563rd Signal Air Warning battalion

GI'S MAKE MIRACLES SOP
The offensive swept by Paris and stopped only when troops of the Third Army had occupied Nancy and had come within shelling distance of Metz. Here, the swollen Moselle River their moat, the ancient citadel of Metz their pivot, the Germans made a stand. During the next months Third Army consolidated, Regrouped and resupplied for the drive into Germany itself. With XIX TAC it continued to polish that deadly weapon--well knot air-ground attack.
Continual overcast and rains prevented a bang-up overture for the "Twilight of the Gods", but given the slightest chance Thunderbolts and mustangs pounded the concrete Maginot and Sieg- fried Lines. More important, they sided the attrition phase of the Battle of Germany.
Twice, during bitter fighting around Chateau-Salins, east of Nancy, squadrons took off under forbidding conditions to answer an Army call for help. Crusher were dangerous German tank counter- attacks.
Gen. Patton wrote to Gen. Weyland in part:
"...I feel that special emphasis should be placed on the truly heroic action of the 509th and 510th Fighter Bomber Squadrons which on 14 September, in support of the 4th Armored Division, took off in un-flyable weather, uncertain whether or not they could ever land. These units intervened at the critical moment of a tank battle, and by their skill and daring very materially assisted in the defeat and destruction of the enemy"
Sometimes unpredictable weather crossed pilots by closing in on emergency airfields all along the front where XIX TAC aircraft were scattered. Despite hostile elements, fighters went aloft tuned like Swiss watches. Skill, ingenuity, and mechanical craftsmanship of GI artisans of the flight line cannot be overrated. Working under arduous conditions ground crews made miracles S.O.P.
As groups leaped across France in nomadic fashion, even clearing cow pastures was necessary to set up airstrips as close as possible to the front lines.
The sudden flood which lapped over the Pioneer Group was one of the special events staged by Mother Nature on the road to German frontiers. Swollen by weeks of steady rain, the Marne River and its adjacent canal broke cross-country and almost inundated the group. The resulting scene must have resembled the famed trek of George Rogers Clark and his men across the flooded Ohio plains in early American history.
The modern"pioneers" waded waist deep in swirling waters to recover equipment, paddled around in dinghies and hastily impro- vised rafts, and finally navigated amphibious jeeps generously loaned by the ground forces.
Taking this amphibious operation in stride, a few days later, on 1 December the group knocked down three planes over Karlssruhe to celebrate its first anniversary of combat. A year before it had been the first to fly the new long range P-51B Mustang on escort duty with heavy bombers over Germany.
It was on one of these early long range escort missions that Col. James H. Howard of St. Louis Mo. then a squadron commander and later the group's commander, won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Single handedly he engaged a formation of more than 30 enemy fighters, which swooped down on a box of Fortresses. He kept them at bay by superb flying, he destroyed three and prevented enemy fighters from getting at the bombers. Conservative Col. James H. Howard, who was a "Flying Tiger" ace in China, claimed only three, but the heavy bomber crews thought the figure was closer to six.
On 24 August 1944 the Pioneer Group was awarded the Presi- dential Unit Citation
"for outstanding performance in combat against the enemy" their efforts "Being instrumental in the successful development and execution of long range protection of heavy bombers"
Except for local salient the Third Army front during October resembled an elongated S stretching from Thionville behind Metz, across the Moselle River, it curled several miles before Nancy to the Seventh Army front.
Ahead were Germans, entrenched in the commanding positions of the hills and ridges of Lorraine to set up house apparently for the winter. These well-chosen positions of vantage were ferreted out by vigilant recce planes, than accurately blasted by fighter bombers.
Thunderbolts and Mustangs slipped down between the hills to jab at front line troops and artillery positions. Like angry bees they buzzed German soldiers into a perpetual foxhole to foxhole hop- skip-and-jump.
Mere sight of a plane was enough to send the enemy scrambling for his foxhole, but even these places of refuge were far from safe when fighter bombers hit at almost vertical angles. Thousands of Psychological Warfare leaflets were released by Thunderbolts and Mustangs, urging the Germans to trade Hell, Hitler and Himmler for the safety of American PW cages.
Closer to Germany behind the rugged terrain of Lorraine, fighter bombers swept the Saar River and the Rhineland, always alert for enemy troop movements by rail and motor transport. Pilots bombed targets then strafed until ammunition ran out.
