my assistant platoon commander.took three half tracks and continuednorth approximately two hundred yards.From his position Lieutenant Lassettercould bring fire to bear on the reverseslope of a bit of high ground just to theEast of the village. This proved to bethe hot spot and squad leaders Shil-linger, Cooper and I\by proceeded toeliminate it without further ado. Thisjob accomplished. I Company movedforward and secured the town and sur-rounding high ground. Results for theday showed four thousand yards ad-vance, approximately 25,000 rounds ofCal. .50 ammunition expended, no casu-alties and spirits as high as the sky. Aswe moved back to the assemblv area forchow, ammo and gasoline, ~verybodywas, of course, tired and dirty, but theesprit was quite obvious.

DAWN of 21 i\lay 1951 found myplatoon and the Second Platoon of thetank company commanded by 1st Lt.George i\laynard, streaming north towardthe village of Chich-arjon. Our missionwas to take up positions in the villagewhile the 3rd Banalion, 24th Infantry,was to begin the attack from the samepoint that they had stopped on the eve-ning of 20 l\lay. The strategy was forthe infantry to force the enemy to with-- .14

draw so we could get them from the rear.E\'erything went along quite well for thebetter part of the morning.

All squad leaders calmly and coollyscanned the terrain and picked out tar-gets, either small groups or single enemy,and brought effective fire to bear onthem. Like all good things, this had tocome to an end. The enemy got wise toour tactics and changed their directionof withdrawal to northeast into the vil-lage of Yongjong-ni. The village is lo-cated in a small valley just 2000 yardscast of our position. At 1300 hours Lieu-tenant 1\ laynard had live tanks and Ihad three half tracks commanded b\,SFC Frank t\. Simnowski, Sot. Cliffor~1oP. Cooper and Sgt. Thomas Shillinger.

\Ve proceeded up the \.alley cautiouslyand as we approached the village, I sawthree enemy run behind a building. Ap-parently, everybody saw them at thesame time because every weapon' openedfire into the village. The half tracksquickly selected and occupied firing po-sitions and continued to fire into the vil-lage. By this time we were getting un-usually heavy small arms fire from thesurrounding hillsides. SFC Simnowskilaid fire on the hills and an open fielddirectly to our front while Cooper andShillinger were having a real turkeyshoot in the village. About this timeLieutenant I\laynard decided we hadstirred them up enough and gave theorder to move out and take up our origi-nal positions. However, this last orderwas not as easilv carried out as' \'oumight think beca~se as we approached

--our original positions we found them tobe under heavy mortar attack. Durinothis action CpI. James Luke, my platoo~radio operator, was hit by shrapnel andwounded seriously_ This ended the ac-tion for the day and showed that the firstplatoon had e.x-pended 31,000 rounds ofcaliber .50 ammo. had one casualtv andwas credited with 200 enem\' KIA;s and600 wounded estimated ..

The following three days showed littlecontact with the enemy and the taskforce continued at a rapid pace. By 1200hours, 25 1\ lay the force had advanced18,000 yards since the evening of 21I\lay. At the village of Sop-a C Com-pany was stopped cold by an estimatedenemy battalion. I kept my half tracksabout a quarter of a mile south of thevillage until I could go forward and pickout a few positions. \Ve were receivino~quite a bit of mortar fire bv this timebut it proved inelfecti\'e ins~far as casu:alities were concerned. The ridoe onowhich C Company consolidated wasfairly well wooded and did not alfordany good positions for the half tracks.The only position that I could find wason the road where it cut throuah theb

ridge. Lieutenant Lassetter brought Cpl.1\ Iacias' track forward, put it in this po-sition and slJraved the oround directlv• 0 •

to the front with caliber .50 fire. Enemymachine-gun fire made this position u~'tenable for periods of any length; soLieutenant Lassetter adopted the stnH-egy of firing and pulling out of positionthen after a short while movino backb

into position for a brief time. Cpl. Hich-ard Lewis, gunner on this half track,placed especially effective fire on theenemy during this engagement due to

his keen obsen'ation of surroundino tel"orain and ability to pick out enemy tar-gets.

About this time we recei\'ed wordthat A Company on our right flankwanted some support on the hill theywere about to attack, Lieutenant Deweywas ordered to take his tank platoonand I was ordered to take five halftracks and proceed approximately 500yards east to support A Company. Afterthe tanks got into position the halftracks interspersed among them and apreparation fire of five minutes dura-tion was given the attacking force. Allof our firing was done with only twOguns.

As the preparation fire ended, A Com-


pany started up the hill and the tanksand half tracks continued to gi,'e over-head support and to pick out and fireon targets of opportunity .. The com-mander sent one platoon up the eastslope, one platoon up the west slope,and one platoon up the center of thehill. The infantry fought hard and va]-iantly and, at about 1930 hours, suc-ceeded in taking the hi]1. It was the samenasty business of getting into the holesand down behind the rocks and diggingthe enemy out, but the infantry did afine piece of work.

Upon my return to the village whereLieutenant Lassetter was with the re-mainder of the platoon, I discoveredthat things had quieted down and every-

body was getting settled down for thenight. 25 1\lay 1951 showed no casua]-ties, 28.000 caliber .50 ammunition ex-pended and 183 enemy KIA. Apparent-]y the enemy decided that was enough;that was the end of the action for usuntil after the entire division had mO\'edup the line.

For the period 20-25 i\lay the firstplatoon A Battery was credited with 483enemy KIA and 600 enemy estimated..\V]A. \Ve suffered one casualty and ex-pended approximately 84,000 rounds ofcaliber .50 ammunition.

The fine spirit of cooperation betweenthe tankers and the ack-ack in this oper-ation is something we shall never forget.

Another outstanding lesson we have

learned with the infantry is the neces-sity for aggressive action. If the missionis close support of an infantry company,then the platoon leader must get hisweapons up where they will be of gooduse to the infantry. If the commandersare modest in the use of their support-ing weapons. then we must use our owninitiative and put the weapons in a po-sition to aid the supported unit. Theplatoon leader must also be aggressi,'ein his quest for information, any kindof information, that will enable him tobetter fulfill his mission. Having gottenit, pass it down the line to the men.It is the pri,'ates, the corporals and ser-geants who do the job and it is our jobto keep them prepared and alerted for it.

A Battery's Flying TackleBy 1stLt. Norman G. Halpern

J-lq 3d AAA AHl BN (SP)

As Captain Richard P. DeWitt wasreturning from a reconnaissance of thefront Jines, he suddenly found himself inthe midst of a North Korean-U.N. firefight. A quick glance told him that the2d Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment CPwas under attack. The riHe companiesup forward could in no way assist thesmall but battling headquarters group.Immediately radioing his 2d Platoon,Captain De\Vitt did not have long towait before the first 1\119 came hurtlinginto view. 1st Lieutenant P. ]-1. Felder,in charge of the platoon, being informedof the situation while on the road, gavethe order to fire as soon as the first ve-hicle was in position. Caliber .50 and40mm rounds sprayed the attackingNorth Koreans unmercifully. Only amiracle could possibly save anyone con-fronted by the Ack Ack's tremendousfire. Soon all the enemy fire ceased; onelone. cautious communist staggered outof the brush. Quickly taken into cus-tody, it was learned through an interpre-ter, that he was the only one left out ofwhat was once two platoons.

This was only the start of A Battery'sescapade in the 3rd Division's "Hyingtackle" maneuver. The division hadhardl~' arrived in the X Corps area to

help ,stem the oncoming communist


-u.s. Arm)' Photo

A Battery smoking them out.

drive, when A Battery was placed indirect support of the 7th Infantry Regi-ment and 10th FA Battalion. The 2dPlatoon in their initial engagement, sup-porting the 7th Infantry, had already ac-counted for 49 enemy dead, 3 A\V de-stroved and one P\V.

\Vith the command post secured, theinfantry continued their ad,'ance. Thistime aided by 2 scctions of A Battery's 2dPlatoon. By the use of careful, deliberate40mm firing coupled with the volumesof the 1\116s chattering .50s, the AckAck once again kept the enemy pinneddown. As the sun set, the 2d Battalionwas on its objective.

\Vhile the Second Platoon was bus\'supporting the 2d Battalion, the FirstPlatoon, commanded by Lieutenant Nor-man Semon, had their hands full ward-ing off potential infiltrators of the 10thFA position about 1000 yards in the rcarof the 2d Battalion CPo Their continu-ous alertness and sporadic fire missionsenabled the ]Oth to continue its sup-porting fire for the attacking elements ofthe same 2d Battalion.

The next day there was a definite ]ullin the acti,'itv. The U.N. forces weredeciding on a new plan of attack. Thatnight the startling plan was announced:the 7th Infantry Regiment was goingto attempt to encircle the enemy.

A Battery, 3d A1\1\ A\V Battalion(SP), still in direct support was includedin the regiment's operation order. At0500 hours 27 1\lay 1951 thc task forcestarted out, three sections of A Battery inthe lead elements, the remainder dis-persed throughout the column. All wasgoing well until the column's foremost"chicle hit a mine. Enemy fire came infrom all sides. The U.N. Forces returnedthe fire instantly, cO\'ering the advancingfoot troops. The AA guns along withthe organic infantry automatic weapons,supported the doughboys for five hours-firing .incessantly throughout the en-

15

gagement. However. the open turretAck Ack vehicles were not capable ofprotecting the crew members from thehail of enemv bullets. Six casualties weresustained but were evacuated quicklyand efficiently by the platoon's 1\139,whose dri,'er manem'ered the trackedvehicle over practically inaccessible ter-rain through the unceasing enemy fire.

THAT night the objecti,'e was held,but the following day orders were re-ceived-directing the 3d Infantry Divi-sion to proceed to the I Corps Sector.At 0550 hours 29 1\lay 1951, A Batterydeparted with the 7th Infantry Regimentand the 10th FA Battalion. The M19sand 1\116s were dispersed throughout thecolumn to furnish air and ground pro-tection for the move. For the next 24hours, A Battery remained in columnover the tortuous, winding mountainroads until the RCT closed in the ICorps Sector 175 miles away. Hardly astop was made, that the drivers were notforced to make some emergency repair,but in spite of their temporary difficul-

ties. not a ,'ehicle dropped out of columnor lost its place in line.

One day after arriving in I Corps. ABattery was in the thick of it again. The3d Infantry Division objective was theChorwon, Kumhwa. Pyonggang IronTriangle. The 7th Infantry Regimenton the left mm'ed out towards Chom'onon the morning of the 31st, A Battery's2d Platoon in direct support. The nextten days were continuously active. Eachday the infantry would push the com-munists back, and each dav the AAwould account for its shar~ of deadChinese.

But the enemy did not sacrihce aninch of ground, without a life or deathstand. E,'erything they had-mortars,small arms and automatic weapons, werefired upon the steadily advancing U.N.Forces. At times it seemed as if the 7thRCT would be forced to halt.

But e,'erything they had wasn'tenough. For each whine of any enemyriRe came the answering thunderingstaccato of an M 16. For each chatter ofa Chinese machine gun, the steadypounding of an i\l19 was heard in re-

turn. The increased infantry and ;\,\ lfire in addition to the volumes of accu-rate artillery fire com'inced the commu-nists-their positions south of Chom'onwere untenable.

Reluctantly the enemy withdrew fromone strong point to another. On one oc-casion, two Chinese refused to lea,'etheir. positions. They stayed in theirholes, invulnerable to the Rat trajectorvAA fire, sniping at the advancing U.~.Forces. 1\laster Sergeant Joseph Farrel.realizing this situation, unobtrusivelvwent around the hill. secured a positio~above the snipers and succeeded in elimi-nating the harassing communists withtwo well directed hand grenades.

At dawn of the tenth of June, thead,'ance U.N. elements entered batteredChorwon, \Vhat was once a highly in-dustrialized Korean City was now re-duced to a few building skeletons andpiles of debris. As the crews arri,'ed Bat.tery A pitched in, side by side with thedoughboys, to dig in their weapons andorganize a defensive position that thecommunists were to find too tough tocrack.

A Platoon leader Speaks His MindBy 1st lJ. Paul S. Vanture, Arty.

THIS article was originally entitled"A trip to Pyonggang" but it had to bechanged.

\Fe never got there!

The rest of Task Force X got up thereand they had a grand time shooting upthe countryside and generally giving theChinese Forces a hard time.

1\ly platoon-from Dog Battery of the21st AA/\ A\V Battalion, would liketo have gone to that party. The tacticsof the enemy and the capability of ourweapon, the famous quad fifty, woulddefinitely have made us the Belle of theBall up near Pyonggang that day.

First Lieutenant Paul S. Vanture is a gradu.ate of USMA, Class of 1950. Entered militaryservice from Cambridge, Maryland.

Serving in Korea with 21st AAA AW Bn (SPIsince early January 19S1.

He has been awarded the Silver Star forgallantry in action.

16

As a matter of fact, we were invitedby the task force commander to attend,but now we. know how a wallRowerwith acne feels at a cotillion aboundingwith sleek debutantes. Like her, wedidn't have the equipment to keep upwith such a racy crowd,

1\liss Dorothy Dix might have ad-vised the unfortunate damsel to takeheart, encouraging her to develop herbest qualities in order to offset her short-comings in other departments 1\laybewe can learn from 1\'liss Dix somethingto fit the case of "Miss Quad Fifty" inthe role of close support.

The commander of Task Force X istypical of all unit commanders of in-fantry, large and small, in the 25th Di-vision. Like most, he has been schooledin the concepts of the famous Fort Ben-ning i\lad 1\linute which espouses firepower, and yet more fire power, for hisdoughboys. The 1\145 turret is the an-swer to his wildest prayer and he grows

positively ecstatic whenever he hearsthe quads begin to bark in the attack.It does have fire power. The men whooperate the turret refer to it affectionate. -Iy and bestow pet names. As a platoonleader, I have cussed and cajoled i\116'saround the front lines off and on fornine months in Korea, but I can thinkof no weapon I'd rather ha,'e betweenme and the Chinamen than the quad.

\Vhat, then, is our personality prob-lem? Simply this:

Somewhere in the development of thei\ 145 turret it was "adapted" (I use theterm looselv) to a half-track and dubbedan ''?d 16.... I can only liken the combi-nation to a jewel in a setting of basemetal.

It is not my intent to belittle the half.track. I have up to this point sprungno surprises by stating that the i\ 145 andthe track are mismated. Lieut. Co!.Charles E. Henry, the discerning com-mander of the 21st, has frequen tly ad-


vised in his command reports that theturret be adapted to a full-tracked ar-mored vehicle. Doubtless e\'ery othercommander employing antiaircraft weap-ons similarly in Korea has urged thesame thing. Remarks in the pages ofthe JOURNAL have hinted directly at thesame course to be followed, 1\ly intenthere is to put a powerful spotlight onthe sore spot.

The technicians who developed the1\116 were undoubtedly guided by thesincerest motives in seeking to evolvean all-purpose antiair and close supportweapon. In a sense, they were highlysuccessful. As an antiaircraftman ofof some experience, I have yet to fireat an enemy piloting an aircraft. Para-doxically, I have expended a good halfmillion rounds of caliber .50 at theenemy on the ground. I can testify,therefore, that the 1\145 is highly effec-tive in the latter usage and then easilysurmise its effectiveness in the former,no matter what the turret is mounted on!

T I-IE primary shortcoming of the halftrack is its mobility. It frequently willnot go where it can be placed to makethe quad deadly and effective, At thispoint, my seniors will admonish, "Voumust realize your limitations as well asthe capabilities of your weapon, youngman! Simply do not take them wherethey will not go!"

I shall turn salesman for a while!I deliberately chose my branch for the

wide latitude of interests and missionsit afforded, One of the most satisfyingof these is the close support mission.Here in Korea the satisfaction has beendoubled and redoubled. \Ve have nocheap mass of American lives withwhich to match the enormous sacrifices


of our enemy. \Ve rely instead on su-perior fire power and technology. Too,perhaps here the pattern has been setfor future combat against the com-munists and we shall still be pittedagainst mass, brazenly committed byenemy leaders with negligible talent tofall back on otherwise, In the over-allpicture it may not matter whether thequad is allowed to Rourish or not. Butif our branch is to continue to fill aclose support mission when called on,let's not be niggardly! I feel it is worthyof all the attention we can spare-andit need not detract from our other mis-sions. [\llounted on the Rush deck of afull tracked vehicle the turret wouldobviously fill its dual role even better.

I have stated generally that the halftrack has narrow limitations of mobilityin close support of infantry, Let me bemore specific,

1 remember a few months ago a hillthat was being successfully carried in afierce assault, \Ve had successfully fol-lowed tanks down a boulder-strewnstream bed to a frontal firing position.The fact that we negotiated this tor-tuous route is no indication that tracksare even fair cross-country vehicles. Prac-tically all our SCR 528 radios, our pri-mary means of communications betweentracks and absolutely essential to success-ful combat operations, were jarred offfrequency, rendering them useless. Ournerves and physical beings were like-wise unnecessarily jarred, but that isrelatively unimportant. In addition, thevehicles sustained an excessive amountof wear and tear that was to show laterin maintenance worries, \Ve gained ourpositions and did some commendable'and effective firing,

As the infantry cleared the crest intheir successful attack, they radioed

their battalion OP that hordes of Chi-nese were retreating openly down thereverse slope, The S3 realized this as anexcellent target for armored exploita-tion and directed tanks and tracks to

circle the hill and take the retreatingenemy under fire,

At full throttle the tanks lit out todo their job-but across terrain impos-sible for a vehicle with only half a trackto follow. Our only recourse was a road,and at the urgent request of the infan-try commanders we risked it. Result:one halF track blown to smithereens bya Chinese box mine.

There ha\'e been a score of successivefrustrations since, The trip to Pyong-gang was essentially the same obstacle.\Ve could have followed the tanks alongthe route that full tracked vehicles founda breeze-but not with halF tracks, In-stead of firing at the enemy we spentthe day extricating vehicles From suchembarrassing predicaments as bogs,broken track assemblies, and even Rattires!

LACK of crew protection is certainlya paramount failure of the M 16, "Ex-posing himself to enemy fire" is a stand-ard phrase in citations of the valor ofother troops, Such valor is the requisiteof any crewman operating the 1\116, Itis simply a matter of routine in a firefight. Otherwise we would do no firing!For the record two cannoneers still standbolt upright on the hind end of thisvehicle in order to service the guns-while other crewmen mill around open-ing ammo boxes and pass them up,

The track is also notably unable tosustain mine damage. A mine detonatedunder the front wheel will only blowoff that wheel and probably carry the

17

armored hood and half the engine withit. Crew members normally escape withlittle more than a scratch. Put the samemine under a bogey where directlyabove you ha,'e two gas tanks and abasic load of ammunition and it is adifferent story! Your track disintegrates!Under either condition the track is rare-ly salvageable.

Again. a heavier full track vehicle isindicated!

Theoreticallv the mount on the 1\116can be traversed and fired 360 degrees.\Ve ha,'e tried assault fire on the mo,'eand the results are eminently unsatis-factory. The turret is capable of beingfired over the cab. true, but occupantssuch as the dri,'er and the indispensableradio operator will find their jobs im-possible after a matter of seconds. It isthe best way to artificiallv induce shell

shock I know of. As a result of this. thetrack must be painfully and ceremoni-ously backed into position before theturret can be fired off the rear end.

Some who read my article in the Ju]y-August JOUR:-;ALmay think that I amfuriously back-tracking on impressiveclaims made in behalf of the 21st Bat-talion during our close support missionin Korea. Such an idea would be inerror. The record remains, but the creditis now directed to where it belongs:the magnificent performance of the men

--,of the battalion who. in spite of theseemingly insurmountable obstacles. suc-cessfully fought the problem through.

These observations ha,'e been pennedwith the sole idea of adding constructi"ethought to the problem of AA in closesupport with a particular weapon-a,'a]uable one we think,

Some day I hope to return to the fas-cinating Ordnance l\luseum at Aber-deen Proving Grounds. There I hopeI shall see displayed, in honorable re-tirement. a half track. perhaps e\'en nextto Pershing's famous \Vorld \Var I staffcar. By then. perhaps an even better tur-ret will have been mounted on a fulltracked vehicle. Both happenings seemway overdue!

Any way, I shall em'y that ]ueky pla-toon leader who commands those dreamweapons!

Target Planes Over The Panama CanalBy SFC Don Hatt

..

U.S. Army Photo

19 launched at 88 mph under the 2,500 footpound thrust of the JATO unit.


1

poem in the sky as it trains artillerymenin death-dealing accuracy,

The new OQ 19 is designed, as areall radio-controlled target planes, to belanded either on the land or in the seaby means of a parachute released bythe ground pilot or by automatic actionin the e\'ent of malfunction of the planeor loss of radio contact.

The little airship carries sufficient fuelfor one hour of Hying at a cruising speedof 228 mph. Radio control is effectivefor approximately five miles. thereforethe operator can lose radio contact in

(Colltillued 011pdge 31)

• • - ~--.•rJ..

unit, The men scurry to positIons ofsafety and finally the crew chief plungesthe magneto handle down.

A sharp explosion heralds the ignitionof the JATO and the OQ 19 screamsfrom the catapult trailing a train of fire.

The ground pilot begins the complexpositioning of his radio control stick andthe newest RCAT is airborne. The g]is-tening wings Hash sunlight as it sweepsQ:racefullv throuoh the air-an elusive~ . 0target for eager gunners.

From its breathtaking jump-off at 88mph until it Hutters like a woundedbird into the sea, the OQ 19 is a grim

~u.s. Army Photo

Spectators watch the new target plane OQ 19, Lt. Holst The OQoperates the radio concrol.

18

RADIO completely tested, landingparachute checked. everything in readi-ness-then the final signal rings out:

"Switch Ol/!"The momentary grind of an electric

starter, a hesitant sputter and suddenlythe 22 horsepower motor of the newOQ 19 roars into life. The face of theman directly behind the whirling pro-peller blades becomes distorted and mis-shapen by the tremendous blast of airas he makes a last minute adjustmentof the carburetor.

