This is the fourth 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—after pre-dawn paradrop (Mission ALBATROSS) three separate landing were carried out during D-Day (Missions BLUEBIRD, CANARY and DOVE). Let’s take a look at these three missions and the many units involved in detail.

2^ND Independent Parachute Brigade Group Air-Landing Elements

When the 1^st Airborne Division re-deployed to Great Britain in November 1943, the 2^nd Brigade remained in Italy as the sole British airborne unit in the Mediterranean theater. It was redesignated as the 2nd (Independent) Parachute Brigade Group in December. The brigade was reinforced with various supporting arms and support units to allow 2^nd Brigade to perform in an independent role. Anti-Tank support was provided by the 300^th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery (RA), with 16x 6-lb (57mm) Anti-Tank guns in four sections, A-D, of four guns each, under Major B. J. Potter. The 64^th Airlanding Light Battery, RA, added indirect fire support from 8x M1A1 75mm pack howitzers in two sections of four tubes each, commanded by Major D. M. Duncan. It should be noted that although all the small arms, machinegun, mortar and hand-held anti-tank ammunition used by the British were incompatible with American weapons, the British used American artillery pieces and the Americans used British anti-tank guns, making this ammunition interchangeable.

Communications for the 2^nd Brigade were provided by the 2^nd Parachute Brigade Signals Company, led by Major R. S. Roberson; medical support by the 127^th Parachute Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), under Lieutenant-Colonel J. P. Parkinson; military police functions from the 2^nd Parachute Brigade Provost Section, with Lieutenant J. A. Pierce in charge; and logistic support came from the 751^st Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), commanded by Captain H. J. C. Cornish and the 2^nd Parachute Brigade Workshops, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). After fighting for six and a half months in Italy, the 2^nd Brigade was pulled off the line and placed in reserve, joining the 1^st Airborne Task Force (ABTF) in July.

The Airborne from Panama: 550^TH Glider and 551^ST Parachute Infantry Battalions  

The Panama Canal Zone was a potential target for the Japanese and a convenient staging area for action against German allied Vichy French forces in the Caribbean. On 1 July 1941 the 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion (AIB) was activated at Fort Kobbe, on the Pacific coast of Panama. The 550^th was initially organized to be an air-landing infantry unit based on the German model utilized in the invasion of Crete—a light infantry unit that could be landed by transport planes after a parachute battalion seized an airfield in enemy held territory. Its first commander was Lieutenant Colonel Harry M. Melasky, with Major Edward I Sachs as the battalion executive officer.  

The parachute unit that was paired with the 550^th AIB in Panama was initially the 501^st Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB). When the 501^st departed Panama for duty in the Pacific, it was redesignated as the 2^nd Battalion, 503^rd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR). C Company of the 501^st PIB was detached and remained behind at Fort Kobbe, and was re-activated as C Company, 1^st Battalion, 551^st PIR on 26 November 1942. The remainder of the new battalion (450 men) fresh from jump training at Fort Benning, arrived in December. The 1/551 would be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Wood Joerg for its entire existence.

The 550^th AIB and 1/551^st PIR were initially stationed at Fort Kobbe in the Panama Canal Zone with two missions: first to defend the Panama Canal from any potential Japanese assault, and second to prepare for an airborne assault on Martinique, a pro-German Vichy French Caribbean island. Martinique was suspected of being a base for German U-Boats operating in the Caribbean. Both battalion’s soldiers were trained in airborne and jungle warfare techniques. During these months of training in the tropic heat, Joerg, the 1/551^st PIR commander, had a favorite expression that was adopted by the troops as a nickname—GOYA (Get Off Your Ass!), or sometimes the “GOYA birds”. On 13 May 1943, the GOYAs of the 550^th PIB and the 550^th AIB were placed on stand-by to conduct a parachute jump/air-landing assault onto Martinique, but diplomatic efforts (backed by the threat of this impending invasion) and troop mutinies convinced the French authorities to join the Free French in July.