As the Third Army rolled back the borders of German occupied territory fighter bomber attacks were intensified. An Ordnance survey showed that Thunderbird's and Mustang's now were using five times as much ammunition per sortie than they did from D-Day to the St. Lo breakthrough, twice as much as they used during the closing of the Falaise-Argentan gap.
Few German targets escaped. Statistics revealed that there was less than one gun stoppage for every 5100 rounds of ammunition fired. GI ingenuity had much to do with this fine record. An ammunition booster developed by S/Sgt Albert Braun of Natrona, Pa produced a record in his group of 6800 rounds fired per plane without a stoppage. Sgt. Braun's invention prevented gravitational pull from disrupting flow of ammunition to a plane's guns when the pilot pulled out of a steep dive. Braun, a veteran of 20 years service in the Air Force, also is credited with modification of the gun sight now in use by his group. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
In October the P-61 Black Widow added "Intruder" missions to its nightly patrols. Prowling over Germany as soon as darkness fell, it seasoned with deadly spice the day's bill of fare provided by P-47's and P-51's.
These "fly by nights", powerful as medium bombers, equipped with radar devices, bristling with firepower, pounced on enemy rail and motor traffic. Germans who had heretofore ventured out under cover of night in comparative safety now were faced with unrelenting round-the clock staffing attacks.
This day and night mauling gave the Germans "50-caliber-itis". Occasionally they tipped their hands to Thunderbolt and Mustang pilots. One jittery German flak battery let fly at a flight overhead. Investigation disclosed a tank detraining point hidden by trees and a string of flat cars from which tanks were being driven off into the woods. Thunderbolts soon destroyed eight tanks, 20 freight cars, the locomotive and unloading ramp. As a gesture of gratitude, strafing and destruction of the ten flak positions along the tracks were saved for last.
Small wonder that German soldiers plodded into PW cages muttering "Jabos".
A GROUND TEAM WITH A FUTURE
Enemy air activity was sporadic and almost nil close to the front lines. The Luftwaffe usually was cautious and unagressive, seldom seeking combat. The reluctance to fight was hard to ex- plain. Once, more than 20 ME-109's circled above a flight of four Mustangs strafing rolling stock on the deck but showed no signs of wanting to break up the party.
Meanwhile, units of the Third Army had entered Fort Driant, most formidable of outposts guarding Metz. Thunderbolts, in what was termed by Third Army as "one of the closest air-ground missions of the war", bombed pillboxes and emplacements ate the Fort's entrances to breach the way for infantry. Later that same day, 3 October 1944, the versatile Thunderbolts scattered as incipient German counter-attack in the area.
Active all along the front, Third Army sometimes made unusual requests for air attack. Blowing of the Etang de Lindre Dam, east of Dieuze, was one of these. XII Army Corps had advanced past Nancy to the Seille River. Ours division had made the crossing and was in danger of isolation from Corps if Germans loosed the Lindre Dam waters into the Seille River valley. To snatch this threat from German hands, XII Corps commander requested XIX TAC to breach the dam, the resulting flood to be controlled by front-line engineer battalions.
Because precise, pinpoint bombing was required, Thunderbolts supplemented medium and heavy bombers. For the first time in this Theater fighter-bombers were assigned such a mission.
On the afternoon of 20 October 1944, Col. Joseph L. Laughlin had two especially briefed squadrons in the assault on the dam. Wheeling out of murky Lorraine skies at 7,000 feet, Thunderbolts howled down to within 100 feet of the dam's surface to drop their 1,000 pound bombs, then dived through the intense flak again to strafe enemy gun positions.
Later that afternoon another squadron returning to the dam found water pouring through a shallow 10 foot gap near the top. The Seille River had risen four feet. Two days later all but the center of Dieuze was under water, and the flood had gone 12 miles beyond the town.
A spokesman for XII Corps said the blowing of the Lindre Dam and preventive flooding of the Seille River contributed to the success of XII Corp's offensive launched two weeks later. So successful was the flooding that Corps was able to combine local offensive preparations against enemy lines where the Seille had inundated them in the vicinity of Dieuze. XII Corps was ready for the big offensive.
This was the background of the drive on Germany launched 8 November 1944.
Despite low clouds and icing conditions, fighter-bombers flew two and three missions that day pushing airfields, marshaling yards, troop concentrations and artillery positions. Silver Thunderbolts bombed and stafed the CP of an SS Panzer Grenadier Division completely destroying the buildings housing the G-2 and G- 3, killing most of their occupants. Prisoners taken by ground units admitted the attack caused great confusion just as the Am- erican offensive was beginning to roll.