The crew members attach the firingwires to the jet assisted take-off (JATO)

Air Defense Training Exercise-Stateside Style

By Lt. Col. George E. Myers

"... THIS IS A WAfu"lINGORDER FOR MOVEMENT TOTRAINING POSITIONS FORTHIRTY DAY TRAINING EX-ERCISE COMMENCING 28AUG 51 PD ... POSITIONSWILL BE OCCUPIED ON AFIELD TRAINING BASIS ...WHERE LOCAL SANITARYREGULATIONS CAN BE METPD ... ALL EQUIPMENT ...WILL BE TAKEN PD AAOC'SWILL BE OPERATED ON ATWENTY FOUR HOUR BASIS

"

THAT WAS THE message the teletypesclattered out to major subordinate com-manders of the Eastern Army Antiair-craft Command in the Eastern Air De-fense Region on August 20. It sent thou-sands of antiaircraft troops into the fieldfor the largest antiaircraft air defenseexercise since the days of World War II.

Designed as a realistic test of trainingand operational efficiency, the thirty dayexercise was directed by Major GeneralWillard V\T. Irvine's Army AntiaircraftCommand, Ent Air Force Base, ColoradoSprings, Colorado. There was littlewarning-little time to make countlessadministrative arrangements-little timeto work out the innumerable operationaldetails invoked. For this was to be asrealistic a test of AA air defense capa-bilities in the United States as could bedevised, and very little warning was apart of that realism.

In the Eastern Army AntiaircraftCommand, the exercise was primarilyfor training in the defense of metropoli-

Lt. Col. Myers is a graduate of C&GSc. Heis head of the G3 Training Divisionof Easten!Army Antiaircraft Command-with additionalduly os PIO.


tan areas. It posed scores of major prob-lems for the troops of l\Iajor GeneralPaul W. Rutledge's command for in theEastern Air Defense Region were thegreat metropolitan population centers-the compact manufacturing areas ofAmerica's industrial heart. It was to bea test of ability to move units of battalionsize into the traffic-choked cities; of se-curing and occupying training positionsfrom which to defend those areas; offacing and solving sanitation and livingprqblems for hundreds of troops in thefield right in the midst of teeming popu-lation centers; of mastering difficult com-munications matters-both radio andwiz:e;of solving scores of other perplex-ing questions of logistics, operations andtraining.

For conducting a training exercise ina metropolitan area such as New YorkCity, or Chicago, or Washington, D. C.,is a far cry from a field exercise con-ducted in the vast desert spaces of FortBliss, Texas; this was no training campproblem-nor was it an ordinary TFX inthe ample maneuver areas available atCamp Stewart, Georgia. It was to be theactual thing insofar as possible, an airdefense training exercise-stateside style,with emphasis on the realistic problemsof a defense of metropolitan areas.

And the emphasis came immediately!It came first in the movement from

home stations to the training sites,chosen for their close relationship totactically desirable positions. The realbugaboo was movement through con-gested areas and crowded traffic-withthe necessitv for careful route selection,police escorts, highway and bridge clear-ances. Here was a test of the adequacyof prior planning, of close coordinationwith civilian authorities, and of logicalconsideration of time and space factors.Every area presented its peculiar difficul~ties-even, to pea-soup fog to slow convoy

schedules in certain seacoast areas. Butdespite traffic (night movement at off-peak traffic hours satisfactorily solvedthis problem) and comparatively un-familiar routes and streets, all but a fewunits reached their positions right onschedule.

ONCE on trammg sites, a secondmajor problem in defense of metrop?li-tan areas presented itself: sanitation andliving conditions. Every position had adifferent problem. One battery was in apublic park with adequate latrines andshowers readilv available and a swim-ming pool nea;by faTrecreation; anotherbattery found itself in a weed-infestedfield ~nd had to resort to ordinary heldlatrines; another found itself stationedon the grounds of the U. S. MerchantMarine Academy in New York with thefacilities of the Academy available tothem-far superior to those at its homestation!

And so the picture went throughscores of batteries-no two alike. Eachone called for its own particular solution;perhaps an appeal to local authorities foruse of nearby public facilities; perhaps aconference with local health and sanita-tion authorities on emergency expedi-ents; perhaps just a resort to good oldArmy ingenuity, But above all, plaininitiative and imagination provided thepayoff. There was no single "school"solution-no one "approved" plan.

The problem in operations were thesame old ones-yet with many new andoftentimes puzzling quirks. The oldheadache-communications-was onhand with a veng~ance. Some radioswouldn't work in metropolitan areas,were blanketed or blacked out; otherswhich normally were not expected toperform under such conditions camethrough beautifully. Commercial com-

19

20

Western Army AntiaircraftCommand

WHEN occupation and improvementof positions had been accomplished,the matter of continuation of regulartraining presented itself. Mere occupa-tion of positions would result in loss oftraining time of inestimable value. \Vithidle time, too, morale and disciplinewould suffer. Adaptation of the trainingprogram to field conditions, the schedul-ing of tracking missions in the trainingsite areas, on-the-job training in main-tenance, and the never-ending refreshertraining rounded out the programs tooccupy fully the eight-hour training daywhich was specified for the exercise.

The very nature of the exercise-ontraining sites located in cities-broughtother problems to the forefront: publicrelations and morale. Although detailsof the training exercise were released topublic information media before units ..began movement to sites, the troops raninto all kinds of public reaction whencivilians suddenly found guns set up inthe vacant lot across from their apart-ment building or on their favorite base-ball diamond in a public park. Someareas welcomed the troops enthusiasti-cally; others were casually curious, anda few were indifferent. Some commu-nities made public buildings available forvarious needs; others objected that fieldlatrines violated sanitary codes and de-manded strict compliance with the laws.In Washington, D. c., the city providedmobile latrines on truck trailers whichwere operated by attaching a hose to thenearest fire hydrant with a refuse hoseleading to the nearest sewer manhole.

One battery found so much publicinterest that it became necessary to con-


--,efforts were exerted by e,'ery supportingagency-and these efforts contributedgreatly to the success of the exercise. Infact, the exercise would have been im-possible without the wholehearted sup-port given.

Then came the matter of 24-hour-a-da\" operations-and with it the necessitvof' providing personnel two deep in ke~positions. The exercise pointed up thisrequirement in many units in this vitalmatter. It also emphasized the constantattention required on maintenanceproblems-the scheduling, supen'isionand perpetual hard work required tokeep equipment in operation, ready foraction in any eventuality.

problems of a metropolitan area defense.Right here it is appropriate to state

that the administrati,'e and logistical sup-port gi\"en the AA troops by the Conti-nental Armies and the ~ lilitary Districtof \Vashington was excellent. Special

ton Air Force Base. The command in-cludes all Army antiaircraft units al-located for the air defense of the\Vestern Air Defense Region. Cere-monies were held at Fort Baker onSeptember 15, the date officially an-nounced as Organization Day byBrigadier General Robert \V. Berry,Commanding General.

WESTARAACOi\I, as the head-quarters is identified by short title,looks back on a successful first yearand looks ahead to the second, con-fident that the command will con-tinue successfully in the Air Defenseof the United States.

........First row, left to right-Colonel Pierre B. D.enson, Deputy Commander;Brigadier General Roben WI. Berry, Commandm~ General; Colonel \X'alterH. Murray, Chief of Staff. Secolld row, left to TIght-Lt. Colonel James F.Schnur, AC of S, GI; Major James E. Hurley, Jr., AC ?f S, G2; ColonelRobert \XT. Hain, AC of S, G3; Lt. Colonel George H. Plerre, Jr., AC of S,

G4; Lt. Colonel \X'illiam A. Hussey, Chief of Plans and Operations.

Fort Baker, California, a recluseamong Army installations for manyyears, now hums with the urgentbusiness of antiaircraft protection forthe vital areas in the \Vest.

The main element of the WesternArmv Antiaircraft Command is nowlocat~d in the headquarters at thishistoric post, in the shadows of theGolden Gate Bridge.

Headquarters of the command, asinitially organized, was directed toserve as the antiaircraft element onthe staff of Major General Herbert B.Thatcher, Commanding General,\Vestern Air Defense Force, I-Iamil-

munications were effected without ahitch in some areas; in others, real prob-lems de,'eloped, with resultant delaysand confusion. But here again the train-ing exercise was performing its all-impor-tant function-that of emphasizing the

Baker Battery, 70th AAA Gun Bn (90mm), in Washington, D. c., during recentArmy AA Command defense exercise.

Members are urged to makeuse of the Antiaircraft Associa-tion Ballot on page 50 forelection of a vice-president andfour new members of the Execu-tive Council.

~ Above all, remember that tactical prin-ciples always remain the same-but theconditions of an air defense mission in ametropolitan area constantly change.They are never the same in any twoareas or at any two times.

~ Metropolitan area movements requiremore coordination, more planning, moreinoenuitv than normal field movements.

/:) .And a real emergency would see thesesame problems multiplied many times.

they require more initiati,-e and commonsense for solution in the field than any-where else, for there they are multiplied.

A battery commander whose trainingposition was alongside one of Chicago'sbest beaches will agree that the problemsare different. "\Vho ever would havethought," he remarked, "that bathingbeauties would have to compete with'battle stations' for attention-and comeoff second best?"

~ Public relations and public informa-tion become a necessity of everyday lifeat every level of command-and theproper effort in those activities is a must.Tact, common sense and courtesy areessential. Occupation area relationshipshave no place with Americans and won'tbe tolerated.

~ The old problems of maintenance,communications, logistic and administra-tive support are with us always-on apost, on the Chicago lakefront, or alongthe quiet banks of the Potomac. And

~ Successful around-the-dock operationsrequire trained personnel at least two-deep in key technical positions.

~ Such a defense presents a myriad ofspecial problems-problems with no one"approved" solution-problems whichnormally never occur in a training cen-ter, and which are not covered in a FMorTM.

down-to-earth realism of the exercise. Inthe air defense of a metropolitan area,some of those lessons, as summarized byi'vlajor General Rutledge in a staff cri-tique, were these:

11Cpl. George Ellis of Baker Battery, 526th AAA Gun Bn (120mm), gets a taste of

life in the rough.

duct tours through the battery position;another battery posted signs reading"Government Reservation" to keep outthe curious. One community sprayed anarea with DDT to eliminate the insectswhich apparently had their own radar tolocate and attack military personnel; an-other arranged amateur shows for thesoldiers. In one area, citizens who hadn'tread their newspapers, became excitedwhen the troops moved in. But all in all,the normal reaction was just plain friend-ly American curiosity and interest.

The thirty day exercise created no mo-rale problem-but it did serve to point upthe problem that permanent on-site oc-cupation might produce. The novelty-the change from garrison life-barelywore off during the thirty days. But theattractions of a nearby city, the pleasuresit could afford, emphasized the situationwhich could easily become a morale anddisciplinary problem in long occupationof positions under restrictive personnelcontrols created by a real military danger.

These, then, are but a few of the pe-culiar problems emphasized in the airdefense of a metropolitan area-stateside.They are by no means all the problems-and for reasons of military security-some problems have been lightly brushedover or excluded entirely in this article.

Did the exercise serve its purpose?Commanders and staff officers up anddown the chain of command answer en-thusiastically: ''Yes!''

Everyone learned a lot-not from theo-retical classroom lectures, but from the

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1951 21

Reactivation Of Fort HancockBy Brig. Gen. William M. Hamilton

102d AAA Brigade

Trailer Camp at Hancock.

ON 1\lay 7, 1951, without ceremony,the 41st 1\1\/\ Gun Battalion under thecommand of Lt. Colonel Carl F. Chiricomoved into Fort Hancock, N. J., the firsttroops in more than a year to be stationedat this once important, beautiful, andmuch desired post.

But this is getting ahead of the story.Let's go back and glimpse at the earlyhistory of this old fort. Fort Hancock islocated on Sandy I-look, a beach fivemiles long and one-half to one milebroad. Sandy I-look was discovered byHenry Hudson on September 4, 1609when the "!-lalf 1'loon" anchored inSandy I-look Bay. Title to the lands ofwhich Sandy I-look is a part was derivedfrom Charles II, King of England, who,in 1'1arch 1664, granted the region ex-tending from the western bank of theConnecticut to the eastern bank of theDelaware to his brother James, Duke ofYork, and Richard Nicholls.

The New Jersey Legislature ceded alljurisdiction over the lands to the US in1790 and in 1806 the US purchased for$37.50 all of the land north of east-westline through the lighthouse. Sandy I-lookwas fortified in the \Var of 1812. Titleto the four original acres passed from theHartshorne family to the US in 1817.Also in this year the US purchased addi-tional property south of Youngs Creekfor $20,000. This property was ceded byNew Jersey to the US in 1846. In 1858all of the land which comprised SandyHook passed to military rule. In 1874Fort Hancock was designated as theProving Ground for Ordnance arma-ment. This project was discontinued in1917-18, but for many years during andafter this time including both \Vorld

Fort Hancock, New Jersey, Lieut. Gen-eral \X'illis Dale Crittenberger, Com-manding First Army; Brig. General\X'illiam L. Barriger, Chief of Staff, 1stArmy, Co!. Fred J. \X'oods, Command-ing Fort Hancock; .Maj. Gen. Paul \X'.Rutledge, Commanding Eastern AAA

Command.

\Vars, the seacoast batteries at SandyI-look were well known as important fac-tors in the Harbor defenses of NewYork.

Between the end of the first worldwar and 1939, Fort Hancock was usedfor many purposes including a station forthe 7th CA and 52nd HY Arty, ROTCtraining and for a special radar project.During the period of the last war and upto 1949, it was used as a training camp,a garrison, and the location for a disci-plinary barracks.

After \Vorld \Var II, when it was feltpeace would be our hard-won reward forsome time to come, the Department ofthe Army prepared to close Fort Han-cock. At the time it seemed quite logicaland in keeping with the desire to keepmilitary needs and expenses to a mini-

mum. Thus, Fort Hancock which since1892 had served as a part of the harbordefenses of New York was closed anddeclared surplus. To many a formercoast artilleryman this brought a pang ofregret. Fort Hancock not only hadserved well tactically, but for many thou-sands of seacoast personnel, offic'er andenlisted, it had been a most pleasant sta-tion and one which was associated withmany happy memories. This is particu-larly noted as many of these officers, nowgenerals and colonels, visit Fort Han-cock. They speak with nostalgia of theirold quarters, the Officers' Club and theirwork at the fort. The present Post Com-mander, Colonel Fred J. \Voods, Com-manding Officer of the 16th A/v\Group, served as a battery and a battal-ion commander in the old 52nd RY Artvwhile stationed there between the vea;sof 1938 and 1940. '

In early 1951 many of the illusions ofpeace had vanished and the necessity ofpreparing for the defense of our countryonce more was here. Steps were thentaken to remove Fort Hancock from thesurplus category and reestablish it as anactive army facility to be used as aninterim station for 1\A troops.

The Army's need for reactivating FortHancock proved a severe setback to theplans of the State of New Jersey whichhad hoped to turn it into a state park.Once, however, the urgency of the situa-tion was made known, the New JerseyState Park Commission withdrew its op-position and has willingly cooperatedwith the Army.

Since May, 1951 a limited rehabilita-tion program has been in progress underthe direction of the First Armv. In addi-tion to the 41st AAA Gun Ba~talion, the703d AAA Gun Battalion have been sta-tioned at Fort Hancock.

Justification for the reactivation of thefort has been clearly established. It ishoped as years go by that those troopsnow stationed there will look back uponit with as pleasant memories as the oldtimers do todav.

INTERSERVICE PROBLEM-JOINT SOLUTION

By Major J. R. Woods and Capt. J. J. Dieringer, USAF

IT started last February in an air de-fense exercise.

A subsequent air defense exercise inApril served to emphasize the problemand to demand action if antiaircraft ar-tillery in air defense of the Zone of In-terior was to be effective and efficient.

The problem was simply this: TheAAA liaison officers did not appreciateAir Force problems or capabilities andAir Force controllers were not fully cog-nizant of AAA requirements. Naturally,the problem was most acute at the pointof actual working contact between thetwo services-and that was at the AC&Wstation.

There the necessary early warning in-formation, the identification and loca-tion of aircraft, was assembled, evaluatedand disseminated. It was there thatoperational control of interceptor aircraftand AAA was exercised-orders issuedto scramble and vector fighters and toprepare AAA for action. Here was thebrain of the Air Force defense structureand here was the source of informationnecessary to set the AA guns in action.

The GCI controllers knew their sta-tions, their equipment, their jobs-butAA was new to them. AA liaison offi-cers knew their AAOC, their guns andradars and the necessity for early andaccurate target information-but GCIfunctions and capabilities were totallyforeign to them.

Obviously the gap between Air Forceinformation and AAA intelligence wasnot being bridged effectively. The

Major J. R. Woods is a member of the G3Training Division, Eastern Army AntiaircraftCommand.

Capt. J. J. Dieringer, a rated pilot, is cur-rimtly a GCl Controller in the Eastern AirDefense Force.


AAOC was being handicapped in se-curing vital target intelligence to passon to the gun batteries.

The solution was immediately recog-nized by Major General Frederic H.Smith, Jr., commanding the Eastern AirDefense Force and Major General Paul\V. Rutledge, commanding the EasternArmy Antiaircraft Command. After oneof their frequent informal conferences,they directed their respective staffs toget together and set up a joint schoolor demonstration center. Out of the sub-sequent staff meetings quickly camethe physical plant, program of instruc-tion, troops, instructors and administra-tive details. The plan was simple-set upan AAOC and a gun battery in closeproximity to a GCI station and providea short course of instruction for selectedGCI controllers and AAA liaison offi-cers; show them the machinery, let themsee it, operate it and operate it them-selves and let them get together andhash out respective problems. And that'sexactly what was done.

GENEML Smith's EADF furnishedthe physical plant-a GCI station inMassachusetts, student billeting andmessing, classroom facilities, and top-flight Air Force instructors. GeneralRutledge's EAAAC furnished anAAOD, a complete 90mm gun batteryequipped with both the T-33 and SCR584-M9 combination, and AAA instruc-tors. Major Gen. W. W. Irvine's ArmyAntiaircraft Command and Office, Chiefof Army Field Forces were prompt inapproving the antiaircraft participationin this school.

The course was short, concise andcomplete. A morning for a round robinof the three elements and introduction

to the Air Defense Team, an afternoonin the AAOC, a morning in the GCIstation, and an afternoon in the gunbattery. The remaining half-day was re-served for a critique and presentationof questions, observations, ideas and sug-gestions by instructors and studentsalike. During the demonstrations andoperations in the three elements, theclass was correspondingly divided intothree sections of five or six officerseach,thereby providing the maximum in per-sonalized instruction and practical work.The breakdown by subjects was:

FIRST DAY

School mission and GCI -AAOCgun battery tour

The Air Defense TeamAF role in air defenseAAA role in air defenseAAA communicationsIntroduction to AF EW radarRules of engagementFunction of AAOCConditions of alert and readinessDemonstration of AAOC operationsStudent participation in AAOC

SECOND DAY

Battery command postSCR 584 familiarization.M9 Computer familiarizationCharacteristics of AA gunsT-33 familiarizationGun battery demonstrationStudent participation in b,attery

operationGCI operational procedureGCI demonstrationStudent participation in GCI oper-

ations

23

THIRD DAYReview, Questions, Critique.

Lively student participation in theface of a nearby and interesting summercolony. gave mute testimony to the in-terest in the subjects presented.

In the AAOC, some new equipmentand new techniques were presented andthese new items are now being standard-ized in the Eastern Army M Command.The use of the Vu-graph for immediateand accurate portrayal of plot informa-tion enables the teller to read the plotsimultaneously with receipt, and elimi-nates cumulative error in plotting andreading from the operations board (asystem devised by Colonel Arthur H.Bender, Deputy Commander of theEastern Army Antiaircraft Command);the tilted metal operations board withthe magnetized arrows and the sled-type raid stands (no more cumbersome"christmas trees"); the MOO consolewith toggle switches to flash conditionsof alert, conditions of readiness, equip-

ment failure in each battery; the com-mercial communication terminal equip-ment. All were designed to prm-ide thebest means of receipt and relay of in-formation and orders and to present thepicture of the air raid threat in such amanner that the AAOO can act de-cisively and quickly.

AT the conclusion of each 2h-daycourse, the student attitude reflectedtime well spent. \Vhen an Air Force of-ficer can discuss, with complete andevident familiarity, the needs of AMfor accurate early warning and identifi-cation, and the AAA officer can discussthe critical features of each means bywhich the Air Force identifies planes,the mission of the school has obviouslybeen accomplished. New ideas and tech-niques 'were thoroughly tested and theresults indicated the likelihood that newprocedures might be developed.

To give credit where credit is due:Principal staff planning credit belongs

to Lt. CoI. Richard Seaman and Capt.R.A. Smith of EADF and Lt. Co!. HarryV. Heim and Major Nicholas Bruno,EAA..AC. On the ground, the spade workrested with Capt. J. J. Dieringer, EADF,and l\lajor Harry Eaton, EAAAC (laterMajor Howard \V. Tuttle, EAAAC),the project officers from each command.Since there are always inter-service dif-ferences of opinion, l\1ajor Lee J. Hodde,EADF, was appointed School Com-mandant and "arbitrator." At the Con-clusion of the last class, he was stilleagerly awaiting the first dispute.

l\len may come and go but the inter-national situation today makes it looklike air defense will go on for a longtime.

The courses will be conducted againin 1952.

Major General Smith put the matterin a nutshell in his remark to GeneralRutledge:

"I have just returned from ourschool and I feel that our joint opera-tion up there is really productive."

I'll Be Comin' Round The MountainBy Lt. Col. J. w. Huttig, USAR

PERSONALLY, I have nothingagainst antiaircraft people. But my view-point is apt to be a bit prejudiced becauseI'm one of those people who spent a lotof time looking down AAA gun barrelsthe wrong way. As a pilot during thelate war, my particular job was con-cerned with both active and passive airdefense and I did scare the H-- out of alot of Japanese balloons cruising over theAleutian Islands. But all this is gettingaway from the thing that is botheringme.