As the perceived Japanese threat had also receded, in August the 550^th and 1/551^st redeployed back to the states for further training and preparation for another overseas deployment. The 550^th AIB underwent extensive glider training and was redesignated the 550^th Glider Infantry Battalion (GIB). The GOYAs of the 1/551^st were involved in testing airborne equipment and techniques for the Airborne Command. During the training in North Carolina, the 1/551^st were the first American paratroopers to jump out of military gliders. The experiment was a failure as there was no slipstream leading the men to fall straight, and the glider’s flimsy construction led to the anchor line cable ripping out of the inside when the men jumped. Since the rest of the 551^st PIR was never raised, the GOYAs were re-designated as the 551^st Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB), one of just three such independent parachute battalions (along with the 509^th and the African American 555^th PIBs). Finally, in April 1944 the pair of airborne battalions shipped out for the Mediterranean, arriving in Italy in May. In July, both battalions were assigned to the 1^st ABTF.

Other American Glider Units

The 1^st ABTF lacked some of the heavy weapons firepower of a standard airborne division, so units were pulled from the fighting in Italy to reinforce the task force. These units received a “crash” course in glider operations in the weeks before D-Day.

The 602^nd Field Artillery Battalion was a pack-mule mobile mountain artillery unit that used the same 75mm pack howitzers as the paratroops. The 602^nd was organized with twelve howitzers in three batteries of four guns each, just like a parachute field artillery battalion. However, the 602^nd did not have the fourth (D) anti-aircraft/anti-tank battery. The 6o2nd GFAB was commanded by Major George Hunt and his assistant commander was Major E. Dressler.

D Battery, 463^rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFAB)

As mentioned in the last article, the 460^th PFAB had turned in their 37mm AT guns and converted the Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank (AA/AT) D Battery into a fourth parachute firing battery. However, D Battery of the 463^rd PFAB did not officially become a firing battery until September. Nevertheless, Majors Neal and Cooper of the 463^rd had acquired four “extra” 75mm pack howitzers from the 45^th Infantry Division after fighting in Sicily, as both officers came to the airborne from the 45^th Division. The four guns were used to make two 6-gun batteries for the 463^rd ‘A’ and ‘B’ batteries the fighting at Anzio, when the battalion had only those two batteries. When the 463^rd was brought up to full four battery battalion strength, these extra howitzers were apparently passed on to the new AA/AT ‘D’ Battery. For the DRAGOON invasion, ‘D’ Battery jumped with only its .50 machineguns and bazookas, but its four extra howitzers were loaded on the gliders of Mission DOVE, for later use. What happened to these guns will be covered later.

A/2 and D/83 Chemical Companies

An innovative experiment was pioneered by the 1^st ABTF—delivering 4.2-inch heavy mortars by glider for the first time. The 2^nd and 83^rd Chemical Battalions (which were taking part in the amphibious invasion) each detached one company to join the 1^st ABTF. Each Chemical Company had twelve 4.2-inch heavy mortars in three platoons of four tubes each. The 7^th Army planners intended the heavy mortars to supplement the meager anti-tank and artillery assets in the task force. A Company, 2^nd Chemical Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant David Goodell, would support the British 2^nd Brigade and the 550^th GIB. D Company, 83^rd Chemical Battalion, commanded by Captain Raymond Larkey, was in direct support of to the 517^th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT).

Anti-Tank Company, 442^nd Infantry Regiment (Nisei)

The British 2^nd Brigade had an organic anti-tank element in the 300^th Air-Landing Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery, with sixteen 6-lb anti-tank guns. However, the American 517^th PRCT had no anti-tank guns. The 460^th and 463^rd PFABs originally possessed four 37mm anti-tank guns in each of their AA/AT (D) batteries, but these weapons had long proved obsolete and had been discarded. An American airborne division would have 33 anti-tank guns in its AAA battalion and glider regiment, but the American airborne elements of the 1^st ABTF had none. 7^th Army planners decided to commandeer an anti-tank company from one of the infantry regiments fighting in Italy. The famous nisei 442^nd Infantry Regiment of Japanese-Americans volunteered its gunners. The nisei AT company, under Captain Louis A. Ferris, was issued nine British 6-lb anti-tank guns to replace its American M1 57mm guns. The two guns were virtually identical, but the British version had a narrower carriage, making it possible to fit in a Waco glider. The AT Company had nine AT guns, with three platoons of three guns each and a fourth mine platoon. The nisei gunners were already well trained and veterans of some fierce combat in Italy. The 442^nd AT Company, combined with the British guns, gave the task force a total of 25 AT guns.

