Drop Zone: Southern France Unit Histories – Part 2: US 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team

This is the second of article on the Allied and German units featured in the game.

We continue our survey of Allied Airborne units in Southern France in the order of arrival—second to land was the 517^th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT), including the 517^th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), the 460^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFAB) and the 596^th Parachute Engineer Company (PEC).

The elements of the 517th PRCT were activated, along with the 17th Airborne Division, on March 15, 1943. The cadre of the 517^th was allowed to choose the best candidates from amongst all the volunteers for parachute duty over the next several months, resulting in the formation of an elite outfit, within an already elite branch. Each paratrooper had to qualify as “expert” with his individual weapon, “sharpshooter” with another and a minimum of “marksman” with all crew-served weapons in his platoon. Physical conditioning was paramount. In late summer the 517^th moved to Fort Benning for parachute training. The 517th completed jump school with no washouts, setting a record that has endured to this day, and moved to Camp Mackall. At this time, an inspection team from Headquarters Army Ground Forces tested all the airborne regiment’s physical fitness. Using statistical sampling methods, men and units were selected to take the Physical Fitness Test consisting of pull-ups, push-ups, and other calisthenics done against time. Platoons and companies were chosen to run and march, for various distances. The 517^th placed first, second and third place in all tests and events, scoring higher than any unit tested before or since.

Through the fall of 1943 the regiment conducted unit training — tactical exercises at squad, platoon, company and battalion-level, and at least one parachute jump a month. In February, the 517^th participated in the massive “Tennessee Maneuvers.” In March 1944, the parachute elements of the 17th Airborne Division were withdrawn for overseas shipment as the 517th PRCT. This PRCT was being rushed to Italy in response to the Seventh Army request for airborne troops for Operation ANVIL/DRAGOON, the invasion of Southern France. Shortly before deployment, Colonel Rupert D. Graves, USMA ’24, was placed in command of the 517^th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the PRCT. The organization of the 517^th Parachute Infantry Regiment has already been covered, but we can now take a quick look at the 460^th PFAB and the 596^th PEC.

The Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFAB) was a uniquely American concept—the Germans and British always brough their artillery in by glider. The PFAB had an authorized strength of 39 officers and 534 enlisted men, consisted of a headquarters and service (H&S) battery; three firing batteries (A, B and C), each with four 75mm pack howitzers; and an Anti-Aircraft (AAA) & Anti-Tank (AT) D Battery with four M3 37-mm anti-tank guns and eight M2 .50-cal heavy machineguns (HMG). The M1A1 75-mm pack howitzer fired an 8.3 kg (18-pound) shell to an effective maximum range of 8,800 meters (9,600 yards or 5.5 miles). The pack howitzer broke down in to seven bundles for parachute drop (originally loaded on mules). Lieutenant Colonel Raymond L. Cato, USMA, 1936, took command of the 460^th PFAB in the spring. The parachute field artillery jumps in Sicily and Normandy had been less than successful. Colonel Cato was determined to prove the value of parachute field artillery in Southern France.

The AAA/AT “D” Battery was something of an anomaly in the original parachute battalion. The 37-mm AT guns had to be delivered by glider, and so the guns would arrive separately from their crews, and the rest of the battalion. By 1944, the need for AAA to defend against the Luftwaffe had receded to almost nil. Also, by 1944, the 37-mm AT gun had proven obsolete. So, Cato turned in his AT guns and obtained four surplus 75-mm howitzers. He converted his D Battery from a AAA/AT role to become a fourth firing battery. This innovation was later adopted by most PFAB’s, but the 460^th was the first to have sixteen howitzers in four firing batteries. The 460^th PFAB’s D Battery retained its eight .50-cal HMG’s, thereby remaining a unique battery in the battalion. The .50-cal AA mounts were left behind, only the ground mount tripods were carried in the parachute jump. A .50-cal HMG is a cumbersome beast to maneuver by hand, but no more so than the 75-mm pack howitzer. And the HMG’s provided a significant boost to the firepower of the PRCT. (I have a special interest in D Battery, 460^th PFAB, as this was my father’s outfit.)

The 596^th Parachute Engineer Company (PEC) had originally been designated C Company,139^th Airborne Engineer Battalion of the 17^th Airborne Division. It was the only parachute engineer company in the 139^th Battalion, as the other companies were glider units. C/139 was redesignated as the 596^th PEC when the 517^th PRCT was formed. The 596^th had a company headquarters and three engineer platoons with an authorized strength of eight officers and 137 enlisted men. The engineers were lightly armed and equipped, but highly trained in their missions of demolitions, mine warfare and construction. The 596^th PEC was commanded by Captain Dalrymple.

On 31 May 1944 the PRCT arrived in Italy. On 14 June the 517^th boarded LSTs bound for Anzio. During the night the RCT’s destination was shifted further north to Civittavecchia. The PRCT was attached to the 36^th Texas Infantry Division, IV Corps, Fifth Army. On 18 June the 517^th joined the division’s advance north from Grosseto on the Italian west coast. In its first day of combat, the PRCT suffered nearly 50 casualties but inflicted many more on the enemy. The next seven days were spent in almost continuous pursuit and combat. The Germans attempted to make an orderly withdrawal while the paratroopers steadily attacked. The 460^th was continuously on the go, as batteries leap-frogged each other; usually two batteries were in position firing, while the other two were displacing forward. On 24 June the 517^th entered the eastern outskirts of Follonica under heavy German artillery fire. Following this brief blooding, the 517^th went into IV Corps reserve. On 2 July the Combined Chiefs of Staff finally issued a directive to go ahead with the long-delayed Operation DRAGOON on 15 August. As a by-product of this directive the 517th RCT was released from IV Corps and moved to join the First Airborne Task Force in the Rome area.

The pre-dawn parachute jump was called Mission ALBATROSS, consisting of 13 Serials. The 517^th PRCT was dropped in four Serials, numbered 6 through 9, each carried by 45 C-47 transport planes. The 517^th plan, unlike the plan for the 509^th PBCT, placed most of its artillery in one serial (the 8^th). This risked a major loss of fire-power if this serial had been mis-dropped. The units featured in the Drop Zone: Southern France are shown by serial below.