According to the newspapers andmagazines, we're really making progressin this air defense business. One day Iread that the Air Force has a new superbomber that will fly umpty thousand feethigh. Then right away comes anotherarticle saying that a new AM gun willshoot umpty thousand plus fifty feethigh. The altitude claims are a realtribute to the skill of the publicity boysand look something like my bosses in-come tax figures. Both the AM and the

24

flying people are improving their accu-racy too. Where the Air Force previ-ously did pickle barrel bombing theynow use a thimble. And the AM boysare releasing mosquitos from high flyingballoons and shooting with skeet rangerules.

But these new AAA gimmicks are thethings that make my ulcers churn-thenew guided missiles. In fact I thinkthat the AAA people are almost on the"unfair" side which brings me to thepoint of this whole seemingly inanediscussion.

It stands to reason that if a pilot can,with his physical limitations, take a rideto ultra high altitudes-then a guidedmissile can do the same thing. Don'tget me V\'fong. I'm still saying that ahuman pilot has the edge and can figurea way to dodge now and then. Thesenew missiles are not going to do awaywith aircraft. But they will take awaythe protection that was once afforded byaltitude.

With altitude gone as a protective ele-ment, the pilot of tomorrow will have toturn to two other protective factors if hewants to get in all his missions for rota-tion. He will necessarily look to speedand surprise. But a guided missile can bemade to go just as fast as the man carry-ing type if not faster. So the poor KellyField graduate has only one thing left-surprise.

I seriously doubt that this old re-treadwill ever be called back to a cockpit. Butif he were recalled you can bet your bot-tom dollar that he won't be flying atumpty thousand feet where enemy radarcan plot him into a collision with aguided missile. No siree. He'll be rightdown on the ground where mother na-ture's curves can keep him off the plot-ting board for a longer period of time.

So when you polish up that nice shinyguided missile or oil the bore of thatsuper AM gun don't bother to write.myname on it. I'll be camin' round themountain.


The Low-Down On The TI6 ShieldBy Lt. Col. Charles E. Henry

21st AAA A' V BattaliOIl (SP)

W E noted with much interest theJuly-August JOURNALarticles on the TI6Gunner's Shield for the 1\116 half-trackand the discussion pro and can. Havinghad a part in that, I wish to add a few

r facts about why and how it was devel-roped.

On February 15, 1951, a platoon ofthe 21st AAA A\V BN (SP) fired 117,-000 rounds while supporting the assaultof the 24th Infantry at Pabalmak, Korea.During this action, our first of any mag-nitude, we received many casualties frommortar and small arms fire. This fire wascoming at us from fairly close range andwas directed at the 1\116 crewmen. Thereason for this is simple. The infantrywas able to take cover in foxholes andditches, the tankers buttoned up, but ourmen, in order to fight back, had to standup in the half-track without protectionabove the knees. In addition to provid-ing admirable targets for the enemy, theywere manning a weapon which wascausing so many enemy casualties that itbecame the primary target for hostile [Ire.

\Ve decided then and there that addi-1 tional protection was necessary for the

crewmen, and more important, thatsomething should be done about it. Ac-cordingly, I went to see the 25th Divi-sion Ordnance Officer the next day. Heagreed to construct a pilot model shieldfor us of our own design. 1\lajor DavidC. i\'Iiss, our S3, was placed on SO withordnance until the completion of theshield. He reported next day the com-pleti~n of the template. It was good, butwe were able to make a few changes andimprovements. The pilot model wasthen mounted to the turret on 20 Feb-ruary.

At first I had visualized constructionof the shields by our division ordnance,but found that it would take months toequip our 64 M 16s with the new shield.1be next step then was to get backingfrom higher authority. After talking this


"A Solution-Not the Solution"

over with General George Barth, div-arty commander, it was decided to solicitthe interest and support of GeneralRidgway. \Ve were gi,'en an audience.

General Ridgway's TAC CP was lo-cated relatively close to the front lines,so we took our i\ 116 with the pilot-modelshield, 10,000 rounds of ammunition onthe Roar of the vehicle, and a seasonedcrew to his CPo After some ,'cry pointedquestions, examining the vehicle care-fully and observing further demonstra-tions by the crew, he called over his G4and instructed him to investigate thefeasibility of constructing shields inJapan and having them air-lifted to

Korea.Throughout this entire interview Gen-

eral Ridgway went right to the bottomof the subject, which was highly techni-cal. His ability to analyze and brush offnon-essential facts was only a part of theforceful personality which completelydominated the entire scene.

I told the G4 that I was planning rig-orous tests for the M 16 with the shieldand he asked that they be commencedimmediately.

A few days later with Lt. Col. Metz-ger, Chief of Armament Section, 8thArmy Ordnance, we decided on somechanges and improvements and came upwith the Gunners' Shield, T16, to bemounted directly on the 1\145 turret withno off turret support, and as now issuedto all 8th Army AAA SP battalions.

Due to our casualties, which werecontinuing, I asked that work be expe-dited on installation of the shields. Col.1\letzger then told me that GeneralRidgway had decided to equip the1\1-16sof the entire 8th Army with theseshields. They were to be issued to thedivision ordnance battalions for installa-tion on arrival from Japan where theywere to be made up in kits. The 21stBattalion received the first lot to arriveand succeeding lots in greater quantitiesthan the other battalions because we hadmore 1\1I6's employed with the infantry.

Production actually started before thetests were completed. The tests and ac-tual experience in nine months servicehave developed the necessity for slightchanges to strengthen the mounting andimpro,'e operability.

It should be noted that the shield isconstructed of ~ inch armor and weighs308 pounds. Our experience has alsoproved that the additional weight doesnot affect the operational efficiency ofthe mount or the rate of traverse or ele-vation. There were some discrepancieson these points in your earlier JOURNALreports.

True the T16 shield is "a solution"and not "the solution." The same alsoapplies to the M 16 mount. So long asthe M 16 is used in close support the T16shield will probably suffice. However,don't let me mislead you on this point.There are no idle M16's in Korea; weman more than our quota and in somedivisions the infantry are manning anythey can get.

The paramount factor is that theshield has prevented a big number ofcasualties among the AAA gunners inKorea, saved the lives of many who didbecome casualties, and increased thefighting effectiveness of these crews inclose support.

Notify the Joutnal of Your Address Change

25

BETTERWIND DATABy Colonel Charles S. Harris

Figure 3, Wi.

Any big change between successiveobsen'ations \vill suggest need for greaterfrequency. Keep a record of ballisticwinds and for ready comparison plotthem graphically for some critical alti-tudes, sav 1,000, 5,000, and 8,000 yards.

Remc~ber that the met data will prob-ably be more important by night thanby day, though also probably less change-able.

How far is the message good? The 25-mile answer is good enough normally.Each separate AAA gun defense requires

On the Atlantic seaboard it is hard tofind the pattern, but it is worth a try.Anv studv should be tied in with a studyof ~\'eather maps and forecasts. Assis~-ance can be obtained from U.S.A.F.weather stations. Forecasts for winds,densities, and temperatures aloft havebeen used to forecast artillery met data.

Meanwhile, when the batteries are intarget practice or trial fire give them amet observation and message at least ev-ery two hours-before and after theshoot for good measure. Battery officersare learning that trial fire correctionshave little value except when based onsound met data.

To get the answer for battle condi-tions around the clock, start "with aschedule about like this:

IJ.'\ the Antiaircraft Artillery we canmake and should make definite improve-ment in our determination of meteoro-logical data. Among battery officers andgunnery students there is a marked lackof confidence in the meteorological mes-sage, and unfortunately they have a basisfor that feeling. It should not be so.With equipment now available, timelyand accurate data on local metorologicalconditions is entirely practicable.

Fortunately we note signs of increas-ing interest. The subject is now includedin the officers' courses at the AA & GMSchool and enlisted graduates are report-ing to the battalions from the met coursesin the Artillery School. Crews are intraining.

The main weakness now is that fewof the crews in training have adequateofficer guidance and supervision. Thestandard procedures now prescribed in-voh'e extensive computations and graph-ical solutions. Each step involves chanceof error. It is too complex to leave en-tirely in the hands of young men withlimited experience. We need more offi-cers who know this problem and eachAAA gun battalion or higher AAA com-mand needs at least one officer who un-

THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS THE PERSONALVIEWS OF THE AUTHOR.

The author is indebted to 1st Lt. John W,Trumbo and SFC Wilson C. Urruttia, Bat-tery A, 7iOth AAA Gun Battalion, for valu-able assistance in the design and construc-tion of the wind speed computer.

INDEX - E

derstands the problem well; who canspot the characteristic errors and elimi-nate them; who can train the crews toperform with judgment, accuracy, andspeed.

This article will deal solely with theproblem in wind determination leavingfor a later article the use of the radio-sonde equipment and the measurementof temperatures, pressures, and humidityaloft.

The operations involved in ballisticwind determination are treated in de-tail in Tl\1 20-240, Nm-ember 1950. Byreference to that manual, the equip-ment, and the work of the met sectionthe AAA officer can master the problem.

Practical Questions

How often the message? That shouldbe determined locallv at the station fromactual records. At Corregidor in theMonsoon season the wind came out ofthe east at about 30 l\IPH at the sur-face and with little variation up at 12-inch mortar altitudes. It blew that waymorning. noon and night. We could pre-dict tomorrow's wind. Not so, neces-sarily, in the typhoon season. In sum-mer Southern California weather thewind was also predictable, but the loweraltitude wind varied considerably dur-ing the day. In the afternoon our bal-loon.took off briskly with the sea breezesto\vard the desert, but just as regularlyit soon turned its course and came backover us under the influence of the north-east winds aloft.

Sunrise,3 hours later',1300,

Sunset,2 hours later.

26

'Z.?

4!>O 400 ':!>SO '!oOO 'Z,S;OC - RATE OF ASCENSION - '(DS/MIN.

zoo

7A - WIND Vl


for standard altitude eight, 5,000 yards.There are three types of artillery metmessages. \Ve are primarily interestedin type two for antiaircraft firing. Ref-erence, pars. 133, 134, TM 20-240.

The balloon is released and trackedby the theodolite and readings are takenin azimuth and elevation. Readings aretaken at 1;4 minute, one minute, andthereafter when the balloon reaches thetop of zone two, three, four, and so onup to the desired altitude. The time foreach reading is predetermined from theassumed rate of ascension.

From the assumed altitude and theelevation reading at the top of each zonethe horizontal range is determined fromTable Ii, TM 20-241. With the hori-zontal range and azimuth the horizontal

a meteorological station, and that isenough unless there be a mountainrange also in the setup.

Ballistic Wind Determination

THE ballistic wind direction andspeed are computed from observationsmade on a pilot balloon in free flight asit ascends to the desired altitude. Withequipment now available we can useeither of two standard methods referredto as 1) the Theodolite Method (Visual)and 2) the Radar Method. There areother methods inyoh'ing the use of radio-sonde equipment, but they are omittedhere.

The Tl1eodolite Method (Visual) canbe used by day or night (by use of lan-tern attached to balloon), but is limitedto conditions of visibility. In this methodall computations are based on an as-sumed rate of ascension, and if that ratebe in error, then the computed windspeeds will be in error by an equal per-centage error. There will also be an errorin zone indication. By careful and ac-curate balloon inflation such error canbe minimized. Otherwise, the method issimple and reliable, giving it definitepractical advantage.

Reference is made to pars. 68-84 and102-105, Tl\1 20-240.

For artillery ballistic winds the at-mosphere is divided into 16 zones asillustrated in part in Figure 1. Abovethat altitude shown in Figure 1, zones11 to 16, each 2,000 yards deep, extendup to an altitude of 20,000 yards.

Ballistic winds are computed for eachstandard altitude up to the desired alti-tude. The standard altitudes may be in-dicated by the altitude in yards or feet,or they may be indicated by the num-bers ° to 16. For example, line eight inthe met message gh'es the ballistic data

d Computer.

8000

;;"6000~>.-(I) 5000Cl)

~::J-- 4000<t

~ 3000~c~; 2000-en 1500

1000500200

o

Zones

10

9

8

7

6

54

32I

Fi g ur e

projection of the balloon's poSItIOn i~plotted on the plotting board and eacbpoint identified. From these plottedpoints and from the known time spentin each zone the true wind directionand speed in each zone are measured byprotractors and scales designed for thepurpose. Particular care is taken to meas-ure and record the wind direction, fromwhich the wind is coming and not thattoward which the balloon is going.

For use in determining ballistic winds-each zone 'wind is given a specific weigh-ing factor for each standard altitude inwhich the zone is included. To get theballistic wind for a given standard alti-tude the weighted wind for each in-eluded zone is determined and plottedgraphically as a vector. The sum of theseycctors representing the ballistic windis also determined graphically. The proc-ess is explained and illustrated in pars.102-105, Tl\l 20-240. The basic windweighting factors are shown in TableIId, Tl\1 20-241.

T HERE are some special provisions.The zone winds at surface (IA min.) andin zone 1 (1 min.) are determined di-rectly from Table Ig, TM 20-241, andare reported as ballistic winds. They arenot used in determining ballistic windsfor higher altitudes. The zone two windis measured from the surface to the topof zone two. It is reported as the ballisticwind for zone two and is also used with'weighting factors in determining theballistic winds for all higher standardaltitudes.

In training the meteorological cre""sit is essential to get meticulous care andaccuracy in all operations: balloon in-flation and weighting, level and orien-tation of theodolite, timing and read-ings, computations, and records. Particu-lar care is required in all plotting opera-tions. to get accurate results with the

D - TIME

OF BALLOON'7

'ZQOBSERVATION OM MIN.

40

fV - M.P.H.


protractor and pencil. In preparing amet message up to standard altitude 10there are over 80 key operations whichaffect the over-all accuracv.

Wind directions are ~easured andplotted only to the nearest hundred mils;so ultra accuracy is not expected. How-ever, it is still pertinent to avoid care-less and gross errors. In order to get theback azimuth for zone winds the manualprescribes that the protractor mil scalesbe read backwards. Good enough! Butsomehow it fails to clarify that in read-ing ballistic winds the mil scales mustthen be read in the same manner as theyare for plotting the zone weighted winds.Hence the typical 3200 mil error.

Likewise zone wind speed errors arelikely with the different plotting boardscales and the different zone time inter-vals.

Check the observation readings andalso the developed data. They do notprogress with equal intervals, but thepattern should be consistent. Jumpyreadings suggest error.

In training have the data from eachballoon observation developed independ-ently by two different crews. The com-parison of results may be revealing. Atany rate it will give some indication asto the accuracy of results. If only onecrew is available, try to obtain an inde-pendent check by shifting key person-nel.

Radar Method

A heayier balloon is used with aradar target attached to it. The SCR584 can be used for tracking. The the-odolite is also used to track the balloonand take readings at the ~, ~, and oneminute interval, and thereafter each min-ute until the radar picks up the target.The radar should be on target within twominutes. Thereafter readings are takenfrom the radar each minute in slantrange, azimuth and elevation. Refer-ence, pars. 96-101, T1\1 20-240.

In general the principles and methodsof determining the ballistic winds arethe same as used in the theodolite meth-od. However, there are some essentialdifferences in the determination of thezone winds.

The radar angles are read in mils andconverted to degrees and tenths. Thealtitude of the balloon is computed fromthe slant range and elevation readings.(Or it may be read from the the altitude

28

converter.) In order then to plot the bal-loon's position at the top of each zoneit is necessary to determine the rate ofascension in altitude and interpolate todetermine the time at which the balloonreached the top of each zone. This isaccomplished graphically by the timealtitude curve illustrated in Figure 51,TM 20-240. Having ,determined thetime, the corresponding elevation andazimuth are also determined by inter-polation between the minute readingsbefore and after the occurrence. Thenthe horizontal range is determined, asin the theodolite method and the bal-loon's position plotted. This is done foreach zone.

The direction and horizontal travelof the balloon in each zone can be meas-ured easily, but to determine the zonewind speed it is necessary to computeand use the time spent by the balloonin that zone.

These additional steps make the pro-cedure more complex and time consum-ing-and more subject to error-than thetheodolite method. It does offer a capa-bility of greater accuracy in that the alti-tude and ascension rate are actuallymeasured. And it will produce wind dataunder adverse conditions of visibility.

The comments on training previouslymade also apply here. In addition theradar officer should check well the basicaccuracy of the observation readings.The theodolite can be used to check theelevation and azimuth readings, but acheck on range accuracy is also pertinent,as well as a careful analvsis of the limitsin slant range to which 'accuracy can beexpected.

There is also a particular matter oftiming. The radar data scales are nothalted for readings as is practicable withthe theodolite. While the elevation maynot change rapidly, the slant range doesand the azimuth may. The readingsshould be taken on the dot.

Comment

THE methods of wind determinationdiscussed above are sound in theory.However, they do require highly trainedpers.onnel and meticulous accuracy inthe extensive operations. They were notvery practicable or suitable for the battleconditions that applied at Attu, Leyte,Okinawa, or Omaha Beach. In manycases we had either to resort to a simplerprocedure or to do without.

Possibly next time we can do better.Meanwhile it also appears to be per-tinent to go back, revive, and perfect asimpler procedure. This brings us to themain part of our story.

Simplified Wind Determination

WHEN \ve were learning our anti-aircraft from the French in World WarI, and for some time thereafter, we hadno antiaircraft ballistic wind weightingfactors. We used what we called astraight line weighting factor, or in otherwords, we detennined the average windto the height desired and accepted it asthe ballistic wind. The scheme had realpractical advantages.

With the balloon rate of ascensionknown, the average wind speed for anyaltitude can be determined instantlyfrom the angular height reading at thataltitude.

In Figure 2, P represents the locationof the balloon at the end of t minutes.R represents the horizontal range inyards; H, the altitude in yards; and A,the rate of ascension in yards per min-ute. E is the angle of elevation from thepoint of release.

p

H=At

E

RFigure 2

Cot. E = R = RH At

B. c-= II Cot. E = wind speed in yardst per minute.

To get the wind speed in M.P.H., wemultiply by 60 and divide by 1760.

W = 60 X A Cot. E1760

The average rate of ascension of the 30gram balloon to an altitude of 4000yards is 205 yards per minute. Substi-tuting for A above we have

"V = 60 X 205 X Cot. E = 7 X Cot. E1760


TABLE 1ZONE NO, 1&2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Standard altitude Oto 500 1000 1500 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

(yds) 500 1000 1500 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 8000A .07 .08 .08 .08 .16 .15 .14 .13 .11

8}000 B .071 .071 .071 .071 .143 .143 .143 .143 .143C .075 •075 .075 .075 .15 .15 .15 .15 .10D .083 .083 .083 .083 .167 .167 .167 .167 .00

29

We constructed and used a simplescale wherein the wind speed could beread instantly opposite the elevationreading. Until the last revision in No-,'ember 1950, T~1 20-241 also includedtables to gh'e the same solution readily.

The average wind direction to anygiven altitude is indicated directly bythe balloon azimuth reading at that alti-tude. If the theodolite is used, it is nec-essary to convert degrees to mils. Andit is also necessary to get the back azi-muth in order that the met message givethe azimuth from which the wind isblowing. If the tracking instrument isoriented with zero north, add or subtract3200 mils from the reading on the bal-loon. We used a simple strip scale withdegree graduations showing on one sideof the line and the corresponding backazimuth in mils showing on the otherside. 1600 mils was opposite 270 degrees.

The meteorological crew, using thetheodolite, tracked the balloon and re-corded the readings each minute in theregular manner. Their record form indi-cated clearly the time to take the read-ing for each standard altitude. With thisform, the wind speed computer, and thewind direction converter, as indicatedabove, the crew computed the meteor-ological message as the balloon ascendedand had it ready for dispatch within aminute after the balloon reached the de-sired altitude. No plotting board or ex-tensive computations were involved.

Since the ballistic wind for a givenaltitude zone was used for any firingaltitude in that zone we took the read-ing when the balloon altitude was atthe midpoint of the zone.

NOv\l with the development of radarballoon tracking the range, azimuth, andelevation of the balloon are read eachminute; the altitude and rate of ascen-sion can be computed. Since the rate ofascension varies with each run and alsoto some extent on each run as the bal-loon ascends, a logarithmic slide rule isrequired to compute the wind speed.Such a wind speed computer is shownin Figure 3. Scales B, C, and D are in-scribed on the movable slide.

It can be used with the Hight datafrom either the radar or the theodolite .The slide is moved first to set the ascen-sion rate on scale C opposite index E.Then the average wind speed for the


given altiture is read on scale A oppo-site the balloon elevation reading forthat altitude.

The wind speed computer can be con-structed readily by a master gunner. Thewind speed scale is a standard logarithmicscale. Figure 3 sho\\'s one copied froma ten-inch slide rule. Likewise, the ascen-sion rate scale is logarithmic at the samescale. The index E is plotted convenient-ly on the left about opposite the windspeed of three M.P.H.

A table of natural cotangents is usedin the computations to determine theelevation scale graduations. Assumingan ascension rate of 400 yards per minuteand substituting in the formula above,we have

iF AX 60 Cot. E;1760

400 X 60 Cot. E;1760

13.636 Cot. E.

Beginning at 10 degrees record thenatural cotangents for each degree upto 30 degrees and thereafter each fivedegrees up to 80. (Ref. TM 5-236, page85.) Multiply each natural cotangentby 13.636 to get the wind speed for thatangular reading.

Set the rate of ascension at 400 oppo-site the index E accurately. Then markthe eJc,'ation graduations opposite thecorresponding computed wind speeds.The degree graduations between 30 and80 degrees can be interpolated betweenthe five degree markings.

Scales D and F are added in order tosolve the ascension rate automaticallyfrom the known time and balloon alti-tude. Scale F is a standard logarithmicscale at same scale as A and C. Thegraduation for 20,000 yards is arbitrarilyplaced opposite 80 M.P.H. Then withthe ascension rate set at 400 yards perminute the time of observation scale-D-is inscribed to show each minute op-posite the proper altitude. This is deter-mined by simple division; e.g.,

4,000 divided by 400 = 10.

The elevation scale can be graduatedjust as easily to read in mils. That wouldoffer ad,'antage with radar trackingwhere the elevation is read in mils. How-e\'er no practical advantage will be ac-crued unless a slide rule is also preparedto solve the altitude from the slant rangeand the elevation in mils.