Pilots worked closely with ground controllers to remove troublesome enemy obstacles and on-the-spot targets. Reconnais- sance planes scoured the area, calling out targets invisible to ground forces. As one Air Support Party officer Capt. Albert G. Kelly, of San Jose, Calif, put it
"When we needed air, it was there"
This was probably the best description of air-ground coordination.
German troops and convoys withdrawing from Metz to avoid encirclement by Third Army pincers were pounded unmercifully by Thunderbolts. Bombs, rockets and bullets poured into Nazi columns from Metz east to the Rhine. Fighter-bombers ran up great totals of destruction.
First Lt. Arnold Mullins, of Bieg Shoals, Ky, flying with the group commanded by Lt. Col. J. Garrett Jackson, of Alteus, Okla, commented
"There's as much stuff on the road as there was at Avranches only here it's not packed as tight as it was there. At the end of the day I could see fires scattered all the way from the front back to the Rhine"
Thunderbolts and Mustangs destroyed 170 motor vehicles, 141 locomotives, and 630 railroad cars, besides 21 enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground, during November 17, 18 and 19.
This was the tempo of XIX TAC's activities in November. Planes were sent aloft on 18 days, 13 more than the weatherman would have settled for at the beginning of the month.
Taking off from rain-soaked fields, often so muddy it seemed impossible for fighters to wrench their 1,000 and 2,000 pound bomb loads from the ground, pilots flew through heavy clouds, rain, snow, and with "just enough visibility to see the flak"
Some pilots forsook available leaves to fist front lines. First Lt. Richard H Parker, of Portland Ore, and 1st Lt. Francis "Buzz" Norr, of Tremonton, Utah, examined the wreckage in a wooded area they had bombed and stafed the day before. They talked things over with tankers and dough feet they had supported all the way across France. They found that there certainly was a basis for "Mutual admiration societies"
As December rolled around XIX TAC fighter bombers and recce groups moved close to the German border. Third Army broke through the Maginot Line and entered the Saar Valley to assault the Siegfried Line defenses across the Saar River.
Fighter bombers of XIX TAC spearheaded the advancing infantry and armor ranging ahead of front lies to batter German positions and potential counter-thrusts. In a message to Gen. Weyland, Maj. Gen. Manton S. Eddy, XII Corps commander said:
"I wish again to express my appreciation for the outstanding part contributed by units of your command in supporting the successful attack of the XII Corps on the Maginot Line."
Two Thunderbolt groups, commanded by Col. Laughlin and Col. Jackson, were singled out for particular praise. Col. Jackson's group attacked enemy gun and troop emplacements holding up the 16th Infantry Division on the far side of the Saar River. This attack enabled the 16th materially to enlarge its bridgehead.
Later in the day, Col. Laughlin's "Maulers" took timely action on a strong counter-attack on the 3th Infantry Division. The "Maulers" aided the 35th in stopping the German tanks dead in their tracks.
< Even as XIX TAC fighter bombers tore into the Siegfried Line defenses along the Saar River, Field Marshal Gerd Von Runstedt launched his counter offensive through the Ardennes Forest. With typical speed and flexibility the fighter bombers turned their noses northward where enemy columns, moving under cover of fog and heavy overcast headed for the Meuse River.
Thunderbolts routed German armored spearheads, cut roads and rail lines behind the forward columns, pummeled troop concentra- tions. In the five days of December 23 to December 27 alone, XIX TAC flew 2856 sorties, knocking out 206 tanks and armored vehicles, destroying 1,921 motor vehicles.
A three way squeeze forced the Germans back from their salient. Ground forces hit the bulge from north and south while Fighter bombers hit ceaselessly from the air.
Air ground teamwork, a weapon forged and polished in battle from normandy's beaches, through Avranches, along the Loire, past Paris, across the Moselle, over Metz to the German Saar reached new heights of effectiveness in the battle of the Bulge. Long months across France and into Germany had fashioned an air-ground team which would acquit itself well in the campaign ahead.
XIX TAC story is of men who made its achievements possible. But further tasks lie ahead.
Gen. Weyland in his message to his command on its first ann- iversary, 11 December 1944 indicates the spirit of the XIX Tactical Air Command.
"There will be many tough days ahead. We must not relax now. I call upon each and everyone of you to continue to do a superb job and not to give the enemy a moments relaxation. We must continue to fly seek and destroy the enemy wherever we may find him"
End of Document

