USAREUR Units - 3rd Inf Div

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3rd Infantry Division (Mech)
Rock of the Marne
(Page 4 - Division Artillery)
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

DIVISION ARTILLERY UNITS

Related Links

3rd Division Artillery

3rd Infantry Division Artillery Pocket Patch

Early 1980s

1st Bn, 10th FA	2nd Bn, 39th FA	2nd Bn, 41st FA	3rd Bn, 76th FA
Btry A, 25th FA (TA)

1960

(Source: Email from Jimmy Smith, 6th Bn, 18th Arty, 1960-62)

I served with "A" Battery, 6th Bn of the 18th Arty in Aschaffenburg, Germany from 6/1960 to 12/1962....I have photos of A Btry and some of the guys that served.

The 6/18 was disbanded in April of 1963 (Webmaster note: probably as part of the division reorganization under ROAD.)

(Click here to see Jimmy's Ready Barracks photos on the Aschaffenburg Page.)

6th Bn, 18th Arty

1. (KB)

2. (KB)

3. (KB)

4. (KB)

5. (KB)

6. KB)

DivArty ROAD Changes (1963)

1967

(Source: USAREUR STATION LIST, 30 June 1967)

ORGANIZATION:

	UNIT		STATION
	Hq/Hqs Battery		Larson Bks, Kitzingen
	1st Rkt Bn, 9th Arty (3)		Larson Bks, Kitzingen
	1st How Bn, 10th Arty (1)		Ledward Bks, Schweinfurt
	2nd How Bn, 39th Arty (1)		Ledward Bks, Schweinfurt
	2nd How Bn, 41st Arty (1)		Fiori Bks, Aschaffenburg
	3rd How Bn, 76th Arty (2)		Larson Bks, Kitzingen

(1) 155mm SP

(2) 155mm / 8in SP

(3) Honest John

1980

(Source: USAREUR Telephone Directory - Troop Units, Spring 1980)

ORGANIZATION (Spring 1980):

	UNIT		STATION
	Hq/Hqs Battery		Kitzingen
	1st Bn, 10th FA		Schweinfurt
	2nd Bn, 39th FA		Schweinfurt
	2nd Bn, 41st FA		Bad Kissingen
	1st Bn, 76th FA		Kitzingen
	B TAB, 29th FA		Wertheim

Division Artillery Units

HHB, Divarty

1st Rkt Bn, 9th Arty

1st Bn, 10th FA

2nd Bn, 39th FA

2nd Bn, 41st FA

1st Bn, 76th FA

B TAB, 29th FA

1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery - Honest John

1st Bn, 9th Arty Barracks location on Larson, mid-1960s (Webmaster's Collection)

1st Bn, 9th Field Artillery DUI

1966

(Source: Email from George Vincent)

I came across your site on Veterans Day and thought some information could be added to your list.

I was stationed in Kitzingen, Germany at the Larson Barrack. I was with the 1st Battalion 9th Artillery. We were an Honest John Rocket unit attached to the 3rd Infantry Division.

The Commander was a Major W.J. Spradley Jr. As I remember there was an A,B,C battery. I was a Spec 4 assigned to Battery B. If I remember correctly, each battery had 1 launcher but I could be wrong.

I was trained also at the Nuclear Warhead School in Oberammergau, Germany.

We did our firings at the Grafenwoehr training area. I was fortunate to get to fire two Honest John rockets, being the RTO, using the old plunger type firing method.

I still remember guarding a bunker one winter day with at least 10 5-ton launcher trucks loaded with nuclear tipped rockets at the ready -- a pretty ominous sight for a 21 year old. Thankfully we never had to use them

As I remember the motor pool was towards the back from the entrance of the Barracks through an arch (Webmaster note: in Bldg 8) to the right. Really hard to remember from 1966. (Looking at the long building on the Larson installation map the way you have it marked up (A-E), B C and D would all be part of the 1st Batl. 9th Artillery Barraacks. I was in D because I could see the entrance arch from my window. I believe the mess would be to the right of entrance , so E. The motor pool was the open area parking (H 11 - Hardstand) directly behind the barracks. I hope this helps.)

All I remember was doing some cool training around the area driving the vehicles into these small German towns and having a local allow us to pull the launcher with the rocket inside his barn and then sharing some home brew with him.

I was RTO and learned to drive stick shift in an army jeep.

Another thing was the Mercedes diesel taxis lined up in front of Larson Barracks on a Friday night to take the troops into town to let off steam.

Another interesting note - after training stateside at Fort Sill I was on the last ship the Army used to transport troops to Europe the USNS Rose, leaving from the Brooklyn Navy Yard on a 9-day trip across the Atlantic arriving in Bremerhaven at night and taken taking a train to Wurzburg.

1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery

155mm towed howitzer of 1st HOW Bn, 10th Arty, Conn Barracks (Webmaster's Collection)

155mm towed howitzer of 1st HOW Bn, 10th Arty, Conn Barracks (Webmaster's Collection)

1st Howitzer Bn, 10th Artillery DUI

1963

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, September 18, 1963)

1st Bn, 10th Arty recently received eighteen new self-propelled artillery weapons. The M-109 SP howitzers replaced the previously used towed artillery pieces that were towed by five-ton trucks.

Batteries A, B, and C of the battalion have received six each of the new weapons.

The battalion will move to the field Sept. 26 for training. Cannoneers will be oriented on the new equipment and controls contained within the piece.

The batteries will then fire their new weapons Oct. 13-15 at the Grafenwoehr training area for their annual battery Army Training Test.

2nd Battalion, 39th Field Artillery

2nd Bn, 39th Field Artillery DUI

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 27, 1969)

Annual Army Training Test
2nd Bn, 39th Arty, stationed in Schweinfurt, has successfully completed its annual Army Training Test (ATT) at Grafenwoehr.

The 24-hour test began at 6 a.m. with an unrestricted readiness alert. After the alert had been called, an advance reconnaissance party — consisting of the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Richard K. Stewart, his battery commanders and their first sergeants, and a security force — moved forward to inspect tentative firing positions.

When the positions were declared safe, the remainder of the battalion moved in and set up perimeter guards. Along the way the convoy was hit with CBR and aggressor attacks. Bravo Battery received an emergency firing mission ("hip shoot").

Later, several fire missions were initiated by the unit's forward observers, including one where a forward observer adjusted fire from a helicopter.

Under the cover of darkness, the men were deployed to night firing positions which had been checked in the afternoon. From those positions — operating under the control of the battalion's fire direction center — concentration, harassing and interdiction missions were called in.

The night's firing ended with a time-on-target mission, in which all of the battalion's 18 howitzers fired at once on one target area.

The men then closed out the ATT with a road march to their base camp at Camp Normandy (Graf), and then returned to their home station in Schweinfurt.

1969

(Source: Email from John deTreville, 2nd Bn, 39th FA, 1969)

2nd Bn, 39th FA