The scales in Figure 3 can be usedfor an experimental wind speed com-puter. Cut carefully along the two hori-zontallines and remove the middle sec-tion with scales B, C, and D and mountit on the movable slide. Mount the up-per and lower sections with the samerelationship on the fixed part of the com-puter as shown with 20,000 on scale Fopposite 80 M.P.H. on scale A. How-ever, for regular use, all of the scalesshould be inscribed on paper or othermateriel less subject to expansion orshrinkage.

Analysis

THOSE who care to do so can analyzethe theoretical accuracy of the windspeed computer by reference to the bal-listic wind weighting factors in TableIId (page 97), Tl\1 20-241. In study-ing note that the higher zones havegreater depth than the lower zones. Foreach standard altitude it will be notedthat the top zone has half or less weightthan its proportional part. The zone nextto the top also has a weight less thanits proportional part. The lower zonesare weighted about equally in propor-tion with a tendency toward reductionat the higher altitudes.

Table 1 shows such an analysis forthe 10th standard altitude, 8,000 yards.

Line A shows the standard windweighting factors for antiaircraft. LineB shows the factors applied by the windspeed computer when the balloon read-ing is taken at the zone midpoint, alti-tude 7,000 yards. Likewise, line C showsthe factors applied by the wind speedcomputer when the balloon reading ismade one-third the way up the zone, orat altitude 6,667 yards. Line D shows


determines the surface wind azimuth(line 0) by adding or subtracting 3200mils to the 14 minute azimuth reading.Using the wind speed computer he de-termines the surface wind speed fromthe theodolite elevation reading.

Referring to Table 3 for the reading""to be used, without changing the ascen-sion rate he determines the ballistic winddirection and speed for the messagelines I, 2, and 3 and records that data.

The computer then computes or notesthe altitude for the 5th minute reading.He mo\'es the slide of the wind speedcomputer to set the time of observationon scale D opposite the altitude on scaleF. This automaticallv solves and sets theascension rate. He i; now ready to selectthe minute readings for lines 4 and 5of the message (see Table 3), or thereadings with altitudes nearest 1300 and1700 yards respectively. He can do thisbv arithmetic until the graduations ons~ales D and F are usable. From thereadinos selected he determines the bal-olistic wind direction and speed for lines4 and 5 and records that data.

Refer to Table 4. It shows a sampleobservation on the Radar FJight DataSheet. Significant readings are markedwith an X. The DA AGO form 11-215is modified to show opposite each signifi-cant reading the corresponding messageballistic wind data.

The computer next computes or notesthe altitude for the 10th minute read-ing and sets the time of observation op-posite that altitude. Referring to Tables3 and 4 he can now select the minutereadings for lines 6, 7, and 8 of the roes-saoe by usinO"scales D and F of the windo <>speed computer. The wind data are de-termined and recorded.

the factors applied when the balloonreading is made at the bottom of thezone, altitude 6,000 yards.

Such an anaksis indicates that thewind speed computer will giye best re-sults from zones 7 to 10 when the bal-loon reading is made about one-third the'way up in the respective zone.

Aboye zone 10 it appears that greateraccuracy can be obtained by taking theballoon reading at the bottom of thezone.

In any case it is hardly necessary ordesirable to interpolate between minutereadings. Use the minute reading nextto the desired altitude. That will giveaccuracy comparable to the precision inthe system and it will avoid chance ofinterpolation error.

Procedure

Theodolite AletllOd. Inflate the bal-loon carefully insuring that the pre-scribed free lift is accurately weighted.Conduct the balloon observation in thenormal manner, except that the signifi-cant readings in azimuth and elevationare taken at the times indicated in Table2 belm\'.

When it is desired to check this meth-od against the standard method signifi-cant readings should be taken for both.The 2M minute reading can be used inboth methods for line 2 of the message.

Table 2 shows the time in minutesafter release 'and the average ascensionrate for significant readings to be usedin computing the met message ballisticwind data with the 30 gram balloon.

TABLE 2Ascn

St Alt MetMsg Use Rate(yds) Line No Min Rdg ydsfmin

Surface 0 % 240200 1 1 240500 2 2 230

1,000 3 4 2201,500 4 6 2202,000 5 8 2103,000 6 12 2104,000 7 16 2055,000 8 21 2056,000 9 26 2058,000 10 33 205

10,000 11 40 205

Prior to the release of the balloon themet section should complete the surfacereadings as to temperature, barometricpressure and humiditv and determinethe ballistic densitv data. The meteor-olOgical message f~rm should be com-

30

pleted except for the ballistic wind data.The computer replaces the plotter as

a key operator. He sets the initial ascen-sion rate on the wind speed computer.After the ~~ minute reading he uses the\vind speed computer to determine thesurface wind speed from the elevationreading. From the azimuth reading, andusing a degree-mil com"ersion scale, hedetermines the wind direction in hun-dred mils, making sure to determine andrecord the azimuth from which the windblows. He then records this data on thezero line of the met message form.

Thereafter, refening to Table 2 hechanges the ascension rate setting as in-dicated. As each significant reading ismade he determines the wind azimuthand speed and records that data on theappropriate line of the met message form.When the last reading is completed themessage is ready for dispatch.

For anticipated wind speeds above25 M.P.H. it is better to use the 100gram balloon. A table similar to Table 2can be prepared to show the time forsignificant readings and the averageascension rate assumed for each reading.

Radar Method. Usually the balloonwill be inflated to ascend at a rate ofabout 400 yards per minute. The bal-loon is inflated, released, and trackedin the normal manner. The recorderstarts the timer and obtains and recordsreadings in azimuth and elevation fromthe theodolite at ~4, V:2, 1, and each suc-ceeding minute until the radar trackersreport on target. Thereafter he obtainsand records readings in slant range, azi-muth, and elevation from the radar eachminute. The record is made on DA AGOForm II-215.

The recorder also converts the eleva-tion from mils to degrees and records iton the form. In this method there is noneed to convert azimuth to degrees.However, until the radar azimuth read-ings begin the theodolite azimuth read-ings are converted to mils and recorded.

The computer replaces the plotter asa key operator. ¥/hen the first slantrange is obtained he uses the slide ruleI\.1L-59 to compute the altitude from theslant range and corresponding elevationreading. (Or if the altitude is read fromthe radar, he notes that reading.)

Dividing the altitude thus determinedby the number of minutes he determinesthe rate of ascension and sets this valueon the wind speed computer. He then

St Alt(ydsJ

a200500

1,0001,5002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0008,000

10,00012,000

TABLE 3

MetMsgLine No

o123456789

101112

UseMinRdg withAlt (ydsJNearest

* VI. min.* V2 min.* 1 min.* 2 min.

1,3001,7002,.4003,3004,3005,3006,7008,000

10,000

This process continues as the balloonascends. The altitude computations forevery fifth minute should be kept aheadof the ballistic wind determinations.

vVhen the balloon has reached a slantrange of 20,000 yards, or when the rangeapproaches the range accuracy limit,the appropriate time of observation isset opposite the last determined altitudeand that setting is left fixed for the re-mainder of the observation. Referring toTable 3, scales D and F are used to se-lect the minute readings to be used indetermining the ballistic wind data forthe remainder of the message.

When the ballistic densities and other

MIN.FROM HEV. HEV. AZ.

RELEASE (Mils) (Degrees) (Mils)

data are determined from surface read-ings, those operations should be accom-plished prior to the balloon release andthe met message completed except forwind data. After the last reading on theballoon the completed message can bedispatched in short order.

This method of procedure sacrificessome theoretical accuracy in the matterof wind weighting factors. However itsadvantages over the standard proceduresare that it:

~ Gains in practical accuracy by atremendous reduction in the num-ber of operations involved-eachsubject to error.

TABLE 4

Target Planes(Continued from page 18)

79 seconds if he fails to turn the planebefore maximum radio range is reached.

The mighty midgets, valued at $2,861,are used to train antiaircraft artillery-men by simulating bombing and straf-ing runs, their smaller size counter-balanced by closer approach to the areabeing defended.

But all is not the drama of the take-off and flight. The target planes mustbe constantly checked and rechecked.The crashed and bullet-riddled shipsmust be salvaged and repaired. Theymust be constantly protected against therayages of climate, accurate gunnery andsalt water.

The cte"\,ymen,known appropriately asack-ack fly boys, are indeed an integralpart of the defense of this main arteryof the western hemisphere-the PanamaCanal.

These planes are flown and servicedin the Canal Zone by the 38th RadioControlled Airplane Target Detachment,a unit of the 65th AAA Group.

~ Facilities prompt dispatch of themessage.

~ Saves manpower.~ Is more suitable III rugged field

conditions.~ Is simpler in opetation and more

reliable.It can easily be tested in connection

with the standard procedure and resultscompared. Such comparison should serveto sharpen up the procedures in bothmethods. Comments pro or con on yourfindings are solicited.

4-0 27

41 26

41 29

40 26

41 27

39 29

BALLISTIC WINDSpeed

Mils MPH31 1431 1131 14-36 2138 2538 27

Met.S. RN. ALT. Msg.(Yards) {Yards) Line

o123

2600 1280 43780 54800 21205950 666507400 781208950 4360 89900

10650 9118501270013800 6700 101500016200 11173001940019900 9500

AZ.{Degrees)

352356356

24.233.835.436.839.741.642.544.445.847.548.749.550.150.150.350.350.952.654.0

626063306330

430600630655705740755790815845865880890890895895905935950

46534734.129.527.826.226.427.628.428.729.229.529.229.029.029.028.728.728.728.728.4

526494465470490505510520525520515515515510510510510505

114Y21234-56789

1011121314151617181920

X

X

X

X

X

X

xXXXXX

CAPTAIN WISE RECEIVES ALA. GUARD AWARD

Captain William M. Wise, commanding officer of Headquarters BatterYr 226th

AAA GrouPr was recently awarded the Certificate of Achievement by the Gover-

nor of Alabama "for exceptionally meritorious and outstanding performance of

duty from 1 October 1949 to 3 September 1950/' in his assignment in the Ala-

bama National Guard. The 226th Group, commanded by Colonel John B. Sidesr

is presently in Federal Service .at Fort Blissr Texas.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBERr1951 31

AW SIGHT TRAININGBy Lt. Col. Arthur L. Meyer

Gun crews require intelligent and intensive training just like athletic teams.

1

I. SPEED RING SIGHT

THE speed ring sight is the simplestof the light AAA fire control devicesand as a result, it solves the gunneryproblem in a relatively crude manner.The expected percentage of hits is leastin comparison with all other sights. Con-sidering this minimum performance,plus the recognized insufficiency of theMk IX sight on our caliber .50 MG tur-rets, plus the usual carelessness whichaccompanies the use of any inherentlycrude device, far too many units ex-hibit a disdain for the sight and fail totrain the crews properly. \Ve must neverlose sight of the fact that 50 per cent ofall AA1\ armament, both heavy andlight, uses the speed ring sight as a pri-mary fire control device. The sight alsoappears as an auxiliary sight on all light

Col. Meyer has been on instruclor 01 theAAA & GM School for the post three years.He is presently chief of the fire conlrol sectionat the School.

1\A1\ equipment other than the I\IGturret. \Vhen we realize fully its prev-alence and its adaptability to the hurly-burly conditions of battle, we must agreeit is essential that our troops use it tomaximum efficiency. In an effort to haveall units attain this efficiency I recom-mend earnestly the following trainingplan.

As in any military subject, the train-ing must begin with a conference estab-lishing the principles and rules for theuse of the sight. This certainly isn'tnews to us, but what is news is the un-deviating firmness in enforcing certainrules. For example, the student must betaught to use the sight continuously,keeping the center of mass of the tar-get on the speed ring representing ~target speed. He must never abandonhis speed ring sight in favor of tracercontrol. Only when adjustments for lineare indicated should the gunner act up-on tracer. Almost never will he ad justfor lead, because the ~ speed ring rulegives him the greatest assurance of hitsin combat. If the gunner fails to see any

tracers but does see the target, howeverhazy, he should comply rigidly with thesimple dependence upon his speed ringsight. In the long run, the sight willproduce many more hits than would beobtained from tracer control. B)' usino Jo I

countless questions directe~ to individ-uals by name, by explanations, sightpicture illustrations, and more questions,be certain that every student leavingthe conference understands how to orienthis sight and how to apply the two sim-ple rules for engagement; i.e., point thenose of the target toward the hub ofthe sight, and track the center of massof the target on the speed ring repre-senting ~ speed.

After the student knows what heshould do and why, he is ready for theapplication phase. To prepare for this {phase, paint various views of aircraftin Right at different aspects and ap-parent angles of climb and dive on24" x 24" boards, and at the bottom ofeach picture paint an arbitrary speedwhich differs for each picture, figure 1.When this is completed, all you need ...

Figure I-Realistic target views.

32

Figure 2-Dry fire.


for the first application phase are yourorganic weapons and these pictures.Place the pictures about twenty yardsaway from and facing the weapons.Now have the gunners traverse and ele-vate the weapons until they gain thecorrect sight picture. assuming the tar-get to be travelling at the indicatedspeed, figure 2. \Vhen the gunner issatisfied he has the target on the speedring representing ~ of the printed speed,and with nose pointed toward the hub,he should shout "Cut!" to a second crewmember who will then turn off the tur-ret dri\'e switch. The gunner maintainsthe correct sight picture while the motorcomes to a stop. The speed ring in-structor should then have the gunnertip his head to one side while the in-structor looks into the sight checkingthe sight picture. After the correctionshave been applied, the student shouldproceed to the next picture. This dryfire training should continue until thestudent requires no corrections on anypicture. In the case of 40mm guns wheretwo trackers may be required to pro-duce one finished, correct picture, al-ways orient both sights on a point whichis at the same range as the pictured tar-gets. This convergence can be done atranges of fifty feet or more, figure 3.By always placing the pictures at thisnear orienting point, the converged twosights will present the same picture toeach tracker; hence, the trackers get arealistic presentation of the effect of onetracker's contribution to the sight pic-ture of both trackers.

The purpose of this motionless sight-ing practice is to guarantee that yourtrackers know what the correct sightpicture should be and are able to pro-duce it without the added problem of themotion of the target. It is to the AAA

Figure 3-Dry fire with open metalsights.


gunner what the sighting bar is to theriReman. If the gunner started his train-ing by actually tracking targets, the in-structor could only critique his per-formance as to what was in the past.not what it is now. The gunner wouldha\'e to remember how his sight picturehad been at various points along thecourse and never would the instructorbe sure the student and he were talk-ing about the same picture. \Vith thisdry fire practice, the instructor can dis-cuss the instantaneous errors in detailbecause the picture will not change un-til someone traverses or elevates theweapon. The instructor can also demon-strate, to the student, the correct sightpicture. After the student masters thestill sight picture, he is ready to learnto dominate the tracking problems ofhis weapon in maintaining the correctsight pictures during actual engage-ments. In other words, he is now readyfor tracking practice.

To prepare your caliber .50 MG tur-rets for tracking practice be sure to pro-vide each tracking mount with a checksight. This is done by removing the sightfrom 50 per cent of your turrets andmounting those sights in an upside downposition on the remaining turrets, fig-ure 4. Although you now have only one-half of your turrets in operation, theimportant point is you can provide acheck on the performance of every track-er at all times. Do not mount an openmetal sight as a check sight becausethe checker must move with the turretas it tracks and by this movement hedestroys his sight picture in an opensight. A reRex type sight, such as the1\lk IX, does not have this disadvantagein that the observer's eye does not haveto be on a specific line of sight.

Using the check sight properly ori-ented with the turret's normal sight, achecker should ride the turret platformduring tracking and constantly correctthe tracker along every course. Thechecker must be a speed ring expert,and must be relentless in his search forerrors on the part of the tracker. A checksystem is the heart of good shooting.Don't ever send your men out to trackwithout a checker on the mount, be-cause the tracker will waste his time andyours by his inevitable carelessness.Finally, the instructor must personally

Figure 4-Using the check sight.

approve every tracker before that per-son may fire actual target courses. Bemerciless; it will pay in hits!

As to the target to be used during thetracking phase, any aircraft will do, slowor fast. Start the training with slowtracking rates and gradually increasethem. If your target is high speed, mere-ly increase the slant range to midpointuntil the tracking rate is the desiredamount. If your aircraft is a slow typeand you desire high tracking rates, youcan usually get what you want by de-creasing the slant range to midpoint.Always start the training with a lowslant plane angular height. This willmean very little image spin. Later in-crease the slant plane angular height toalmost 90° so as to cause maximum im-age spin. And finally, disregard theaircraft's actual speed. You assign arbi-trary values to the aircraft. For example,against a liaison plane you could an-nounce the speed to be assumed as 5001\IPI-I. The tracker will handle the tar-get just as he would a legitimate 500MPI-I aircraft.

After you are certain your gunnersknow what a proper sight picture is, andthat they are able to dominate the track-ing mechanism of the mount to main-tain that picture smoothly, your gun-ners should fire at airborne targets.Again it must be emphasized; use checksights! The only difference betweenactual firing and the tracking practiceprocedure is that as the gunner pressesthe trigger switches, the guns acuallyfire. In other words everything else re-mains the same. The checker constantlycritiques the performance, and nevershould a course be fired without achecker on the job. After every firedcourse, see that the checker or yourselfcritiques the gunner on his performance.Don't waste a round! And finally, makethe gunner fire continuous fire, not in-terrupted bursts. The only time a gun-

33

ner should cease fire is when he can nolonger see the target. Tracer has noth-ing to do with ceasing fire. If the gun-ner maintains the correct sight picturewith a properly oriented sight he willget hits whether he sees tracers or not.

By using the ¥l speed rule a fly-through will occur at an angle of ap-proach somewhere between _Wo and 500

THE computing sight is a good sight!As the most accurate of the on-carriagetype sights, it is found in all light AAAbattalions (40-mm) as either a primaryor secondary system of fire control.Therefore, beca~se the computing sightwill playa vital part in the protection ofcombat areas against low altitude attacks,we must squeeze e\'ery ounce of accu-racy available out of it. In an effort tohave our antiaircraft artillery provide thismaximum effectiveness, 1 recommendheartily the following training plan.

Using the actual sight and a black-board, first pound home the principles ofconstruction, the academic principles ofsolution, and the two simple rules foradjusting fire; i.e., for corrections for line,adjust the arrow; for corrections for lead,adjust the speed. After this, teach theentire chain of gears, shafts, and slidesuntil every man knows how the simpleturning of the handwheels finally pro-vides the solution. Finally, have the menperform the adjustments to the sight, in-cluding leveling the computing box.\\Then the crews leave this instruction,they should be unshakable in theirknowledge of the how's and why's of thecomputing sight; however, they nowneed physical practice to finally producebread in the basket.

Throughout the application phase, thecrews should, of course, practice theorientation procedure; however the fea-ture of this initial practical phase is thedry fire training for the lead setter. Toprepare for this instruction, construct thetracer training aid shown in figure 1.The pictured aid contains a pair of armson which are mounted small light bulbs.The shaft from which the arms extend

34

and again somewhere between 1300 and1400

• Some firing ranges have restrictedfields of fire; for example. firing-to bepermitted only between angles of ap-proach of 450 to 1350

• It is conceivablein these cases that, because of limits offire, Rythroughs might not occur. There-fore on such restricted ranges. you canhave the gunners track the target on

II. COMPUTING SIGHT

-Figure I-Tracer aid.

has several contact rings, which are con-nected electrically both to the light bulbsand also to -switches (one switch percontact ring) mounted to the rear of thestationary base. \Vhen the shaft turns,the arms revolve in windmill fashion.This causes the light bulb to twirl past astationary white panel type target sus-pended by a wire to two side supports.One of the arms (with three light bulbs-one higher than target, one on linewith the target, and one below the tar-get) is mounted so as to pass to the rearof the target. The other arm (with onebulb on line with the target) passes infront of the panel target. To produce arealistic tracer picture, turn on one of theswitches connected to a light bulb. Thebulb will light and, if painted except forone small spot facing the observer, willproduce a pinpoint of bright light aswould a distant tracer. By selectin~various switches, you can produce au-thentic tracer pictures of HIGH, LO\V,AHEAD, ASTERN, and even if de-

the speed ring representing 8/10 or 9 10actual speed rather than ~~. However,in combat ~~ speed gh'es the greatest as-surance of a Rythrough.

Follow the training system outlinedand you will get plenty of hits. But thesecret of success is your system of check-ing. N'e\'er take a step without usingcheckers. Try the system!

sired, a HIT. The pictured tracer aiduses a small electric motor to rotate theshaft; however this is not necessary.1\ lerely put a hand crank at the rear e~dof the shaft and have one of the menturn the shaft by hand. Flashlight bat-teries will supply the electrical energy forthe light bulbs. And one last thing. Inorder to force the crews to observe thetracers in the immediate vicinity of thetarget, make a hinged flap with a smallobservation circle (about twice the targetlength in diameter) cut into the wood.When using the aid, tip this flap to anupright position, thus restricting the ob-server's view, figure 2 (note the traceraid in distance).

\\Tith the tracer aid providing assortedand realistic tracer pictures, now organ-ize the crews for the dry fire practice.Each weapon will have a three manteam. The lead setter stations himself atthe computing sight with left hand onthe arrow positioning handwheel, righthand on the speed handwheel, and eyesdirected toward the tracer aid, figure 2(man on extreme left). The second manstations himself so that he can see thelead setter's adjustments on the speed

Figure 2-Dry fire practice.


dial and arrow positioning mechanism,figure 2 (man inside radio compartmentof the turret). The third man positionshimself so that he can see the tracer aid.figure 2 (man outside the turret, back to-ward camera).

As the lead setter sees the assortedtracer pictures, he corrects for each traceras if it were an actual tracer fired bv hismount; hence, for a LO\ \I, he moves thehead of the arrow toward him; for anAHEAD, he decreases speed. etc. Thelead setter should learn to make all cor-rections without dropping his eyesightfrom the tracer; i.e., don't look at thecomputing box at any time. The secondman reports, to the third man, the cor-rections he observes on the computingbox, such as INCREASE, DECREASEfor speed changes, and A \ \fA Y and TO.\-FARD for arrow direction changes.The third man hears these callings fromnumber two and compares them withwhat should be done according to his ob-servation of the tracer pictures. If num.ber three detects an error he calls outwhat should be done. The lead setterthen notes the correction and tries theoperation again. The man operating thetracer light bulbs should let one lightbum for severa] rotations before chang.ing to a different bulb. The instructorshould rotate the three men in each crewafter the lead setter masters the correc-tions without glancing down at the com-puting box. Repeat the above rotationunti] all crewmen are experts at the dryfire corrections for both left to right andright to left cO\-lfSes.