 

The XIX Air Support Command was activated on 4 January 1944 under the Ninth Air Force. It was redesignated the XIX Tactical Air Command in April 1944, moved to the U.S. in August 1945, inactivated on 31 March 1946 and disbanded on 8 October 1948. The XIX TAC had two wings the 100th Fighter Wing and the 303 Fighter Wing.
The commanders of the XIX TAC were
Maj. Gen. Elwood R. Quesada 4 Jan 1944
Col. Clarence E. Crumrine 1 Feb 1944
Maj. Gen. Otto P. Weyland 4 Feb 1944
Brig. Gen. Homer L. Sanders 23 May 1945
Col. Roger J. Browne 5 Jul 1945
Brig. Gen. James W. McCauley 25 Oct 1945
Maj. Gen. Elwood R. Quesada 8 Feb 1946
Brig. Gen. Homer L. Sanders 25 Feb 1946
Following is a partial list of units attached to the XIX TAC headquarters:
932nd Sig Bn
448th Signal Construction Bn
4th TAC Squadron
Following is a few known Staff members of the XIX TAC
Coleman, Glenn C. Col. TAC Signal Staff Officer
O'Hern, Wayne L. Lt. Col. TAC Asst. Signal Staff O
Bert Maj. TAC Signal Staff O
Frerking, Harlan W. Lt. TAC Signal Staff O
Gaffney, John Lt. TAC Telephone Section
Mishelow, S. W. Capt. TAC Signal Staff O
Zorn, Seymour Capt. TAC Signal Staff O
Reed, Chauncey T/Sgt TAC Wire Chief
Schaafsma, Willen S/Sgt TAC Radio Section
Van Zandt, George Tech/4th TAC Telephone Section
Fowler, Bertrand Maj. Commanding 932nd Signal Bn
Harkins, Bayard Capt. Commanding Co A 932nd S Bn
Converto, Joseph Lt. Co A 932nd Signal Bn
Krashoc, Joe Lt. Co A 932nd Signal Bn
Crapson, Carmon L. M/Sgt Co A 932nd Signal Bn
Huffhines, Elmer E. Capt. Commanding Co D 932nd S Bn
Piette, Paul A. Lt. Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Graves, John M/Sgt Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Parton, George W. M/Sgt Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Ogden, Joseph, Jr T/Sgt Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Birdi, Hazura S. Tech/3rd Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Schatzel, George F. Cpl Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Karabush, Irwin Pfc Co D 932nd Signal Bn
Miller, William G. Maj. Commanding 4th TAC Sq
Smith, Clarence T/Sgt 4th TAC Sq
GENERAL WEYLAND'S RECOLLECTIONS
In the book Patton's Third Army, Charles M. Province stated.
"The story of the Third Army was also a story of true and trusting teamwork between the ground forces and the new power of the airplane. The XIX Tactical Air Command became part and parcel of the Third Army, just as surely as General Patton was their commander, too. General Patton and General Weyland were the best of friends and the best of professional soldiers."
In February of 1944 General Weyland was given command of the XIX Tactical Air Command and was assigned to work with General Patton. General Weyland recalled the following.
"Initially, this was not looked upon as a highly desirable assignment. General Patton had achieved a reputation as being hard to work with, and he had a rather low regard for air power. however, this was to change rapidly as the XIX Tactical Air Command and the Third Army went into battle together. I visited Patton's several headquarters and combat divisions to indoctrinate them in the capabilities of modern tactical air power. In turn, he visited my combat units at their advanced fields. This was something new to him. He watched aircraft armorer's load on bombs and refill machine gun magazines, communicators check and tune the all- important aircraft radio, and mechanics repair and service the airplanes. The immaculately dressed army commander frequently got oil and grease on his hands and clothes--but he enjoyed it. He sat in on combat briefings before missions and listened to intelligence debriefings after the missions. He quickly achieved a new respect for air power.