887^th Airborne Engineer Company

The 887^th Airborne Engineer Company was activated on 1 September 1942 as Company B, 871^st Airborne Engineer Battalion. The 887^th had a construction role, as opposed to the combat engineers of the 596^th Parachute Engineer Company and the 2^nd Parachute Squadron in the task force. As part of Operation TORCH, the engineers landed at Port Lyautey, Morocco, on 8 November 1942. Their first mission was to take the airfield, and repair it to be able to land allied fighters. The unit was re-organized and officially re-designated as the 887^th Airborne Engineer Company under command of Captain Morris Shaman, on 20 November 1942. The unit had 164 engineers, light engineer construction equipment and two mini-bulldozers. The 887^th continued with airfield repair across Algeria and Tunisia until the summer of 1943. In October 1943 the 887^th was flown to Sicily, and repaired sixteen airfields on the island. In July 1944, the 887^th arrived in Italy to join the 1^st ABTF, in order to make the first and only combat airborne assault by an aviation construction engineer unit. Their mission would be to construct a light airstrip on Landing Zone O. This unit would later be re-designated the 887^th Airborne Aviation Engineer Company.

512^th Airborne Signals Company

The 512^th Airborne Signal Company was formed on 14 July 1944, in order to provide signals support for the 1^st ABTF. The long-range radios operated by the 512^th would allow General Frederick to communicate with his widely scattered units, and to make contact with VI Corps elements arriving on the beaches and at sea. The company, commanded by Captain Charles L. Howard, consisted of 134 men, selected from the 6766^th Signal Service Company (Provisional). Elements of the 512^th would arrive in Southern France by both parachute and glider.

676^th Medical Collecting Company

The 1^st ABTF would be supported initially by parachute medical troops attached to the parachute infantry units, and the 127^th Parachute Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). The 676^th Medical Collecting Company of the 164^th Medical Battalion went through special glider training in order to augment the 1^st ABTF. The company was composed of 104 men under Major Smith, including a team from the 2^nd Auxiliary Surgical Group. Medical supplies and equipment, preloaded in 12 jeeps with ¼-ton trailers, were to be landed by glider. The mission of the 676^th was to establish a field hospital in the vicinity of the task force headquarters near Le Mitan.

The three daylight airborne landings consisted of 10 Serials, numbered 14-23, in three missions (BLUEBIRD, CANARY and DOVE). The units featured in the Drop Zone: Southern France game are shown by serial below.

Mission BLUEBIRD

A glider landing of 40 Waco and 35 heavier Horsa gliders was scheduled for 0800 (8:00 AM) on D-Day. The purpose of this operation was to bring in the British heavy weapons to support the 2^nd Brigade. Unlike the American forces, which parachuted two battalions of field artillery (the 460^th and 463^rd PFABs) with their parachute infantry, the British relied on gliders landed in daylight. Some 1^st ABTF Headquarters elements that had not been dropped by parachute, were also included in this Mission. 35 jeeps, 30 guns and 31,378 rounds of ammo (all types) were transported in Mission BLUEBIRD.

Mission CANARY

A daylight parachute and glider landing of 736 men lifted by 45 C-47 transports and 10 Waco gliders was scheduled for 18:00 (6:00 PM) on D-Day. The purpose of this operation was to bring in the 551^st Parachute Infantry Battalion with attachments.

Mission DOVE

DOVE was the largest glider landing, comprised of 332 CG-4A Waco gliders. These gliders were all towed by aircraft that had already dropped paratroopers in the morning and were returning to France a second time on D-Day. Dove was scheduled for 18:10-19:05 (6:10 PM to 7:05 PM). The purpose of this operation was to bring in the 550^th Glider Infantry Battalion and a variety of American heavy weapons and support units.

We will see how these glider and parachute Serials fared in their landings and the battles that followed later.

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Previous Articles:

Drop Zone: Southern France – Unit Histories (Part 1)

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

Drop Zone: Southern France Unit Histories – Part 3: The British 2nd Parachute Brigade

Drop Zone: Southern France Organization of Units Series