AT this time your lead setters havelearned to act quickly and correctly ininserting corrections into the sight, butvou have not trained the trackers. There-fore, order tracking missions and begin.To prepare for the tracking practice, ar-range the crew for appropriate checking.To check the tracker, station one manoutside the turret so that as he walksaround the ammunition boxes. he canlook down on the reRector of the track-er's M24 ReRex Sight and see the samesight picture as the tracker, figure 3 (manon extreme left).

To check the lead setter, station oneman inside the radio compartment of theturret (man on extreme right). Thisman must be able to observe the comput-ing box for changes in arrow direction


and speed settings. During each track-ing course the man checking the trackerwill call out e~rors as thev occur; such asLO\V. meaning the tracker's crosshairsare below the target. AHEAD. etc. Theman checking the lead setter will callout assorted arbitrary tracer sensingsthroughout the tracking course and willobserve the corresponding corrective ac-tion taken b\' the lead setter. He willcorrect errors as they occur. During thetracking course, the lead setter will keephis eyesight on the target and will notpermit his eyesight to drop to the com-puting box.

All of this training, with its incessantcheck systems. will cause the tracker tobe meticulously unerring in accuracy.and the lead setter will apply adjust-ments with unde\'iating perfection in-stantaneously. \Vhen you attain thispeak of performance, you are ready to

fire at airborne targets. And as ever.prepare for your firing with a thoroughcheck system. In addition to a manchecking the gun pointer as in trackingpractice, plus one man observing the leadsetter's corrections during firing, youneed two tracer observers. One tracerobsen'er stands behind the firing gunobserving whether or not the tracers areon line with the target. He calls sensingsof HIGH, LOW, or ON to a recorder.The second tracer observer stands theproper number of yards down coursefrom the firing gun (distance equalsSDm).soo--- I-Ie observes whether or not the

tracers are correct for lead by scrutinizingthe tracer hump. Using sensings ofAHEAD, ASTERN, or ON, he an-nounces his observations to a recorder.At the end of each firing course, therecorders report their line and lead in-formation to a qualified critique officerbehind the firing gun. The critique offi-

Figure 3-Constant checking.

Figure 4-Critique every course.

cer records these observations on a black-board at his position. figure 4. \Vith thisinformation, the critique officer beginshis critique. His objective is to deter-mine the cause and remedial action tocorrect for imperfect ]ine performanceand lead performance. He must localizehis attention to one performance (lineor lead) at a time, handle its remedialaction, and then co\'er the other perform-ance for e\'erv course.

I-laving instructed the tracker, leadsetter, and their two checkers to stationthemselves so that they are unable to seethe recorded information on the b]ack-board, figure 4, the critique oflicer firstdiagnoses the line performance.

Generally, the line performance is af-fected by erroneous tracking and adjust-ments of the arrow direction. Therefore.the critique officer asks both the trackerand the lead setter regarding their per-formance with respect to these two items.I-Ie checks their accounts by separatetestimonies from their two checkers. Bycomparing these reports with the factsrecorded on the blackboard from the lineobserver, he determines the facts as towhat actually happened; then deter-mines what was correct and what was inerror, announces his findings, and pre-scribes the necessary remedial action.

NO\V the critique oflicer turns to theproblem of lead performance. Generally,the lead performance is affected by er-roneous tracking and adjustments of thespeed setting. Therefore the critique of-ficer asks both the tracker and the leadsetter regarding their performance withrespect to these two items. I-Ie againchecks their accounts by separate testi-monies from their two checkers. In thiscase the tracking checker reports only ontracking with respect to the vertical cross-hair (crossing course). Bv comparing

35

these reports with the facts recorded onthe blackboard from the down courseobserver, he determines and announcesthe lead results with appropriate correc-tive action.

Using the above check system onevery course, your results will be out-standing. Incidentally don't worry abouthow fast your weapons fire with regard

to difficulty in recording tracer sensings.Let the weapons fire as rapidly as possi-ble. automatic fire in the last stages oftraining. and the tracer observer will call

***************Overcome the naturaltendency to shoot astern.Lead the target!***************

sensings only as rapidly as his recordercan recei,'e the information. This meanshe will not report all the tracers but hewill provide more than an accurate sam-ple of the performance.

The secret of success is constant check-ing. Never perform this training with-out systematic, untiring checking. yourresults will be counted in hits. Try it!

32nd AAA BRIGADEBy Capt. James R. Lewis, Inf. (PIO)

U.S. Arm)' Photo

Major General \'Villard \X'. Irvine (cmter) chats with his British counterpart,Lt. General Sir Charles F. Lowren (rigbt), and Co\. Metticus Wl. May, Jr. (left).

36

HA VING sen'ed in Europe in vVorld\Var I and in the Pacific in \Vorld \\TarII, the 32nd AAA Brigade has recentlymoved its command post to the compara-tively quiet countryside of friendl~' Eng-land. The address is RAF Station l\lil-denhall, in the historical County of Suf-folk. The brigade commander is Colonell\letticus W. 1\lay, J r. The brigade andits battalions are training with the RoyalArtillery, Royal Air Force and U. S. AirForce, as guests of the British Govern-

ment, as authorized by the VisitingForces Act. Getting their heads together,the Yanks and Tommies have discoveredeach other to be pretty regular fellows.

The brigade is directly under theCommander-in-Chief, European Com-mand for administration, training andother activities. Officer and enlisted per-sonnel are continually attending serviceschools in the European Command tomake them better qualified in their jobs.

The brigade has had a host of distin-

guished visitors. Among them GeneralThomas T. Hand\', Commander-in-Chief, European Co~mand, visiteci'vari-ous units of the brigade, stopping tospeak with all ranks of officers and en-listed men as they worked at their jobs."The units of the 32nd Brigade," saidGeneral I-landy, "have certainly accom-plished much in a short time and theollicers and men arc to be commended."

i'dr. John Str:Jchey, British Secretaryof State for \Var, visited the Americanand British practice firing at Stiffkey,Norfolk, where he obsen'ed the best inAnglo-American relations as the guns ofboth forces, placed side-by-side, fired atthe same plane-towed targets with ahealthy competitive spirit.

As part of the training program, bri-gade units recently participated in Exer-cise Pinnacle, Britain's biggest air defenseexercise since the war. Designed pri-marily to give practice to the control andreporting systems, it was a true test of theeffectiveness of the training and tacticalcoordination between the American andBritish Air and Ground Forces, To ob-serve this exercise, came General \,Villard\V. Irvine, Commanding General, U. S,Army Antiaircraft Artillery Command inthe United States. General Irvine alsovisited the installations of the 4th AvVBattalion at \Vyton, under the commandof Lt. Co!. R. J. Conelly; 39th AW Bat-talion at Sculthorpe, Lt. Co!. Peter J.Lacey, Jr.; and the 60th AW Battalion atLakenheath, Lt. Co!. R. T. Cassidy.


Ammunition For 90mm GunA Wide Variety of 90MM Ammunition Is Now Available

Both As To Shell And Fuze, With Combinations Designed ToMeet Specific Purposes.

By 1st Lt. Ralph J. SwannGU1ll/ery Derartlllellt, AA aJld GAl SclIool

~'t•• ,." '94. ~I..t. ~rM. 1I1'A",T, JIIS. _ ..... '"'_.,..,~ •• ,111, MIA'."HI. \II \ltAI,". " .., •• .., f.

-./~

Figure 2.

....

ifb:I~:--tOUl1UUllT Q ~~

.. ,"o,..-.oll. O(o,( ""~<,,Pl'tO ~OIt<HL[ .....,1'"' ll."'-O\(V( Hutl.

1- ......... 0Ci P1!ac He CAI'PtD ".OK''''t I<otPTY

c- " • .frOIlO4l" ,a( HG VI01D~ , ..... 0,11 C>Jf~C.....c \i-tOT ... ~ Q."~)'

at 0° obliquity of face hardcned plate at1000 yards (5.5 inches of homogeneousplate). This round is used most effec-tively against light and medium ar-mored vehicles.

ARMOR-PIERCING CAPPED.Nomenclature: Projectile, Fixed, APC-T1\182, MV 2800, Flashless (Smokcless)w/fuze BD, M68, for 90mm gun 1\11,i\I2, i\I3, and T8.

This round is provided for 90mm gunsfor use against ground targets, particu-larly armor matericl. The body propcr ismade of hard steel with the nose shapedto a relativcly short ogive. A steel armor-piercing cap is fixed to the stcel nose. Alightweight windshield is scrcwed orcrimped on the armor-piercing cap. Therear portion of the projectile has a smallcavity loaded with explosive D. The basehole is threaded to receive the basc-detonating fuze 1\,168. The rear portionof the fuze contains a tracer elementL

Figure 1.

>-I-

Uo...Jw>C?a:: >~:E>-%

same color as thc markings. One, two,three, or more squares are marked on theprojectile depending upon its weight asloaded. Two squares indicatc "standard"or "normal" wcight for which no weightcorrections are necessary. Armor-piercingprojectiles do not have weight-zoncmarkings.

ARMOR-PIERCING. Nomencla-ture: Shot, Fixed, AP-T 1\1177Flashless(Smokeless) for 90mm gun M 1, M2,M3 and T8.

This round has a propelling chargeand a projectile with no fuze. The pro-jectilc is a solid steel slug with the basedrilled to receive a tracer which burnsfor approximately three seconds. (Figure2.) This round has a muzzle velocitv of2700 fps and a penetration of 4.5 in~hes

Ai\I1\IUNITION for the 90mm gunis known as fixed ammunition. That is,the shell case is crimped to the projectileand the charge cannot be varied. Thefuze mayor may not be staked to theprojectile. The most common types ofammunition for the 90mm gun arearmor-piercing, high-explosive, anti-tank,smoke, high-explosivc, targct marker,target practice, blank and drill rounds.

Ammunition for the 90mm gun maybe broken down into thrce groups: (I)field artillery; (2) antiaircraft; (3) anti-tank. This article will dcal with themost common types of shells, projcctilesand fuzes presently available and themost effective combinations of fuzes andprojcctiles to engage a specific type oftarget.

I DENTI FICATION. Ammunitionand ammunition components are identi-fied by the painting and markings (in-cluding an ammunition lot number)which appear on all original packingcontainers and, when practicable, on theitems themselves (Figure 1). To identifya particular design, a model designationis assigned, which becomes an essentialpart of the standard nomenclature and isuscd in the marking of the item.

An ammunition lot number is assignedall ammunition at the time of manu-facture. It is stamped on every loadedcomplete round and on all packing con-tainers. It is required for the variousrecords. The lot number is also used inseparating ammunition for firing, asthere is a difference in muzzle velocitybetween lots.

Projectiles are grouped into weightzones and appropriate ballistic correc-tions are given in the firing tables for thevariations in weight. For 90mm ammu-nition, the weight zone of the projectileis indicated thereon by squares of the

NOVEMBER.DECEMBER, 1951 37


BURSTER TYPE CHEMICAL SHELL

Figure 4.

HIGH-EXPlOSIVE-ANTITANK SHEll

Figure 3.

enough for a booster and standard ~fuze. Deep cavity shells are identic~i~~ Ithe normal cavity shells e.\:cept for thedeep fuze cavity which makes the shelladaptable for use with VT fuzes or stand- ,ard fuzes with supplementary charge andboosters. The cavity is lined with a thincardboard liner which sen'es as a panialsupport for the HE filler. If deep cavitvshell is to be fixed with a standard poi;tfuze. a supplementary charge must heinserted in the deep cavity (Fig. 6).

Shell HE 1\ 171 is shipped with manvcombinations of propellant and fuze~.The types can be broken down into threegroups, normal ca\'ity, deep ca\'ity, andunfuzed rounds.

Normal cavity rounds are assembledwith various components as Hashless,Hashless-smokeless. smokeless propellants.and the different type of fuzes as 1\143,1\148,1\151, M54, 1\185, M500, all stakedto the projectile. These rounds areshipped either in metal containers or inwooden boxes. The metal containerholds only one round, the boxes maycontain two or four rounds. Theserounds are ready for firing when re-ceived.

Deep cavity rounds are shipped withthe same components as normal cavityrounds; except the fuze well with a sup-plementary charge.

Unfuzed rounds are issued with fuzeholes protected by closing plugs. Thereare three types of unfuzed rounds: (I)Shell, Fixed, HE, M7I, Flashless, wlofuze. This round mav be used for VT

Battle reports indicate unsuc-cessful missions and wastedammunition due to the use ofthe wrong ammunition.

BURSTER CASING

hold a standard point fuze. The burstingcharge is 2.04 lbs. of T. N. T. Somestock is loaded with 50-50 Amatol. Theshell is designed to break up into frag-ments at a given time depending uponthe fuze action desired. The initial ve-locity of the fragments is 2,900 fps.High explosive shells for 90mm guns areshipped as "normal cavity" and "deepcavity." The terms, normal and deepcavity refer to the type fuze-well in theshell. Normal ca\'ity shells are only large

disperse the filler (Figure 4). This shellhas the same ballistic characteristics ashigh explosive shells; as a result no sepa-rate firing tables were published. \ Vhenfiring this shell firing tables applicable to

shell HE 1\171 will be used.\ "hite phosphorus is a smoke produc-

ing chemical with incendiary effcct. Thisshell may be used for smoke screen. tar-get identification. and incendiary effects.\Vhite phosphorus may be used againstvehicles, personnel in open or foxholes.and for incendiary effects on targets suchas supply points, wooded or grassy areas.and buildings.

SHELL HIGH EXPLOSIVE. Highexplosive shell is a hollowed steel casingwith a boat-tailed base. The nose isformed to a long ogive and is threaded to

which burns for three seconds (Fig. 2).This round has a muzzle velocitv of2800 fps and a penetration of 5.9 inchesof face hardened plate at 0° obliquity at1000 yards, or 6.0 inches of homogene-ous plate.

HYP ER VELOCITY ARMOR-PIERCING. Nomenclature: Shot, Fixed,I-IVAP-T, 1\1304. Smokeless, for 90mmgun, 1\11, 1\12, 1\13, and T8.

This round is prO\'ided for 90mm gunfor use against heavily armored targets.The shot is a lightweight hypervelocityprojectile having a very hard armorpiercing case of tungsten carbide. Theprojectile has a tracer loaded base withan integral steel rotating band, analuminum body with a pressed-on steelboarrclet and an aluminum windshield(Fig. 2). This round has a muzzle ve-locity of 3350 fps and a penetration of7.9 inches at 30° obliquity of homogene-ous plate at 1000 yards.

SHELL HIGH EXPLOSIVE ANTI-TANK. Nomenclature: Cartridge, HE,AT -FS TI08 Ell w/fuze, PI T209 for90mm gun M I, 1\12, 1\13, and T8.

Shell, High Explosive, Anti-tank, Finstabilized T 108 E II is an armor piercinground used against heavily armored ve-hicles. The round has a reduced muzzlevelocity of 2400 fps and employs the1\10moe principle of the shaped chargefor penetration. (Figure 3 shows an ex-ample of a shaped charge.) \Vhen usingthis principle for penetration, fin stabi-lized projectiles are more effective thanrotation-stabilized projectiles. The roundhas a rotating band and also expandingfins. After the round lca\'es the bore ofthe gun the fins expand, reducing therotation of the projectile. This type ofprojectile is equally effective throughoutits range. The projectile is equippedwith fuze, Point-Initiated 1'209. Thisfuze has a combination point-initiatingand base-detonating action which is acti-vated on impact, giving a super-sensitive,base-detonating action which permitsmaximum effect from a shaped charge.

SHELL WHITE PHOSPHORUS.Nomenclature: Shell, Fixed, Smoke,\VP1\13l3" Flashless-Smokeless, w/fuze,P. D. 1\1481\3 .05 Sec. delay, for 90mmgun M I, 1\'i2, 1\13 and T8.

Shell white phosphorus is a thin wallchemical filled shell resembling the highexplosive shell in outward appearance.Through the center of the shell is aburster charge used to burst the shell and

38

fuzes of both FA and AA types. how-C\-ef it may be fuzed with any of variousstandard point fuzes if supplementarycharges are available for the fuze well:(2) Shell, Fixed, HE, ~171, Flashless.w suppl chg, w/o fuze. This round isthe same as the above round except asupplementary charge is placed in thefuze well before shipping. making theround usable for all types of fuzes. IfVT fuzes are to be used. the supple-mentary charge must be removed; (3)Shell. Fixed, HE 1'.171. Flashless-Smoke-less w/suppl chg, w/o fuze. This roundis the same as the one above except it isboth Aashless and smokeless.

There are several advantages in usingunfuzed rounds with separate fuzes. In1\1\ or ground firing the fuze may bechanged without changing the ballisticcharacteristics of the round. In the sur-face mission only one impact adjustmentis neccssan'. As a result. fewer rounds of

ammunltlon are required to obtain cor-rections. The fuze may also be changedduring the adjustment phase or fire foreffect phase without loss of adjustment.or any additional rounds being ex-pended.

CAUTION. The deep cavity shell isnot to be fired without the supplemen-

When and why are supple-mentary charges used with M71ammunition?

tary charge with standard point fuzes.That would leave no support for thewalls of the filler.

FUZE ACTION. A fuze is a deviceused with an explosive projectile to causeit to explode at a given time under cir-cumstances desired. Artillery fuzes areclassified according to their location, as

base detonating (used primarily with APshell) and point fuzes for all other pur-poses. (Figure 5.)

FUZE TIME MECHANICAL 1\1-13(all modificmiolls). Fuze 1\143 is a me-chanical time fuze of 30 fuze memberswith graduations at 0.2 intervals. Thisfuze is used for both AA and FA firing.The fuze is set at a predetermined set-ting before firing and when the round isfired the rotation of the projectile startsthe functioning of the fuze. At the de-sired time, the fuze will detonate theprojectile.

This fuze is used with shell HE toobtain fragmentation effect against aerialtargets. It is also used against suchground targets as personnel in foxholesand trenches. The fuze has a high per-formance of accurac\' when used for timefire. The fuze may be set at "safe" forimpact burst. However, the fuze has noimpact clement and this results in a very

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COMPONENIS ISSUED WITH DEEP.CAVITY SEPARATE,lOADING SHill

DEEP.CAVIIY HE SHill

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COMPONENIS ISSUED WIIH DEEP.CAVITY FIXED AND SEMJFIXED SHill .

• ~'"'''''' ," 0<."" , trr.!'fl.--::::.• 0< "0 'u:, w BOOSIE~ ..

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liI;mco

COMPONENI ASSEMBLIES fOR SERVICE USE WIIH DEEP-CAVITY SHill

'-- A\ -TIP Of

AIRPLANEWING

ACTION

D-NONDElAY

•• '~" 4

(-PROXIMITY ACTION

B-SUPERQUICK ACTION

APP'ROACH TOPREDETERMINEDDlsrANCl fROMGROUND

A- TIME ACTION BURST ABOVE GROUND

...,."-

...... .---- .............. """. .. -- ... _-- ... 1It-- ~ ~F-DElA Y ACTION AFTER RICOCHET

Figure 5. Figure 6.


large number of duds at low firing eleva-tions.

Shell cavitized i\171 fuzed withr-.H3A-J.fuze has approximately the sameballistic characteristics as the same shellfixed with fuze VT. As a result, we useshell cavitized M71 fixed with fuzeM43A-J. for the trial shot problem forobtaining corrections for VT fuzed am-munition. When obtaining correctionsfor VT fuzed ammunition for groundtargets, fuze M43A4 set "safe" may beused if fuze 51 is not available.

FUZE POINT DETONATINGM48 and M51 (all modifications). FuzeM48 and M51 are point detonating fuzesof the same characteristics. The M51 isthe later model and will replace the M48when present stocks are expended. Theyare selective types of superquick or delay;either action may be obtained by turninga setting sleeve in the side of the fuze.There are two variations of the delay ac-tion, one having a delay of 0.05 seconds,the other a delay of 0.15 seconds depend-ing upon the manufacture.

These fuzes set at superquick give aninstantaneous burst upon impact. ShellHE M71 fixed with these fuzes set su-perquick may be used effectively againstpersonnel in the open, trucks, lightlyarmored vehicles and buildings. ShellHE M71 fixed with these fuzes set atdelay will give different effects depend-ing upon the angle of fall. At largeangles of fall, or against vertical slopes,penetration is obtained. If the point ofimpact is concrete, rock or steel the fuzemay be broken off the shell and no fuzeaction obtained (for penetration of hardsurfaces use fuze concrete-piercing).These fuzes set at delay at low angles offall will burrow along the top of groundfor a few feet and bounce back into theair to give an air burst. Fuzes with .05second delay do not ricochet as high asfuzes with .15 second delay. Fuze delayis used effectively against personnel inbuilding where penetration is desiredbefore the round is detonated. It mayalso be desirable to use fuze delay inwoody areas where the fuze would beactivated at tree top level and explodethe round just above the ground, givingthe same effect as time fire. Fuze delaymay also be used' effectively againsttroops in foxholes ""hen ricochet burstscan be obtained.

FUZE TIME AND SUPERQUICKM54 and ~\155(all modifications). These

40

fuzes are identical except the 1\155seriesare shipped with a booster. They are apowder train time fuze graduated to 25fuze numbers. There is also an impactelement in the nose. As a result eitherair burst or superquick action may be ob-tained.

These fuzes are accurate up to about15 fuze numbers for air bursts, and areused effectively against troops in foxholesand in defilade positions. If the time ele-ment fails to function, the fuze will acti-vate on impact, giving a superquickburst. Superquick bursts are effectiveagainst troops in the open, lightly ar-mored vehicles and building of lightmaterials.