Whereas many ground commanders still believed that tactical air power should be subordinated to the ground force commander, General Patton agreed with me that he would command the ground and that I would run the associated tactical air forces. At the same time we both laid our cards on the table. We planned and executed our respective responsibilities in the closest of coordination. And he always kept his word.
General Patton kept close tabs on the performance of the XIX Tactical Air Command during the first few days of the Normandy breakout, and one day asked me to come offer to his living van. He Said
"I've never seen anything like the way your planes have cleared the way ahead of my tanks. Goddamnit, we'll stick together and roll right into Berlin. How about a drink, Opie?"
General Patton was the greatest army field commander I have ever known--and I've worked with a number in combat. He was audacious, but sagacious. Despite his colorful language, he had his own version of religion. Being a cavalryman, Patton believed in open warfare and in the old cavalry adage of , "When in doubt, attack." His philosophy suited me perfectly, because it enabled the tactical air command to fight most effectively. When friendly ground forces flush the enemy into the open, tactical fighters can hit them mercilessly with rockets, bombs, and machine gun strafing. We were agreed that, if at all possible, we should keep the initiative. We never let the enemy get set. We kept him off balance. Down to the last soldier and airman, the Third Army and the XIX Tactical Air Command considered themselves to be the best battlefield team of our time.
From an early attitude of skepticism, General Patton went to the other extreme. He thought that the XIX Tactical Air Command could do no wrong.
The XIX Tactical Air Command completed 1767 tactical recon- naissance missions and 77 Photograph reconnaissance missions resulting in the distribution of 3,205,670 aerial photographs.
The XIX Tactical Air Command completed the following feats;
Missions 7,326
Sorties 74,447
Tons of bombs dropped 17,486
Naplan tanks dropped 3,205
Rockets Launched 4,599
German planes destroyed 1,640
Aircraft lost 582
The targets either destroyed or damaged by the XIX Tactical Air Command included
Tanks and armored cars 3,833 Supply Dumps 220
Motor vehicles 38,541 Military installations 1,730
Locomotives 4,337 Gun installations 2,809
Railroad lines cut 2,585 Highway and rail bridges 285
Marshaling yards 974 Misc naval vessels 654
Towns and villages 816 Misc targets 3,010
Factories 3,664
AUGUST 1944
The A-3 section of XIX TAC issued this recapitulation on 1 September 1944.
"Durintg August the groups under operational control of this command flew a total of 12,292 fighter-bomber sorties. One hundred and fourteen aircraft were lost, but many of the pilots bailed out safely over friendly territory or found their way back through enemy lines. Our pilots claimed 165 enemy aircraft destroyed in aedrial combat and 56 on the ground. Complete claims as follows
Destroyed Probably Des Damaged
