US 169th Field Artillery in NZ

I am looking for info on the US 169th Field Artillery Btn who were part of the US 43rd Inf Div and stationed in New Zealand during WW2 both before and then after their Guadalcanal campaign.
I am looking for any info regarding the organisation and equipping of the 169th FA Btn as well as any unit diaries as to thier stay in Auckland and Warkworth in New Zealand. Would any one know any of this info or know where i can find it.
My military vehicles are all carrying the 169th unit marking of the inverted triangle on a white field and i have various uniforms displaying the crossed cannons and 43rd Div Patch.

 

This site should have the general TO/TE for the artillery group as a whole. If you wish to get deep into the weeds I have the Green Book equipment lists and Stantons version. It will take some time but I'd be able to provide copies or try to answer specific questions.

 

G-day Carl
Cheers for the reply. Yea i am trying to find out what vehicles and equipment the 169th Field Artillery was equipped with. I have several vehicles which i have liveried as the 169th. I know the 169th had jeeps, trailers and WC51 due to photographic evidence from the Warkworth area which show the unit parading through the town during the war and vehicles back at the HQ at Riverina. But i read somewhere that they may have been equipped with 105 guns but in the parade photo it looks like the jeeps are towing 37mm anti tank guns and cant see if the dodges are towing anything. As far as i am aware 105s were usually towed by short wheel base GMC 6x6 but have no photos of them with the unit.

 

Hi mate, yea i will scan the photos and post them when i get back home from work, you may be able to see more in them but i did employ the use of a magnifying glass to see detail as it was haha.

 

haha
No they are actually in a book about the US forces in NZ but i was using the glass to see details of the unit markings on the vehicles. Sorry didnt get to scan them after work yesterday as had a situation with my eldest daughter to deal with so didnt get near the computer at home. Hope to try tonight.

 

Hopefully there will be a photo attached to this. One is of the 169th FA Btn on parade through the town of Warkworth where they were based during the war before they shipped out to Guadalcanal and again after for R and R before moving on to the Philippines. Note the inverted triangle on a white field and 37mm AT guns in tow.
The next photo is of unit jeeps (And jeep trailer) with a Dodge wc51 just visible on the right of frame at Riverina HQ. Is it possible that the 169th was in fact an Anti Tank battery rather than a field battery or that the unit is miss identified?

 

43rd Div component Units

• 103rd Infantry Regiment
• 169th Infantry Regiment
• 172nd Infantry Regiment
• 103rd Field Artillery Battalion
• 152nd Field Artillery Battalion
• 169th Field Artillery Battalion
• 192nd Field Artillery Battalion (155mm)
• 43rd Signal Company
• 743rd Ordnance Company
• 43rd Quartermaster Company
• 43rd Reconnaissance Troop
• 118th Engineer Battalion
• 118th Medical Battalion
• 43rd Counter Intelligence Detachment

We know from this list that the 192nd Field Artillery Btn was equipped with 155mm Guns but what were the other FA Btns equipped with? Also was 37mm Anti Tank artillery issued to Artillery or to infantry Btns?

 

OK done more digging and looks like the AT batterys were not under FA Btns but attached to HQ of the infantry Btns so sounds like the unit using the inverted triangle in the photos was miss identified in the book the photos came from as the 169th FA Btn when its probably actually the AT component of HQ from the 169th Inf Btn

 

If the unit in the photo is miss identified, then we need to ascertain what the 37 mm antitank unit displaying the inverted triangle was or if in fact several or all 43rd div units used that emblem on the bumpers. Has anyone seen this emblem on 43rd div vehicles in other photos, or know how to find out.

 

Try saving the pics to your computer and enlarge them with what ever your picture programe is. ive looked at them from the original book with a magnifying glass and its definately a 37 mm being towed and a inverted open black triangle on the bumpers, Its looks like there is something inside the triangle but its in fact just one of the two pilot holes in the bumper that the Ford GPWs had in them.

 

All,

I am currently writing a book on the 43rd DIVARTY and can provide the following info. Originally each HQ Battery had an element of 37 mm guns as anti-tank weapons. The 43rd left these at Camp Blanding, before shipping out. The 169th FA battalion was originally the 2nd battalion of the 103rd FA Regiment- these men were Rhode Island National Guardsmen. When the 43rd was triangularized, the 2nd/103rd was designated as the 169th FA battalion and was assinged to the 169th RCT of the 43rd Div- working with the 169th IR- Connecticut Guard. They were equipped with the 105mm howitzer. The battalion was commanded by a brash lieutenant colonel, Wilbur E. Brandt who pushed his men and guns hard into action, often causing many casualties- particularly among the forward observers. If anyone can find a copy of Harold Barker's 1964, "History of the 43rd Divison in World War II" they would be well served.

 

Hi 169th FA
What do you mean by the 43rd was triangularised? Is that possibly when the 169th adopted the triangle unit marking on the bumpers of vehicles (As in photos above) or the whole 43rd Div adopted the vehicle marking. Also the photo clearly shows the jeeps towing AT Guns not 105s and they were taken in NZ

So possibilities are:

A) could the photo be of the HQ Bty of the 169th FA Batt and they DID take thier AT guns to New Zealand after all. But note that the vehicle number on left of bumper designates Hotel (H) 2 not Head Quarters (HQ) 2 as it should.

B) Its not the 169th FA Batt and the triangle unit marking designates another unit or sub unit such as the AT component of the 169th INF Bat HQ rather than 169th FA Bat HQ

Cheers and Ubique (I was a field Gunner myself for 12 years)