FUZE TIME MECHANICALM67 A3 is a mechanical time fuze of 75fuze numbers graduated each 0.5 inter-val and used with 90mm gun to obtainair bursts at long range. The M67A3fuze without booster is the same size,weight, and shape as the M43A4 andfunctions very similarly. This fuze isused also for high burst ranging. Thefuze may be set safe for impact burst;

What is the fuze arrangementfor trial fire for VT fuzed am-munition?

however, there is no superquick elementin the fuze and a large number of dudsare obtained at low firing elevations.

FUZE CONCRETE-PIERCINGM78 AND M78A1. Is constructed espe-cially for effect against concrete targets.The fuze consists of a solid hardenedsteel body with a cylindrical well in thebase which holds an inertia firing mecha-nism with a delay plunger assembly.

Fuze M78 is shipped as delay only.Fuze 1\178Al is shipped as delay andnondelay. The nose of the nondelayfuze is painted white. The delay fuzeuses the delay plunger assembly MI,0.025 second delay. The booster M25is used with both 1\178 and 78AI andis the only booster that can be used infitting C. P. fuzes to shell cavitized M71.Either normal or deep cavity HE shellsmay be fitted with this fuze. When fit-ting this fuze to the projectile insure thatthe fuze is screwed up tight and thatthere is no space between the projectileand the shoulder of the fuze.

HE shells fuzed with C. P. fuze areeffective against concrete emplacements,

heavy masonry-constructed type of build-ings and log emplacements.

FUZE MECHANICAL TIME ANDSUPERQUICK M500 AND MSOI.These fuzes have both mechanical timeand superquick elements. They are ex-actly alike except the M500 has abooster, the 1\1501has no booster. Thesefuzes are described as "MechanicalTime, Superquick." They are, in effect,a combination of the mechanical timefeature of the 1\167series and the super-quick feature of the 1\148series.

These fuzes are used against targetswhere air bursts are most effective suchas troops in foxholes and in defilade; theyare also used for high burst ranging. Thefuzes are graduated to closest .5 fuzenumber up to 75 fuze numbers. As aresult a mechanical fuze setter must beused for accurate fuze setting.

FUZE MECHANICAL TIME ANDSUPERQUICK M502. Has been de-signed to replace the 43 series of fuzes.It consists essentially of the 30 fuze num-bers fuze M43A4 combined with a su-perquick impact element. This fuze isdesigned so that the superquick elementwill detonate the projectile upon impactin the event the time element does notfunction prior to impact.

The M502 may be used as a time fuzeagainst smaller aircraft or as a point deto-nating, self-destruction (PD SD) fuzeagainst larger aircraft where direct hitsare desired. The self-destroying featureof the fuze is accomplished by using thetime fuze element even though theround is to be fired for detonation uponimpact with the aircraft. There are sey-eral methods presently being consideredfor use of the M502 as a PD SD fuze,but no standard procedure has beenadopted to date. The most commonmethods being considered are synchro-nizing the fuze setter + .1 fuze numberin error. This would allow the super-quick action of the fuze to detonate theprojectile on impact or the time elementto detonate the projectile after it passesthe target. It must be remembered thatif targets are to be engaged subsequentlywith time fuze the fuze setter must bere-synchronized. Another method wouldbe to svnchronize the fuze setter cor-rectly a~d to senhe fuze before loadingat + .1 fuze number rather than at"safe." This would allow the fuze + .1fuze number additional time of flightbefore the time fuze element would


detonate the projeqile, allowing theprojectile time to detonate upon impactwith the target.

Fuze :\1502 may also be used againstground targets, as troops in foxholes andin defilade positions where air hursts aremost effecti,'e. If the fuze is set at "safe"before firing, the projectile will detonateon impact giYing a fuze quick hurst,which is effective against troops in theopen, light armored whicles and trucks.

NOTE. Setting the fuze 1\143 or1\.1502at "safe" is not an indication thatthe timing disk is set at "0." The fuzeshould be set with the "Wrench Pre-Fuze Setter." This will insure correctalignment of the timing disk which isnecessary for accurate fuze setting whenusing the Fuze Setter Rammer 1\.120.

FUZES VT are automatic time fuzes,that is, without setting or adjustmentthey detonate the shell on approach tothe target at the most effective pointalong their trajectories. The artillery VTfuze is essentially a comhined self-pow-ered radio transmitting and receivingunit. In Right, the armed fuze transmitsradio waves. Unlike radar devices, thewaves are sent continuously and are non-directional. The radio waye fronts whichare reRected hack from an airplane, theground or water. to the fuze interactwith the transmitted wave. When thisinteraction of transmitted and reRectedwaves, resulting in rimes or heats,reaches a predetermined intensity, anelectronic switch is tripped which thenpermits an electric charge in the firingcapacitor (condenser) to flow through anelectric firing squih detonating the pro-jectile.

VT fuzes for 90mm guns are of sev-eral different types depending upon theresult desired. The major differences arein the minimum arming delay and in theself-destruction feature of the fuze.

Arming is delayed by a series of safetydevices for at least 2 seconds after firingin the :M97 (T80 E8) models; for atleast .5 second for the M92 and 1\.193fuzes, and for at least 5 seconds for allother models of the 1\196 (T76) and1\197 (T80) fuzes. The exact time ofarming depends upon the weapon usedand mav also varv from lot to lot. The..VT fuzes are completely bore safe andmuzzle safe.

Height of hurst abo,'e the terrain ofterrestrial VT fuzes ,'aries with largechanges in angle of fall, becoming lower


as the angle of fall becomes steeper.These fuzes are designed to give opti-mum burst over average soil; however,the height of hurst will vary from roundto round and over different types of soil,becoming 50 per cent higher over wetterrain, and 100% higher oyer water.The a,'erage height of burst based upontests is 1-1- yards for (FA types) VTwhen firing 90mm gun. Light tree foli-age and vegetation do not affect theheight of hurst materially, hut dense treefoliage and thick vegetation will increasethe height of hurst above the ground.This effect is decreased at steep angles offall in which case most shells will hursthelow tree top level. The dispersion inheight of hurst decreases as the angle offall increases.

At the present state of development,approximately 70 per cent (AA types)to 75 per cent (FA types) of VT fuzesare expected to function correctly. Whenfiring VT fuzed projectiles through aworn gun tube, a higher per cent of mal-functions may he expected.

What shell and fuze wouldyou use against enemy troopsin village buildings? In a moun-tain pass?

FUZE VT 1\;192(T74 E-) is used forAA targets. It will detonate the shell'when it passes within 60 feet of aircraft,earth or water. About 90 per cent of thistype fuze becomes armed at 1,000 yardsfrom gun. If the fuze malfunctions anddoes not arm, the shell becomes a dud.VT fuzed duds may detonate upon im-pact with any hard surface sllch as rock,concrete, or metal. This fuze contains aself-destruction switch which causes anarmed fuze to detonate when the spin ofthe projectile drops to a predeterminedvalue. This switch is adjusted to closeafter approximately 25 seconds time offlight at 22.5° gun elevation, approxi-mately 55 seconds at 60° elevation, andfrom 60 to 80 seconds at 800 elevation.The self-destruction feature in the fuzeis intended to detonate the round suffi-ciently high on the descending branchof the trajectory v\!hen fired at quadrantelevation greater than 300 mils (170°),to prevent injury and damage to friendlytroops, but in addition a safety factor of100 mils must be considered. Therefore,projectiles fuzed with the 1\.192(T74 E-)

fuze will not be fired over friendly troopsand installations at quadrant elevation ofless than 400 mils (22.5°).

FUZE VT M93 (TI 52). Is intendedfor AA use only. It is used for engage-ment of low flying aircraft. It is a modi-fication of the 1\192 (T74 E-) and pro-yides for self-destruction after 14 secondstime of flight at 22.5° elevation. At 18°the switch is adjusted for 10 secondstime of flight. The minimum quadrantelevation in firing over friendly troopsand installations is 200 mils.

FUZE VT M97 (T 80 series). Is in-tended for terrestrial fire. A centrifugalsafety switch is used in place of the se1£-destruction switch. The T80 seriesthrough T80Ell have no impact ele-ment, models T80E12 and later have animpact element. Close approach to anyterrain feature will cause an armed fuzeto function. Passing within 10 yards ofaircraft will cause the armed fuze todetonate the projectile. FA types of VTfuzes are not as sensitive as AA typesand must "see the target for a longerperiod of time." A clearance of 50 yardsis considered safe when firing over crests,clearances should be at least 100 yardsto prevent fuzes from functioning overwater. Approximately 75% of the fuzeswill operate correctly, the remaining 25%may be either duds or may function atrandom at any point heyond the mini-mum arming range. Approximately 75%of the rounds will function correctlywhen fired from a 90mm gun tube withless than 1200 rounds; over 1200 rounds,a high per cent of malfunctions may beexpected. Fuze VT 1\.197is used withseveral different calibre weapons and theabove information is true only for 90mmguns.

Fuze VT 1\.197is used very effectivelyagainst troops, in the open, in foxholes,in light foliage and in small buildings oflight materials. The use of VT fuze ascompared to other type of fuzes is highlyadvantageous. The height of burst is noproblem, no time setting is necessary andthere is no time limitation to the fuze.

CARE, HANDLING, AND PRES-ERVATION. The fuzes function prop-erly at temperatures between OaF and120°F and should not be used outsidethese temperature limits. Temporaryexposure outside of the prescribed tem-perature limits wiII not permanently in-jure the fuzes. If the fuzed projectile isloaded into the chamber of a hot gun hut

41

not fired before thirtv seconds haveelapsed. the fuze may cause either a ran-dom burst after arming or a dud. butsafety characteristics will not be im-paired. VT fuzes should not be un-packed until rounds are to be fired. IfVT fuzes are unpacked and not firedthey are still usable for period of one tosix months, depending on the location.The number of malfunctions increaseswith the age of the fuzes.

Summary

THE types of shells and fuzes areconstantly changing; therefore, the goodartilleryman has to keep up to date ondevelopment. Current information maybe obtained from latest edition T. 1\1.,F. i\1., Supply Bulletins, S. N. L., andfiring tables. T. i\ 1. 9-190 I deals withmarking, handling and storage of ammu-nition. T. i\ 1. 9-1900 deals with opera-

---tion of shells and fuzes for all types ofammunition. Ord. 3 S. N. L. P-5 COn-tains code and description of all types of90mm ammunition and should be usedin requisitioning ammunition. Firingtable 90AA-B-3 and Graphical FiringTables i\ 142 mav be used to obtain firina

• b

data for shell HE, i\ 171 and shell WI'1\1313. Firing tables 90-F-2 (ABR) con-tain firing data and sight picture for anti-tank ammunition.

TRAINING LITERATUREBy Major B. G. Oberlin

AAFCS T33, Skysweeper, Duster,and guided missile developments arereceiving much attention at AA & GMBr, TAS. i\luch of this material carriesa high classification.

FielD MANUALS

FM 44-19, Examination for AA Artil-leryman, and FM 44-57, i\lultiple Ma-chine-Gun Mounts, have been approvedand are being printed. Both will be readyfor distribution in January 1952.

FM 44-1, Antiaircraft Artillery Em-ployment, and Fi\I 44-60, Service of the40mm Gun and Associated Fire ControlEquipment, are at OCAFF for review.Distribution is expected by spring orearly summer.

FM 44-28, Service of AA Directors1\19, M9AI, M9A2, and M 10, is beingrewritten at AA & G1\1 Br, TAS. Thismanual will not be ready for distributionbefore late summer 1952.

SPECIAL TEXTS

ST 44-153, Service of the Fire Con-trol System T33, Restricted, has beenprinted at AA & Gi\1 Br, T AS, and is

42

being distributed. It has 220 pages with97 illustrations of this new materiel.ST 44-152, Defense of AAA againstEnemy Ground Attack, is in preparation.Distribution is planned for January 1952.

TECHNICAL MANUALS

TM 44-225, Orientation for Artillery,is at OCAFF for review and will be indistribution by April 1952. TM 20-300,Use of Radio Controlled Airplane Tar-gets, and Ti\1 44-234, AAA Service Prac-tice, are being completed at AA & Gi\1Br, TAS. Printing and distribution areexpected by summer 1952.

TRAINING CIRCULARS

Training circulars on AAOC-AAAISand Basic Tactical Principles for the Em-ployment of Light Antiaircraft Artilleryin Air Defense are at the Department ofthe Army printers. Both will be distrib-uted by the first of the year.

Service of the Fire Control SystemT33 and Service of the 75mm Gun1\10unt T69 (Skysweeper) are bothat OCAFF for review. Printing and dis-tribution are expected early in 1952.

A training circular, Tactical Controland Employment of Skysweeper, is inpreparation stages at AA & Gi\'1 Br. 1'AS.Circulars on service of the AN(fPS-I D.the replacement ANlITQ-I(AAOC),the Duster, the Stinger, and the im-prm'ed 40mm gun have been started. Allshould be in distribution by summer1952.

TRAINING FILMS

Two training films, Light AAA withthe Infantry and Armored Division andLight AAA in close support of the In-fantry, are being filmed at Fort Hood.

Scenarios for training films on AAOC.Skysweepcr, and AAFCS 1'33 arc inpreparation.

BOOK DEPARTMENT CATALOG

A new catalog for the Book Depart-ment has been printed at AA & Gi\1 Br.T AS, and is in distribution. It lists manu-scripts and lesson plans used in residentinstruction for sale as individual itemsand in packets. Special texts, trainingaids, and supplies such as slide rules.protractors, stationery, and office needsare also listed.


HONOR ROLL* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Original Honor Roll88th AAA Airborne BnLt. Col. R. B. Barry, Jr.228th AAA GroupCol. D. W. Bethea, Jr., S. C.107th AAA AW Bn 1M)Lt. Col. T. H. Pope, Jr., S. C.305th AAA GroupCol. John S. Mayer, N. Y.

Separate CommandsArmy AAA CommandMoj. Gen. W. W. IrvineThird Army Training CenterBrig. Gen. C. H. ArmstrongEast AAA CommandMaj. Gen. P. W. RutledgeCenlral AAA CommandCol. D. J. BoileyWest AAA CommandBrig. Gen. R. W. Berry

Guided Missile Dept.

AA & GM SchoolCol. F. M. McGoldrick

Brigades32nd AAA BrigadeCol. M. W. May, Jr.351h AAA BrigadeBrig. Gen. Hamer Case40lh AAA BrigadeBrig. Gen. James G. Devine47th AAA BrigadeCol. G. C. Gibbs103rd AAA BrigadeBrig. Gen. R. Y. Moore, Conn.104th AAA BrigadeBrig. Gen. V. P. Coyne, Mass.1051h AAA BrigadeBrig. Gen. A. H. Doud, N. Y.107th AAA BrigadeBrig. Gen. J. W. Squire, Va.111 Ih AAA Brigade8rig. Gen. Chos. G. Sage, N. Mex.1121h AAA Srigade8rig. Gen. J. W. Cook, Calif.

Groups1 st AAA Training GroupCal. E. W. Heathcote2nd AAA GroupCol. C. G. Patterson10th AAA GroupCol. W. H. Hennig11th AAA GroupCol. W. B. Logan16th AAA GroupCol. F. J. Woods191h AAA GroupCal. H. P. Gard971h AAA GroupCol. J. T. Wrean200lh AAA GroupCol. C. M. Woodbury, N. Mex.2041h AAA GroupCol. F. C. Grevemberg, La.2051h AAA GroupMaj. N. Cook, Adj., Wash.207th AAA GroupCol. G. T. Stillman, N. Y.

2081h AAA GroupCol. H. S. Ives, Conn.209th AAA GroupCol. E. J. Welte, N. Y.211 th AAA GroupCol. G. F. Lineham, Jr., Mass.214th AAA GroupCol. J. G. Johnson, Ga.216th AAA GroupCol. W. E. Johnson, Minn.21 81h AAA GroupCol. V. P. Lupinacci, Po.2201h AAA GroupCol. R. H. Hopkins, Mass.224th AAA GroupCal. E. W. Thompson, Va.226th AAA GroupCol. John D. Sides, Ala.227th AAA GroupCal. P. l. Wall, Fla.251., AAA GroupCal. A. Long, Calif.302nd AAA GroupCal. John M. Welch, Ohio31 31h AAA GroupCal. A. F. Haehle, Po.326th AAA GroupCol. M. D. Meyers, Po.3741h AAA GroupCal. 1. F. Mullaney, Jr., Illinois5151h AAA GroupCal. F. G. Rowell, N. Mex.

Battalions3rd AAA AW BnLt. Col. J. B. Goettl3rd AAA Tng. Bn.Lt. Col. E. E. Twining4th AAA AW Bn IMILt. Cal. R. J. Connelly9th AAA Gun BnLt. Col. H. D. Johnson15th AAA AW Sn ISPILt. Col. F. A. Werner21s1 AAA AW Sn ISPILt. Col. Chas. E. Henry22nd AAA AW BnLt. Cal. R. J. Janes35th AAA Gun Bn.Lt. Cal. J. E. Burrows391h AAA AW Bn (MICol. N. W. Baltzer41 sl AAA Gun BnLI. Co\. W. A. Keysan46th AAA AW Bn (SPILt. Co\. Wm. M. Vann481h AAA AW Sn.Lt. Col. O. K. Marshall50th AAA AW Sn (SPILt. Cal. l. J. Lesperance591h AAA AW Bn (SPILI. Col. H. Van Kolnitz60lh AAA AW BnLt. Cal. R. T. Cassidy62nd AAA AW Bn ISPILt. Cal. R. G. Finkenaur63rd AAA Gun BnLt. Cal. B. \. Greenberg641h AAA Gun Bn.Lt. Col. R. A. Lanpher

65th AAA Gun BnLt. Cal. R. F. Moore68th AAA Gun 8nLt. Col. R. C. Cheal69th AAA Gun Bn IMlLt. Col. D. C. Sherrets70th AAA Gun BnLt. Col. K. R. Philbrick71.t AAA Gun SnLt. Col. A. J. Montrone75th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. A. A. Koscielniak78th AAA Gun BnLt. Col. J. B. Parrott79th AAA Gun BnLt. Col. F. E. Pratt80th AAA Airborne BnLt. Col. l. W. Linderer82nd AAA AW BnMaj. R. H. Johnston95th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. l. S. Daugherty1 01st AAA Gun BnMaj. l. D. Collins, Go.102nd AAA Gun SnLt. Col. M. H. Roesser, N. Y.1151h AAA Gun Bn.Lt. Col. W. D. McCain, Miss.120th AAA Gun BnLt. Col. H. C. Gray, N. Mex.126th AAA AW SnLt. Col. R. C. Carrera, Mass.127th AAA AW Sn ISPILt. Col. H. G. White, N. Y.142nd AAA AW SnLl. Col. C. Beckman, N. Y.146th AAA AW Bn.Lt. Col. R. H. Franklin, Mich.150lh AAA Gun BnLt. Col. l. O. Ellis, Jr., N. C.23Bth AAA Gun Bn.Maj. T. P. O'Keefe, Conn.243rd AAA AW Sn.Lt. Col. E. E. McMillan, R. I.245th AAA Gun 8nLt. Col. C. M. Brown, N. Y.250lh AAA Gun BnLl. Col. A. J. Twiggs, Ga.260lh AAA Gun BnLt. Col. R. H. Stephens, D. C.2651h AAA Gun BnMaj. H. Bot!s, Fla.3371h AAA Gun Bn.Lt. Col. J. W. Dry, Po.340lh AAA Gun BnLt. Col. G. V. Selwyn, D. C.369th AAA Gun Sn.Ll. Col. C. S. Heming, N. Y.3851h AAA AW BnMaj. D. K. Scott, Illinois398th AAA AW BnLt. Col. l. B. Dean420lh AAA Gun Sn.Lt. Col. G. S. Green, Wash.443rd AAA A W Bn ISPILl. Col. J. F. Reagan489th AAA AW BnCopl. J. E. Cornish, Illinois502nd AAA Gun BnLt. Col. P. G. Brown

5071h AAA A W BnLt. Col. S. J. Paciorek518th AAA Gun SnLt. Cal. O. l. Greening697th AAA AW BnMaj. W. C. Thompson, N. Mex.698lh AAA Gun SnLt. Col. F. Manica, Illinois705th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. M. P. DiFusco, R. I.7071h AAA Gun Bn.Lt. Col. F. Fulton, Jr., Po.708th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. P. I. Getzinger, Po.709th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. l. A. Long, Po.710lh AAA Gun Sn.Lt. Col. C. C. Berkeley, Va.712th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. H. H. Taylor, Jr., Fla.7131h AAA Gun SnLt. Col. B. N. Singleton, S. C.7151h AAA Gun BnMaj. J. Y. Woodruff, N. Y.716th AAA Gun SnLt. Col. Joe R. Stewart, N. Mex.7171h AAA Gun BnLt. Col. E. D. Pelzer, N. Mex.71 81h AAA Gun SnMaj. M. D. Kert, Adj., Calif.720lh AAA Gun Bn.Lt. Col. G. A. Duke, Calif.726th AAA Gun BnLt. Col. John T. Walson, N. Mex.7281h AAA Gun Bn.Maj. G. C. Moore, Calif.732nd AAA Gun Bn.Maj. l. Neeley, Ore.7471h AAA Gun 8nLt. Col. J. F. Kane, Mass.753rd AAA Gun SnLt. Col. W. H. Nicolson76Bth AAA Gun 8nLt. Col. T. H. Kuyper, Illinois772nd AAA Gun BnCol. F. S. Grant, Mass.773rd AAA Gun SnLt. Col. G. F. Slavin804th AAA AW Bn IMIMaj. S. N. Caudill, N. Mex.B67th AAA AW 8nMaj. S. M. Arnold

Operations Detachments102nd AAA Opns. Del.Copt. G. J. Lahey, N. Y.105th AAA Opn •. Del.lst Ll. E. A. Sisson, N. Y.1771h AAA Opns. Det.Maj. W. F. Hale, Va.179th AAA Opn •. Del,Maj. R. S. Gruhn, Illinois181s1 AAA Opns. Del.Maj. R. H. Moser, N. Mex.501st AAA Opns. Del.Maj. E. F. DeLeon503rd AAA Opns. Del.Capt. R. R. Berger5071h AAA Opns. Del.Copt. E. F. Baakter

**

JOURNAL HONOR ROLL CRITERIA1. To qualify or to requalily lor a listing an the Journal Honor Roll,

units must submil the names of subscribers and a raster 01 officersassigned to Ihe unit on date 01 application.