Enemy aircraft (in aerial combat) 163 16 34
Enemy aircraft ( on ground) 56 4 28
Totals 229 20 62
Figures give only a partial picture of the results obtained during this crowded month of operation, since smoke, dust and the fleeting nature of fighter-bomber attack frequently make assessment impossible. After many attacks which pilots dismissed simply as "NRO" (no results observed), ground troops reported "guns silenced" or "results excellent" and were seen to move forward.
Pilots claims against ground targets include destruction or damaging of the following:
4,058 motor vehicles 2,956 railroad cars
466 tanks and other armor veh 155 barges and other craft
598 horse drawn vehicles 18 merchant vessels
246 locomotives 8 naval vessels
Stationary targets attacked by bombing or strafing, or both, include the following:
222 gun positions 17 airfields
39 marshaling yards 7 headquarters
11 ammunition dumps 44 troop concentrations
18 fuel and supply dumps 58 barracks and buildings
3 radar installations 122 rail lines cut
Reconnaissance aircraft flew a total of 599 missionns during August, of thich 522 were successful. Missions flown consisted of the following:
Tactical Reconnaissance 320
Photo Reconnaissance (Day) 258
Night Photo 12
Total 599
In
awarding Maj. Gen. Otto P. Weyland the Bronze Star, General George S. Patton commended the XIX TAC as follows:
"The superior efficiency and co-operation afforded the army by the forces under your command is the best example of the combined use of air and ground troops I have ever witnessed.
Due to the tireless efforts of lyour flyers, large numbers of hostile vehicles and troop concentrations ahead of our advancing columns have been harassed or obliterated. The information passed directly to the head of the columns from the air has saved time and lives.
I am voicing the opinion of all the officers and men in this army when I express to you our admiration and appreciation for lyour magnificent efforts."
APPENDIX XIX
100th FIGHTER WING
Following is a list of the few known addresses of staff and command officers of the Wing
Sanders, Homer L. Maj. Gen. Commanding General
5716 Madeira PL NE Alberquerque, NM 87110-1211 (505)- 881-7982
States, Charles A. Col. G-4 Staff Officer
9201 Old Castle Road Valley Center, CA 92082 (619)- 749-2464
APPENDIX XX
4TH SIGNAL AIR WARNING TRAINING BATTALION
It was thought appropriate to include some data about the 4th Signal Air Warning Training Battalion. As a training command this battalion was the father of the 563rd Signal Air Warning Battalion. Col. William L. McBride was in command of the 4th SAW Bn and the 563rd was assigned to his battalion to train. In addition to this Lt. Robert O. Schurke was Adjutant of the 4th SAW Bn and Maj. Maurice E. Byrne was S-3 Plans and Training Staff of the 4th SAW Bn. In addition to this Capt. Thomas J. Slattery and Capt. Franklyn A. Glassow were company commanders in training status under the 4th SAW Bn.

 

I was able to copy these two pictures.



Staff of the 4th SAW Training Bn 1943 L to R: Lt. Forte, Adjutant; Lt. Prouty, S-1; Lt. Phillips, S-2;

Maj. Byrne, S-3; Capt Eastman, S-4





Lt. Col. William L. McBride
Commanding Officer 4th SAW Training Bn>
Drew Field 1943>


That's everything visible I could copy.
Safely stored here; Lest We Forget.

 

Oh Shoot, no it's not! Forgot these:

 

Great pics.

Is he still living?