During World War II, the US Army activated five Airborne Divisions (the 11^th, 13^th, 17^th, 82^nd and 101^st) but only two (the 82^nd and 101st) were available in Europe in August 1944, and none in the Mediterranean. So, as 7^th US Army staff planned the airborne portion (Operation RUGBY) of the DRAGOON invasion, their request for an airborne division to support the amphibious landings could not be fulfilled. Instead, a division sized task force was formed from the smaller Allied airborne units already in the Mediterranean theater and independent units coming from the United States. The Task Force would ultimately include an American parachute regiment and three independent battalions (two parachute and one glider) and a British parachute brigade. The 1^st Airborne Task Force was a unique, temporary organization.

First, we will look at the organization of a standard US Army Airborne Division, and then compare it to the 1^st ABTF. Officially, one parachute regiment of three battalions and two glider regiments of two battalions each comprised the infantry of an airborne division—only seven battalions of infantry. It was a very small division of just 8,505 men.

However, by 1944 the ratio of parachute to glider infantry regiments was reversed—two parachute and one glider regiment—increasing the number of infantry battalions to eight. This re-organization was not finalized until December, 1944, but was already in practice in 1943. For the combat jumps into Normandy and Holland the 82^nd and 101^st divisions were further reinforced with an attached third parachute regiment. In addition, the glider regiments also received an attached third battalion. There were twelve infantry battalions in all in each of the airborne divisions in these operations. Division troops included four battalions of field artillery (two glider 105-mm howitzer battalions and two parachute 75-mm pack howitzer battalions), an AAA battalion (with 6-pounder/57-mm anti-tank guns) and an engineer battalion, bringing the division up to just over 12,000 soldiers. The chart below reflects the organization of the 82^nd Airborne Division for the jump into Holland in September, 1944.

This was still less than a standard (leg) infantry division’s 14,000 men, but nearly equal in manpower. The big difference was in heavy weapons— a standard infantry division had 12x 155mm howitzers, 54x 105mm howitzers, 57x 57mm anti-tank guns and 1,440 vehicles. An airborne division had just 48x 75mm pack howitzers, 24x 6-lb anti-tank guns and over 400 jeeps.

How did the 1^st ABTF stack up against a typical US Army airborne division?

Infantry: In infantry strength the task force was about three quarters of a division—nine infantry battalions instead of twelve (eight parachute and one glider infantry battalions versus nine parachute and three glider battalions).
Artillery: The task force had two US parachute field artillery (FA) battalions (of 16 and 12 howitzers), one US recently converted glider FA battalion (12 tubes) and one British air-landing battery (8 tubes) for a total of 48x 75-mm howitzers. A division had 12x 105-mm and 36x 75mm howitzers.
Engineers: The 517^th PRCT provided a company of parachute engineers, while the British 2^nd Brigade group added another squadron (company sized) of parachute engineers. A division had a full battalion of engineers with heavier equipment and vehicles delivered by glider.
Anti-Tank: The British had an airlanding anti-tank battery with 17x 6-lb guns, and the anti-tank company of the 442^nd Nisei regiment added 9 more guns. The AAA battalion and glider regiment in a division had a total of 33x 6-lb anti-tank guns.
Non-Standard Units:
Heavy Mortars: Being short of anti-tank guns, two companies of 4.2” heavy chemical mortars were added to the glider force. Although the anti-tank capability of the mortars was suspect, the chemical units provided a tremendous boost in indirect firepower. Inexplicably, heavy mortars were never used by the airborne again after DRAGOON.
Aviation Engineers: The 887^th Airborne Aviation Engineer Company (with one parachute platoon and two glider platoons) was attached to the task force. This was the only combat airborne insertion of an airborne aviation engineer battalion in history. These were construction engineers, tasked to clear obstacles and build forward airstrips. Two mini-bulldozers were even landed by glider.

All in all, the 1^st ABTF had about three-quarters the strength and capability of a regular airborne division. For this reason, the commander, General Frederick, insisted the name of his outfit be changed from 7^th Army Provisional Airborne Division to the 1^st Airborne Task Force. He didn’t want any commanders or staff planners mistakenly thinking he had a full division.

The 1^st ABTF had six parachute infantry battalions in its US 517^th PRCT and British 2^nd IPBG. The 517^th PRCT also had the 460^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFAB) and the 596^th Parachute Engineer Company. The 2^nd IPBG included the 64^th Airlanding Light Artillery Battery, the 300^th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery and the 2^nd Parachute Engineer Squadron. Three independent infantry battalions were also added: the veteran 509^th PIB, and the 550^th Glider Infantry Battalion and 551^st PIB, formerly stationed in Panama. The 463^rd PFAB and 887^th Airborne Aviation Engineer Company were also included. Finally, a number of non-airborne units were hastily trained in glider operations to join the task force: the Anti-Tank Company of the 442^nd Nisei Infantry Regiment and A Company, 2^nd Chemical Mortar Battalion and D Company, 83^rd Chemical Mortar Company.

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Previous Articles:

Drop Zone: Southern France Organization – Part 1: Infantry Units from Squad to Battalion Level

Drop Zone: Southern France Organization – Part 2: Regiments and Brigades