2. Battalions with BO% or more subscribers among the officers assignedto Ihe unil are eligible for listing, provided Ihal the unit consists 01not less than twenty officers..... ... ... ... ...


3. Brigades and groups with 90% or mare subscribers among Ihe officersassigned to the unit are eligible lor listing, provided that the unilconsists of not less. thon seven officers.

4. Units will remain on the Honor Roll lor one year alter qualificationor requalificotion.

...43

Moving Target IndicatorsBy Lt. Col. L. M. Orman

WOULDNT it be wonderful ifradar sets showed only moving targets?No more would the radar operator haveto worry about losing a target in theground clutter. No more would theenemy be able to take advantage of thisweakness of radar and hedge-hop in,confident of the fact that his plane's pipwould be lost in ground or sea-clutter.

Such a device is now possible. It willnot be revealing any military secrets tosay that our future radars will most likelybe equipped with mm'ing target indi-cators. Research in this field had passedthe bread-board stage before the shootinghad stopped in \Vorld \Var II and thesedevices were beginning to find their wayinto the field. Although these primarymodels were crude and did not com-pletely do the job, an examination of thephotographs in figures I and II will showthat at least the germ of an excellent aidis present.

The Germans were early explorers inthis field. \Vhen we began to jam theirradar with strips of tinfoil they discernedthat there was a characteristic of "win-dow" which should assist in dilTerentiat-ing it from the real target. This char-acteristic is speed of movement. Thetinfoil falls at the rate of about 8 miles

per hour normally. Since a plane istraveling several hundred miles per hourthen comparatively speaking the "win-dow" (also called "chalf' among otherthings) is almost a fixed object whencompared to the plane. Hence, a movingtarget indicator promises to be extremelyuseful against this sort of jamming.

\Ve have then two extremely impor-tant applications of this device-remOl'alof the cll/tter from fixed ohjects and adefense against meclltlnical jammiHg.

\Vhat dilTerence exists between theecho signals from fixed targets and thosefrom moving targets which can be usedto favor the moving target return? \Veha\'e alreadv hinted at this in the discus-sion of the use of i\ITI against window.In general, fixed targets tend to giveidentical amounts of energy from succes-sive pulses. Since a radar beam is not ahomogeneous entity, and since the aspectof a moving target changes from pulseto pulse, some small dilTerence in ampli-tude between two successive echoes canbe expected. In addition, with con-ventional aircraft, modulation of echoesby propeller rotation can contribute tothis elTect.

However, the most direct way of solv-ing this problem is by use of the 00]7-

pier principle. The basic difference be-tween a fixed target and a moving targetis that the latter mm'es and the formerdoes not.

For the benefit of the reader whoseknowledge of physics is rusty permit meto re\'iew the "Doppler Effect." Themost readily apparent application of thiselTect is in the change of pitch of a trainwhistle as it approaches, then recedesin the distance. Consider the change inpitch as a change in frequency and weare now ready to apply this principle toour radar problem. The frequency of atransmitted pulse from a fixed echo willreturn unchanged. The frequency of theecho from a mm'ing target will bechanged. Provide a means for subtractingthe frequency of the transmitted pulsefrom that of the returned echo. Sincethe frequency of the echo from the fzxetltarget is equal to that of the transmittedpulse this difference will he zero. Sincethe frequency of the moviHg target isdifferent from that of the transmittedpulse this difference will he finite. Feedthe resulting dilTerence to a suitable in-dicator and we have a moving targetindicator system. The earliest attempts ~at such devices were this simple. Anaural indicator was used.

Moving train is clearly resolved on scope as mercury delayline cancels out signals from the stationary targets.

44

Radar picks out moving autos on \XJorcester Turnpike andapproaches to Boston. This is 5 mile sweep at 3,000 feet.


T0 keep from being too technical weshall treat both of these methods to-gether from this point on. Actually, of{;ourse, different circuitry is required inthe t\'1Osystems up to a certain point.Let it suffice to say that whether we aretalking about a difference in amplitudeof the target echo or a difference in"beats" or frequency amplitude we canmake both appear to be amplitudechanges through the addition of certaincomponents to the latter system.

Obviously, such an aural system aswe have outlined has many drawbacks.A visual system would be vastly moredesirable and easier to interpret. Theeasier step in this direction would be todisplay this information on an A-Scope.This can readily be done but is usefulonly when the antenna is stationary ormoving slowly. What is desired then isa method for presenting this informationon a PPI scope.

If then, one video pulse is delayed byexactly the interval between pulses andis subtracted from the next pulse, fixedtargets can be cancelled while the mov-ing targets leave a residual unbalance.Actually, instead of subtracting the firstsignal from the second, the second signalis inverted and added to the first. Or, touse the correct electrical term, it is added"out-of-phase" with the first.

At least two methods exist for obtain-ing the desired amount of delay. Theseare the delay line and the storage tube.Little has been published on the storagetube; hence, no further discussion willbe made of it here. Attention will beconfined to delay lines.

Circuits, such as IAGC,l STC,' FTC,already exist which are useful in tacklingthe problem of sea clutter, and althoughthey have some application to this prob-lem their principles are entirely differentand will not be discussed here.

To achieve the length of delay needed,it is necessary to convert the electricalenergy into sonic energy. The soundwaves then travel along the delay lineuntil the appropriate delay has beenachieved, whereupon the sound wavesare then reconverted into electrical en-ergy. The electrical energy is thencompared with the signal through thenondelay portion of the circuit. The un-cancelled targets are then applied to theindicator in the normal manner. Since

lIAGC-Instantaneous automatic gain con-trol. STC-Sensitivity time constant.FTC-Fasttime constant, primarily an anti-jammingfilter.


sonic energy travels only about one-millionth as fast as electrical energy anappreciable delay can be achieved with asonic line of a practical length.

In practice these sonic lines fall intotwo distinct categories-liquid and solid.Both have been used successfullv. Theliquid used most frequently is mercury,although there is no theoretical reasonwhy almost any other liquid, even water,might not be used. Even a cursory con-sideration of the problem will show thatwater presents some problems not en-countered when a substance like mer-cury is used. The principal ones thatreadily appear are leakage and expansionwith temperature.

In many electrical circuit applicationsit is necessary to provide a means ofdelaying a signal. When such a delay isshort or when the delay is long and thebandwidth is small, this may be accom-plished by means of coil and condensertype networks. In cases where long de-lays are required, or more precisely,where the product of delay and band-width is great, the coil-condenser type ofnetwork becomes bulky and in somecases impractical.

These longer delays, accompanied bythe wide bandwidth, may be obtained bymaking use of the relatively slow velocityof transmission of mechanical vibrationsthrough liquids. In particular, it hasbeen found that by operating at ultra-sonic frequencies it is possible to convertan electrical pulse signal to a mechanicalvibration through the liquid and convertthis vibration back to an electrical signalwithout distortion. The signal will thusbe delayed by the time of transmissionthrough the liquid.

The essential parts of such a systemare a suitable converter from electrical tomechanical vibrations, a medium whichwill couple to the converter and transmitthe mechanical vibrations, and a receiverto change the mechanical vibrations backto an electrical signal.

Most of the present work on the longdelay lines has been with the use ofwater and water solutions or mercury asthe transmitting medium. Quartz crys-tals have been used as the electro me-chanical converter. Other co~binationsare possible, such as the use of solids(e.g., fused quartz) in the place of aliquid as the transmitting medium, andthe use of synthetic crystals as converters.The main drawback to the synthetic istheir lack of mechanical stability.

From the amount of delay required thedistance necessary to transmit the signalmay be determined for a particular me-dium. In the case of either water ormercury there is no essential differenceas both have a velocity of nearly 1500meters/second at 25°C. Thus, for a delayof 5000 micro-seconds the signal wouldhave to travel a distance of nearly 24feet. This fixes the length of the delayline.

There are several methods of obtain-ing the necessary 24 feet of transmittingpath. Itwould be possible to have a largecontainer in which the ultra-sonic beamwould be reHected back and forth fromthe sides of the container or the mercurycould be confined to channels or tubesof the required length. This lattermethod offers considerable advantage inconstruction as the use of mercury neces-sitates special care in handling. Stainlesssteel tubes and fittings provide adequatestrength to avoid contamination of themercury. Because of the weight of themercury the diameter should be smalLIf too small a diameter is selected, satis-factory transmission over the requireddistance will not be possible. This is duelargely to the nature of the ultra-sonicradiation from the crystal. It is similarto the radiation of a beam of light froman aperture in which the ratio of thediameter to the length is large and issubject to the same laws of diffractionand interference. At the frequencies or-dinarily used the diameter of the crystalis large compared to a wavelength-i.e.,at 5 megacycles the wavelength in mer-cury is .0118 inch. Thus, a one-inchdiameter crystal is 85 wavelengths across.

THE distance the ultra-sonic radiationwill travel as a narrow beam is directlyproportional to the ratio of the crystalradiator to the wavelength. To obtainthe maximum distance this ratio shouldbe kept large. This may be done eitherby using a large diameter radiator or us-ing a high frequency. It is not possibleto use too high a frequency due to theexcessive attenuation. Too large a diam-eter is not desirable because of the exces-sive weight. The use of a tube helps in

. this matter as the effect of the confiningwalls is to give an effectively greaterdiameter to the crystal. A tube havingan inside diameter of one inch and op-erating at 6.5 MC has been used satis-factorily.

45

\Vhen transmitting from a medium oflow velocity to one of higher velocitysuch as from mercury to steeL the ultra-sonic beam will be completely reRectedif the angle between the two media ex-ceeds a certain critical angle. By usingcorner reRectors it is possible to fold theline am' number of times without suf-fering any loss at the reRections. This istrue providing the mercury has directcontact with the steel and is possible onlyif the surface is clean. In actual practicethis is a difficult condition to maintain.t\ moderately rough finish on the steelwill create an air film since the surfacetension of the mercury will prevent themercury from wetting the steel. Thistype of surface has the advantage ofbeing free from trouble due to surfacecontamination.

The practical mechanical design mustbe determined. This involves size andshape as well as any other special re-quirement for operation, such as the ac-curacy to which the various parts areheld. For a 24 foot long, one inch diam-

eter pipe, it is necessary to hold thedeviation from straightness to less than~4 inch. If too few reRectors are usedthe line would be difficult to handle be-cause of its length A six foot line re-quires three 900 reRectors to obtain a24 foot length. The line must be com-pletely air-tight and provided with bel-lows to allow for the expansion andcontraction of the mercury due to tem-perature changes.

The author collaborated with Capt.L. G. Callahan, Jr., on a thesis for a~ laster of Science degree at the Univer-sity of Pennsyh'ania on the subject, "ABarium Titanate Delav Line." Thisceramic seems to offer possibilities andad\'antages as a delay line. \Vhen thematerial is pre-polarized by being sub-jected t<?a strong d-c field it retains thispolarization even after the d-c field isremoved. This phenomenon is similarto the magnetization of certain metals.This material has the advantages ofbeing easy to work, may be molded intomany diffeernt shapes, may be polarized

in any desired direction, has a large elec-tromechanical coupling factor, and isquite stable in its properties at ordinarytemperature.

The principal ad\'antage of bariumtitanate as a delay line is the fact that itis not necessary to use quartz crystals toconvert the electrical energy to mechani-cal energy and vice versa, as was the casewith the mercury line discussed abow.Or to put it in other words, a mechanicalwave can be induced to travel down apiece of barium titanate upon applicationof an electric field across the specimenproviding the sample has been polarizedunder the electrodes. A line made fromthis material would be much smaller andweigh only a fraction of a mercury linegiving the same time delay.

Now that we have taken care of fixedechoes and clutter, let's hope the scien-tists and engineers can find a way toblank out echoes from all friendkplanes. Then the only pips appearing onour scopes will be enemy targets. Ohwell, we can dream, can't we?

46

Guns of the 97th AAA Group, Colonel Joy T. W'rean, commanding, on Okinawa.


The Wild Ride Of John H. WisdomBy Jerome Kearful

WHO has not heard of the midnightride of Paul Revere? Yet few today knowthat some three-<}uarters of a centuryafter Revere an Alabama rural mail car-rier rode seventy wild miles to carry awarning that "The Yankees Are Com-. J"mg.

Postman John H. \Visdom was not onthe winning side in the Civil \Var. Nordid he have the poet Longfellow to cele-brate his exploit. The record of his wildmidnight ride has long remained be-tween the covers of dusty local histories.This is what happened.

On May 2, 1863, Wisdom returnedfrom his rural mail routes to nnd thatFederal soldiers had taken over his hometown of Gadsden, Alabama, while hewas delivering letters. Not only that, theYankees had sunk his own private ferry-boat that he used to transport himself.horse and buggy across the river intotown.

The Federals did not tarry long inGadsden, since the fabulous NathanBedford Forrest and his Confederatecavalry were on their trail. Calling acrossthe river, a neighbor told \Visdom thatthey were headed for Rome, Georgia, toburn and destroy Confederate stores andproperty.

Quickly making up his mind, the in-trepid letter carrier called back, askinghis neighbor to tell his family that hewas off to Rome. John H. \Visdom nowbecame a man consumed by one aim: tocover the sixty-eight miles to Rome asquickly as possible and deliver his mes-sage, "The Yankees Are Coming!"

vVheeling his horse and buggy, \Vis-dom started off on his wild ride. Al-th~ugh the animal had been driven allday on the mail routes, the ConfederatePaul Revere reached the town of Gnat-,'ilIe, twenty-two miles from Gadsden,in record time. The widow NancvHanks lived at this crossroads village. T~replace \Visdom's exhausted horse, shegave her only pony, lame though it was.

The lame pony carried \Visdom fivemiles to the town of Goshen. Here hesought out farmer Simpson Johnson and


begged a horse. Johnson hastily saddledtwo animals, one for \Visdom and onefor Johnson's son, so that both horsescould be brought back to the farm after\Visdom's next change of mounts. Theforty-three-year-old postman and thefarmer boy galloped off into the night!

Riding headlong through the dark-ness, \Visdom and young Johnson sooncO\'ered the eleven miles to Spring Val-ley. Here the Alabama mail carrierapplied to parson Joel \Veems for a newmount. Parson Vhems supplied himwith the animal that carried him acrossthe state line into Georgia. John H.vVisdom was nearing his objective, andhe spared neither himself nor his horsesto hasten his arrival in Rome with thewarning, "The Yankees Are Coming!"

He again changed horses at the homeof John Baker, near Cave Spring, Geor-gia. Now he was only fifteen miles fromRome. The Confederate messenger wasmaking such good time that he felt surehe would arrive well ahead of the Fed-eral raiders.

vVisdom was still astride the horse thathe had obtained from Baker when mis-fortune nearly ended his wild ride.Galloping full tilt down a long hill, theanimal stumbled. Horse and rider cametumbling to earth. But \Visdom rolledclear, and his mount regained its feetuninjured. \Visdom climbed back intothe saddle and was off again with scarce-ly a pause.

Six miles from Rome, the SouthernRevere changed to his last mount. Rid-ing hard, he entered the outskirts of theGeorgia town at four minutes beforemidnight.

\Visdom rode at once to the EtowahHouse, Rome's principal hotel. Here, heand G. S. Black, the owner, hastily laidplans for rousing the people. Soon theirwarning was echoing through the streets.

'The Yankees Are Coming! The Yan-kees Are Coming!"

The excitement was tremendous. Oldmen and boys began toting bales of cot-ton to the bridge to form a barricade.Convalescent Confederate soldiers from

the Rome Hospital hastily formed a rudi-mentary military organization to offerwhat resistance thev could. Town au-thorities passed out squirrel riRes and oldshotguns to those able to bear arms. Twoancient cannon were brought up andpressed into duty. In the homes of Rome.women and children comforted one an-other against the fear of the Yankees.Come what might, Rome was prepared!

Soon after sunrise on the morning of1\ lay 3, advanced detachments of Federaltroops came into view of Rome. ColonelAbel D. Streight, commander of theraiders, had sent them ahead to seize thebridge leading into the town. Their mis-sion was to hold the bridge until themain body of 1,500 Federal cavalry andmounted infantrv should arrive and useit as a passage into Rome.

vVhen Streight's advanced detach-ments found that Rome had not beensurprised as they had hoped, they with-held their attack against the bridge inorder to discover, if they could, thestrength of the defenses. Questioned, anold Negro woman declared that the townwas "full of sojers!" After reconnoitering,a courier was sent to Colonel Streightwith the report that the defenses ofRome were "indeed quite formidable."

In the meanwhile, Streight's com-mand had been pursued so unrelentinglybv the redoubtable Forrest that men andanimals were dropping from utter ex-haustion. i\1en were even falling asleepunder fire. Colonel Streight had ex-pressed the opinion that their only hopelay in crossing the bridge into Rome andburning it behind them. Now, becausea rural mail carrier had beaten them toRome by six hours, that course of actionwas prevented.

In this situation, General Forrest andfour hundred Confederates overtook theUnion force. Under a Hag of truce, theConfederate commander demanded thesurrender of the Federals. Streight andForrest met to parley. By deception, For-rest convinced Streight that he had amuch larger force than was so. Confed-erate troops and guns passed in and out

47

of clumps of trees, O\'er and around hills.Officers appeared asking Forrest for or-ders for the disposition of nonexistentunits.

Streight surrendered.\ Vhen the Federal commander later

found that his own men had outnum-bered Forrest's by at least three to one,he tried to kill himself. After the war, hesaid that one man was responsible for hissurrender to Forrest at Rome.

That man was John I-I. \Visdom, rural

letter carrier! By warning the people ofRome, he made possible the barricadingof the bridge and thus laid the trap thatwas sprung a few hours later whenNathan Bedford Forrest caught up withStreight's raiders.

The Federal prisoners were broughtinto Rome bet\\'een three and fouro'clock in the afternoon of i\lav 3. Inhigh spirits, the local newspaper reponedthat "The Yankees have nnallv arrivedin Rome!"

---The grateful Georgia town presented

\Visdom with a set of sih'er and $-lOOinConfederate money . To the \ VidowHanks, in recognition of her lending herlame pony, $-lOOwas also sent.

John H. Wisdom died in Gadsden,July 28, 1909, at the age of eighty-nine.A substantial and respected member ofthe communit\,. he had still carefullvpreserved the ~et of silver that was th~reminder of his wild ride that night of1\ lay 2, 1863!

ARTIllERY ORDERSDA Special Orders Covering September 1, 1951 through October 31, 1951.

Promorions and Demotions not included,

MAJOR GENERALFrederick, Robert T .. to Med. Holding Del.,

\X'alter Reed AH., Wash, DC

COLONelSConnor, William M., to Office Sec of Def

S47Sth AAU, Wash, DCDunn, Charles G., to 40S2d ASU AAA and GM

Cen, Ft Bliss, Tex.Grinder, Richard H., to AFF Bd No 2, Ft Knox,

Ky.Hamilton, John M., to ARW AI' Det S6SSth

AAU, Air Univ, Maxwell AFB, Ala.Liwski, Francis A., to 3Sth AAA Brig, Ft

Meade, Md.McDaniel, Otto L., to Hq Fourth Army, Ft Sam

Houston, Tex.Pape, Robin B., to SOth AAA Gp, Ft Totten,

NY.Skidmore, Wilbur M., to AAFES S6SSth AAU

wlsta New YorkStaub, Leslie]., to Hq Army AA Comd SS77th

AAU, Ent AFB, Colo.Wilkins, Frank F., to AFF Bd No I, Ft Bragg,

NCLIEUTENANT COLONELS

Behnken, Benjamin T., to Office Chief AFF, FtMonroe, Va ..

Harwood, Dewey S., to 4 S9th AAA AW Bn,Cp Edwards, Mass.

Hirsch, Allan S., to Hq Army AA Comd SS77thAAU Ent AFB, Colo.

Kopcsak, Arpad A., to AFF Bd No 4, Ft Bliss,Tex.

Miller, Charles A., to US Army Pacific, FtShafter, TH.

Raleigh, Robert C, to Army Sec Joint Air DefBd, S6S1 st AAU Ent AFB, Colo.

Reddington, C, to Office Chief AFF, Ft Mon-roe, Va.

Starnes, James V., to Office Chief AFF SS7SthAAU, Lawson AFB, Ga.

Stewart, Charles \X'., to Hq Western Army AACmd SS77th AAU, 34th Air Div, Albuquer-que, N Mex.

MAJORSBaker, James W., to Third Army ASU, Cp

Stewart, Ga.Barrett, Sidney., to 707th AAA Gun Bn, Ft Dix,

NJ.Hiles, John C, to Sixth A 6S16th ASU Wash

NG Instr Gp, Cp Murray, Tacoma, Wash.McCallum, Herman D., to 709th AAA Gun

Bn, Ft Sheridan, Ill.

48

Petersky, John J., to Hq East Army AA CmdSS77th AAU, Cp Stewart, Ga.

Selby, Thomas E., to Stu Det AA and GM BrArty Sch, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Sukiennik, Stazy ]., to 3Sth AAA Brig, FtMeade, Md.

CAPTAINS

Adams, Louis E., to Sth AAA Gp, North Rich-land, Wash.

Altman, Joseph C, to 40S2d ASU AAA andGM Cen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Boone, Daniel L., to 31st AAA Brig Hq andHq Btry, Ft Lewis, Wash.

Carpenter, Charles W., to 47th AAA Brig, CpStewart, Ga.

Clarkson, Richard L., to OAC of S G4 8S3SthAAU, Wash, DC

Clayton, William V., Jr., to 16th AAA Gp, FtHancock, NJ.

Daboy, Antony., to 3S0th AAA Gp, Ft Lewis,Wash.

Eickhoff, David L., to 746th AAA Gun Bn, FtBaker, Calif.

Fanning, Leonard B., to 20S3d ASU RC, FtMeade, Md.

Johnson, Raymond G., to 2S0th AAA Gp, FtBaker, Calif.

Jones, Clyde S., to 71 Sth AAA Gun Bn, FtTotten, NJ.

Kee, Pat M., to 209th AAA Gp, IndiantownGap, Pa.

Kennaman, Jack R., to SOlst AAA Gun Bn,North Richland, Wash.

Sarmiento, Ignacio M., to 466th AAA A W Bn,San Francisco, Calif.

Toomaw, Dellie W., to 709th AAA Gun Bn,Ft Sheridan, Ill.

Waddey, Charles M., to Stu Det AA and GMCen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Wieringa, John S., Jr., to 3d AAA Gp, CpStewart, Ga.

FIRST LIEUTENANTS

Blocker, Stanton, Jr., to 369th AAA Gun Bn,Cp Edwards, Mass.

Buck, Ralph W., to 74Sth AAA Gun Bn, FtDevens, Mass.

Higgs, Arden J., to 47th AAA Brig, Cp Stewart,Ga.

McDonald, William C, to 74Sth AAA Gun Bn,Ft Devens, Mass.

McGaughey, Kenneth E., to IOlst AAA GunBn, Cp McCoy, Wise.

Miller, Richard F., to SOth AAA Gp, Ft Totten,NY.

Myers, Ralph L., to S19th AAA Gun Bn, NorthRichland, \X'ash.

Na,gata, George M., to Stu Det AA and GMCen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Nevling, Clayton T., to Hq Western AA Comd8S77th hAU, Hamilton AFB, Calif.

Parker, Raymond R., to 47th AAA Brig, CpStewart, Ga.

Rovis, Del P., to 16th AAA Gp, Ft Hancock,NJ.

Simmons, Joseph F., to IS6th AAA Opns Det,San Francisco, Calif.

Smith, James P., to Sth AAA Bn, Cp Lucas,Mich.

Smith, Robert W., to 40S2d ASU AAA and GMCen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Tittle, James I., to Stu Det AA and GM BrArty Sch, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Tussing, Roy L., to 36th Gun Bn, Ft Bragg, NC

SECOND LIEUTENANTS

Bowers, Emmett W., to 40S2d ASU AAA andGM Cen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Compston, James R., to 39Sth AAA Gun Bn,Cp Edwards, Mass.

Frawley, James R., Jr., to 709th AAA Gun Bn,Ft Sheridan, Ill.

Jackson, Clarence A., Jr., to 3Sth AAA Gun Bn,Cp Stewart, Ga ..

McIntee, Francis P., to 40S2d ASU AAA andGM Cen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Mead, David., to 746th AAA Gun Bn, Ft Lewis,\X'ash.

Merrill, William K., to SI9th AAA Gun Bn,North Richland, Wash.

Metzker, Jeff J., to S19th AAA Gun Bn, NorthRichland, Wash.

Pratt, Sanders., to 770th AAA Gun Bn, FtLewis, Wash.

Salona, William E., to 4S9th AAA AW Bn, CpEdwards, Mass.

Seiber, Woodford S., to 2Sth AAA Gun Bn,Ft Lewis, Wash.

Solda, Arthur W., to 24Sth AAA Gun Bn, FtHancock, N]. .

Tanzola, Vincent ]., Jr., to 40S2d ASU AAAand GM Cen, Ft Bliss, Tex.

Von Gemmingen Felix., to 16th AAA Gp, FtHancock, N].

Wise, Robert M., to 40S2d ASU AAA and GMCen, Ft Bliss, Tex.


To Our Subscribers

As we come to the close of a successfulyear it is fitting to express our apprecia-tion of the magnificent support given tothe JOllRNAL by the officers and men ofthe Antiaircraft Artillery.

Foremost we refer to the contributionsb" J\la jor General J\larquat, ColonelsI-Iennig, Hain, and O'Malley, L1. Colo-nels Killilae, Ackert, Stewart, Cheal andHenrv and the manY other writers whohave •~iven us the ;tory of the superbb •

action of the 1\AA troops in Korea. \Viththeir stirrino stories they have IJromoted

b •

the esprit of those troops and placed inclear focus the purpose of AAA trainingeverywhere. They have given tone tothe pages of this JOllRNAL.

\Ve mention, too, our contributorsthrouohout the service. In our effort tob

promote interest, thought, discussion,and progressive action we rely almostcompletely upon our members for thearticles to publish, and prod them aboutit, too. They have delivered.

And certainly we shall refer to ourenthusiastic members who support usloyally vear after vear, and who have alsog~ne ~~t to bring'us some three thousandof their friends as new members. Theygive us a base for operations, pay thefreight, and make the JOURNALpossible.

\Ve can look forward with bright pros-pects.

Let us extend to you a Merry Christ-mas and a Happy New Year.

Retirements

Colonel Kenyon P. Flagg, 30 Septem-ber after 34 years' service. Colonel andMrs. Flagg are making their home at 255l\-latanzas Bkd., S1. Augustine, Florida.

Colonel Harold A. Brusher, 30 Sep-tember for physical disability. His homeaddress is 391 Balfour Ave., Oakland,California.

AAA Units Cited

The following AAA units have beencited for extraordinary heroism or out-standing performance of duty in combatin Korea and awarded the Distinguished


Unit Citation for the periods indicated.Battery B, 82nd AAA AW Bn (SP)

13-15 Februarv 1951.1st Platoon, Batt~ry A, 25th AAA AW

Bn (SP) 1-4 September 1950.3rd Platoon, Battery A. 25th AAA

AW Bn (SP) 25-27 January 1951.Battery B, 21st AAA AW Bn, 1\larch

1951.

Sixth Army ROTC PollCongratulations to Colonel \Villiam

C. 1\IcFadden, Pi\IS&T, Utah State Ag-ricultural College and the I\AA instruc-tors at that institution.

In a recent informal poll of ROTCstudents in the Sixth Army an evaluationwas made of the effectiveness of Militaryinstruction as compared with other col-leoe instruction. \Ve note that the AAA

b

unit at Utah State took first positionamong all of the ROTC units.

AAA OCS At BlissThe Officer Candidate School for the

Antiaircraft Artillery opened on 15 No-vember at the AA and G1\1 Branch,T AS, Fort Bliss, Texas. J\-lost of thecandidates will be selected from thewarrant o£I1cersand enlisted men of theAntiaircraft Artillery.

Co\. Robert I-I. Krueger, formerly co-ordinator of instruction in the School,will head the OCS, which will have ayearly quota of 2500 students.

Korea Citation For 50th AAAThe 50th AAA AW Battalion (SP),

L1. Co\. L. J. Lesperance commanding,was awarded the Republic of KoreaPresidential Unit Citation in Augustfor its operations with the X Corps inthe Inchon Landings in September,1950 and the I-Iungnam operations andevacuation, October to December, 1950.

Colonel Charles S. O'J\lalley, nowChief of Staff of the 24th Division,commanded the battalion during theInchon and Hungnam operations.

TO THE EDITOR:It gives me a great deal of pleasure to

be able to report that the 4th AAA Bat-talion is again one hundred per cent

BOOKS ~~~~ON

These military books are best sellerstoday. Thousands of officers andmen--<>Id-timers and those returningto active duty-are building theirmilitary libraries with these up-to-date editions. Some buy a book amonth; others a book every quarter.

The Officer's Guide $3.50

The Noncom's Guide .. - 2.50

Company Administration andthe Personnel Office 2.50

The Serviceman and the Law .. 3.50

Index-Digest to the UniformCode of Military Justice 2.50

New Drill Regulations 1.50

Cadem:e System of TeachingClose Order Drill 1.00

Map and Aerial PhotographReading, Complete 2.75

Basic Training Guide 2.50

Essentials of Military Training .. 3.75

Kill-Or Get Killed 3.75

Modern Judo; 2 vols., each 3.00

Small Arms of the World 6.00

The Military Staff 3.00

Intelligence is for Commanders 3.85

Income Tax Guide (for mil-itary personnel) 1.00

Principles of Insurance 75

and 2 background booksthat point the way

The Red Army Today, by Ely .. 3.50The army you may someday

have to fight.

The Price of Survival, by Sweet 2.85A clearly marked course for

the future.

Order from

AITIAIRCRAFT JODRIAL631 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Washington 4, D. C.

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FOR VICE. PRESIDENTo Major General Willard W. Irvine,

Commanding General, Army AntiaircraftCommand .

Signatur('

o

oFOR MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVECOUNCIL (Vote for four)o Brigadier General Robert W. Crichlow, Jr.,

Army Secretary, Research and Develop-ment Board, Department of Defense.

o Colonel Norman E. Hartman,Chief, AA Section, ArtUIery Branch, CareerManagement Division, AGO, Departmentof the Army .

o Lt. Colonel Francis X. Bradley,Assistant Secretary of the General Staff,Office of the Chief of Staff, Department ofthe Army.

o Major James E. Calkins,Assistant Gl, 8600 ASU, Department ofthe Army .

Addres<:

o

oo

Rank & Organizatio11-

BALLOTUNITED STATES ANTIAIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION

6-51

The Vice-President and four members of theExecutiye Council are to be elected on this ballot,to replace officers whose terms of office expireDecember 31, 1951.

Please record )'our yote b)' making an "X" in theappropriate square or indicate your choice by writ.ing the name of )'our candidate. Ballots receiyedwith signatures, but with no indi,'idual votes reocorded, will be considered proxies for the Presidentof the Association.

Each candidate was considered in connectionwith the geographic location of his residence. TheConstitution of the Association requires that atleast fh'e members of the Council reside in the\Vashington area, and that at least three of thembe on acth'e dut)', in order to facilitate the trans-action of business.

Ballots receh'ed after December 31, 1951, cannotbe counted .

Use the ballot below or prepare one to indicateclearly )'our vote. Mail to the ANTIAIUCRAFTJOURNAL, 631 Penns)'h'ania Avenue, N.W.•Washington 4, D. C.

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VI

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This letter is my request that you sendthe editors of Reader's Digest magazinepermission to reprint the article on Mili-tary Justice appearing on page 7 of yourSeptember-October issue. Or perhapsyou have already done so. I am mailingmy copy of the A1\ JOURNALto them forthis purpose .

The Reader's Digest article so in-censed me that I wrote them a long let-ter refuting Mr. Keeffe, but did not sendit as a manuscript because it was toovehement to, print anyway. I appreciateCol. Hatch's article and applaud yourprompt publication of it.

JOHN R. SEWARDCol., G.S.C. (Arty),

To THE EDITOR:

That was indeed a charitable COIll-

1Jlaillt. \Ve get sOllie ml/ch more llmnted,and we alJpreciate all of dIem as they1ISIIfllly serve to get tlz e address correctand the service i1llproved.-ED.

.APO 958San Francisco, Calif.

subscribed to the AAA JOUR"AL.In the opinion of the officers of the

battalion, the AAA JOUR.."<ALhas greatlyimproved during the past year. \Ve haveparticularly enjoyed, from a point ofview of educational value. as well asinterest, the fine articles from the Koreanbattlefront. I feel the antiaircraft hasdone a magnificent job in Korea .

I noted with particular interest thestorv in reference to the award of theDistinguished Service Cross to Sgt. JackR. Hiday, Battery D, 15th AAA AWBattalion (SP). As a result, we havedeveloped, and are now testing. a newtype of ammunition chest for the M55machine gun, a counterpart of the gunmounted in the i\H6 half track. Thisnew type chest can be reloaded and re-placed on the mount in seven to eightseconds where the present dome typechest cannot be reloaded and replaced inless than sixty seconds even by an ex'perienced crew. But more of this laterthrough Army Field Forces Board No.4 .

Here, too, are some complaints thatsome have not received their copies. Getthat straightened out. >I- >I- >I- >I-

Regardless of small gripes we feel thatyou're doing a grand job .

RAYMONDJ. CONELLYLt Colonel 4th A1\A A\V Battalion

APO 179,N. Y. C.

so ANTIAIRCRAFT JOURNAL

Antiaircraft Journal IndexVolume LXXXXIV, 1951

Jan.-Feb., 1-March-April, 2-May-June, 3- July-Aug., 4-Sept.-Occ., 5-Nov.-Dec., 6

1-24 Indicates Page 24, January-February Issue

AUTHORSXo. and Page

Ackert, Thomas \VI., Lt. Co!. 2- 7Bengtson, N. WI., Major 1-36Beninate, Louis A., Lt 5-44Bennett, Karl F., 1st Lt. 6-13Berger, R. R., Capt. 4-55Bielsmith, Lowell H., Capt. : 1-23, 2-24Blair, Melvin R., Lt. Co!. 5-33Boykin, Edward 3-44Brooks, Arthur c., Jr., Capt. 1-13Brown, \,{!illiam F., Capt. 2-18Burnet, Dana 4-25Callum, H. D., Capt. 3-20Campbell, Wlilliam B., 1st Lt. 2-37Cheal, Raymond c., Lt. Co!. 2-13, 3- 9Craig, R. S., Lt 4-23Dall 'Acqua, Robert, 1st Lt. 2-12Denny, Andrew M 4-44Dieringer, J. J., Capt., USAF 6-23Douglas, James S., Capt. 1-55, 3-25Duckworth, Phillip B., Capt. 1-34Duffy, Thomas N., Cadet 1-42Fish, James H., Co!. 2-28Furman, H. WI. c., Capt. 4-60 and 65Genero, Peter P., Capt 2-40, 4-38Grant, Andrew E., Major 1-41Gregory, Francis G., Jr., Lt. Co!. 1-30Guelzo, Carl M., 1st Lt 4-52, 5-31, 5-38Hain, Robert WI., Co!. 1-16,2-21Hall, Linscott A., Co!. 2-33Halpern, Norman G., 1st Lt. 5-20, 6-15Hanst, Kenneth F., Major 4-49Harris, Charles S., Co!. 6-26Harrison, Charles WI., Capt. 1-26Hathaway, Clyde T., Capt. 4-11Hatch, Me!ton A., Co!. 5- 7Hatt, Don, SFC 5-11, 6-18Hay, Robert B., Major 3-21Henry, C. E., Lt. Co!. 6-25Hoffman, John H., 1st Lt. 4-40Hogan, Robert L., 1st Lt. 1-46Hutting, J. R., Lt. Co!. 6-24lves, Merton R., 1st Lt. 2-25Irvine, WI. WI., Maj. Gen 5-15Kearful, Jerome 3-12, 6-47Keeling, Wlilliam 0., 1st Lt. 6-9, 6-12Killilae, Wlalter, Lt. Co!. 2-15,4-11,4-14,4-28Kim, Virgil M., Lt. Co!. 1-36Koontz, Amos R., Co!. 2-32, 4-71Landsman, Harry, Major 3-10Lassetter, S. H., 1st Lt. 5- 6Lewis, James R., Capt., Inf. " 6-36Linderer, Lawrence WI., Lt. Co!. 5-22Mahon, Russell P., Capt. 3-23Marquat, Wlilliam F., Maj. Gen 1-2, 2-2, 3-2,4-2, 5-2, 6- 2McCarthy, M. R., Major 4-36

. NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 19S 1

Xo.and Page

McClymont, J. R., Capt. 5-17McFadden, D. B., Jr., Major 3-33McGarraugh, R. E., Co!. 4-27Metz, Thomas M., Co!. 3-13, 5-21Meyer, A. L., Lt. Co!. 6-32Mickelson, E. L., Co!. 1-51Mitchell, R. c., Capt. 2-39Morrison, Robert c., 1st Lt. 6- 7Myers, George E., Lt. Co!. 6-19Newman, Strode, Co!. 1-47, 4-63Norum, D. c., Sgt. 5-28Oberlin, B. G., Major " 1-28,4-48,5-49, 6-42O'Donne!, Charles F., Jr., Major 1-43Ogden, David D., Brig. Gen 3-46O'Malley, Charles 5., Jr., Lt. Co!. 1-20Orman, Leonard M., Lt. Co!. 3-38, 5-41, 6-44Pedrotti, Peter WI., Lt. Co!. 3-30Preston, D. D., Sgt. 5-29Ratcliffe, Lamar c., Co!. 5-14Rich, Hal H., Capt. 2-23Ride, WI. T., Jr., Major 3-8, 5-19Roschow, H. E., Lt. Co!. 5-24Ross, Edgar J., Capt. 3-21Sarmiento, 1. M., 1st Lt. 2- 6Shivers, George WI., Jr., Lt. Co!. " 4-61Sinkovic, Wlilliam Y., Capt. 3-11Smith, Page E., Lt. Co!. 4-57Stevens, Phillip H., 1st Lt 3-17Swann, Ralph J., 1st Lt. .....•.................... 6-37Swayze, Kenneth WI., Capt. 4-39Tate, Roy A., Lt. Co!. 3-14Trussell, John B. B., Jr., Lt. Co!. 1-48, 2-41, 5-25Vanture, Paul S., 1st Lt. 4-20,6-16WIarlick, Wlilliam c., 1st Lt. 2-17Wlhitehill, Harvey H., Capt. 5-45Wloods, J. R., Major 6-23Wlorf, George H., Capt. 2-22, 4-29Wlyckoff, Theodore, Capt. 3-26

TITLES

A

AAA A WI Bn. (SP), The 3-14AAA Civilian Program 5-11AAA In Close Support of an Infantry Attack 2- 6AAA in Exercise Southern Pine " 5-22AAA in Korea 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 6- 2AAA In Patrol Action 5- 6AAA RTC 4-35AAA Target Practice-Korea " 5-21AAOR to FDC the Hard Wlay, From '" 3-10A-B-C's of Ground Support, The 4- 9Accompli at Chipyong 4-11

Sl

6-134-206-204-496-476- 71-28

Ack-Ack On the Nal.1:ong - - - 3- 9Ack-Ack Too Fast To Duck 1-51A Battery's Flying Tackle . _ 6-15Airborne AAA 4-60Airborne Division, The 4-57Air Defense Training Exercise-Stateside Style - 6-19Ammunition for 90mm Gun 6-37Antiaircraft Artillery in the Air Defense Team 5-14Antiaircraft with the 7th Division 1-16Anzio Antics ...•..............................•.. 2-33Army AAA Command 3-49, 5-29Artillery Officer Education, A Forward Stap In 5-15Artillery Repulses Chinese Attack 2-12Automatic Artillery in Korea _.. _ 1-2, 2- 2AW Sight Training 6-32

BBaker Battery in the Attack 3-17Battalion AAA Surface Gunnery School, The 4-52Battery Supply 3-26Battery D, 15th AAA AW Battalion in Close Support 5-17Better Efficiency Records 1-47Better Wind Data 6-26Brass At Fort Bliss 1-54

cCamp Edwards AAA TC 5-23Chain, The 1-55Charlie Battery and Hill 88 5-20Chongchon Withdrawal 2-18Crew Protection on M16's 4-28

DDaily Task, The 1-36Defense of Large Metropolitan Areas 1-43Do It Now 2-21

EEarly Press Censorship 3-25899th AAA AW Battalion 5-24Electronics Career for the Soldier 2-39Employment of Self-Propelled Automatic Weapons 5-31En Route to the Yalu 2-22

FField Artillery Gunnery Training for AAA 2-3750th AAA AW Battalion in Korea, The , 1-20503d AAA Operations Detachment AAOC 4-5540th Division AAA Arrives in Japan 3-13France and the Western European Army _., 2-41From the Front in Korea 1-26

HHigh Angle Fire 2-38Highlights of the 88th Airborne AAA 4-65Horse 'n Buggy Air Defe~se 5-19How's Your Air Mobility , 4-61

II Send Your Son Into Battle " 5-33I'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain 6-24Indirect Fire with 40mm AAA Weapons .. , _ 3-33Indirect Fire With The 40mm Gun _ 4-40Indirect Fire with the M19 __ _. __ 4-39Interservice Problem-Joint Solution __ 6-23

N.... ncIPanL

Leadership and the Student _ 1-46Leveling 90mm and 120mm Guns 4-38Lieutenant Myer and the Comanche Lance _. 3-12Lighted Fuze in the Middle East 5-25 I

Low-down On The T-16 Shield, The 6-25

MMarines, With The 2-23Mass Terror: The Keynote To Communist ControL 4-44Military Justice 5- 7Military Man Looks at the American Ideal, A 3-46Moving Target Indicators _ 6-44M19 as an Offensive Weapon, The 3-20M16's in the Attack On Chango-Ri _ 4-23

NNew Look for M16's 4-29New Signal Equipment For AAA _ 3-30

o145th AAA AW B,attalion (SP) Homesteads in Hokkaido. 4-27Operation Road Block Command Post Locations 2-15Operation "We Go" 2- 7

pPlatoon Leader Speaks His Mind, A 6-16Potentiometer Chart, The 2-40Psychology in the Korean War 2-32Pusan to Unsan with the lOth AAA Gp, From 1-B

RReactivation of Fort Hancock 6-22Relief Operation, A 2-17Report on Task Force Hamilton, A _ 6-12

SSearchlights in Korea 4-14Servomechanisms 5-4176th AAA AW Bn. (SP) In Korea 3-2368th In Korea, The , . " .. ' 2-13SOP AAA Gun Battalion 1-30S3 Records in Combat 5-38Streamlining the AAA Gun Bn. for FA Roles 3- 8Substitute for Trial Fire, A 4-36Suggestions on Maintenance of the Mobile 40mm Gun 1-36.Supplying a SP Bn. In Korea 3-21Sweat Blood and Smile 4-63

TTactical Use of Guided Missiles 1-38lOth AAA Group-Divarty for First ROK Division 1-12Third Army AAA TC, Camp Stewart, Georgia 2-2832d AAA Brigade 6-36Tips for Junior Staff Officers, Some 1-48Trial Fire Without Charts 1-41Trial Shot Problem, The 2-25Tropic Lightning AAA 1-23, 2-2421st AAA AW Battalion (SP) in Combat, The _ 4-16

WWith The 21st Battalion on a Task Force .War with The Half-Track, At _Western Army Antiaircraft Command .What Shall I Do With My Government Insurance? .Wild Ride of John H. Wisdom, The _'Wolfhound's Fangs, The .Written Word, The .

Know Your Scopes

52

K3-38

yYou Think We've Got Feuds Today. _ _ _ 3-44


WASHINGTON 4, D. C.

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