183rd Ordnance Detachment (IFCR T-38) - Skysweeper
Rhine Kaserne, Biebrich, Germany, Feb 1955 - Jul 1956

I served with the 183rd Ordnance Detachment (IFCR T-38) at Rhine Kaserne in Biebrich (a suburb of Wiesbaden), Germany, from February of 1955 through July of 1956.

I believe the 183rd was newly formed in 1954 when I was assigned to it. We were training as electronics technicians for support of the T-38 (Skysweeper) 75mm anti-aircraft system at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, when we were selected to serve with specific units to be deployed around the world. We interviewed with warrant officers that were to serve as commanding officers of these units and those warrant officers selected their own teams of technicians to serve under them.

Our unit at that time included: (1) a warrant officer as commanding officer; (2) 6 technicians to repair the radar, computer and other fire control components of the system; and (3) a supply clerk to maintain the rather extensive inventory of parts that would be required in the repair process - for a total of 8 persons. I believe that was the standard organization for all the IFCR T-38 ordnance detachments. After selection we entered a unit training program (still at Aberdeen) where we continued to train for the T-38 system, but as a designated unit. My rank was SPEC-3 (E-3) at that time.

In February of 1955 we were assigned to support the 91st Anti-Aircraft Battalion at the Rhine Kaserne in Biebrich, Germany. We shipped over on a Military Sea Transport System troop ship, William O. Darby, arriving at Bremerhaven after 9 days at sea. We traveled to Wiesbaden by train. The kaserne occupied basically a city block in Biebrich. The 18 Skysweeper units were kept at a gun park several miles east of the kaserne. Our large, 4 story barracks building (which housed both the battalion and the ordnance detachment) looked directly down across the levee to the Rhine River. The Wiesbaden area was a delightful place in which to serve.

There was another T-38 IFCR ordnance detachment located in Wiesbaden proper, having arrived, as I recall, just a few months before we did. It serviced another anti-aircraft battalion - I don’t recall the numerical designation of either the ordnance detachment or the battalion. (Webmaster note: according to the STATION LIST for Aug 1955, there probably were two additional T-38 ICFR units in Wiesbaden at the time -- the 223rd Ordnance Detachment and the 371st Ord Det. There were also two additional 75mm AAA (Mbl) battalions located in Wiesbaden -- the 5th and 443rd AAA Bns.)

The T-38 Skysweeper system was a 75 mm anti-aircraft weapon with on carriage radar and computer systems. Each battalion had 18 of these units. It was highly mobile and was designed to defend airbases against high speed, low flying aircraft, in particular, at that time, the Russian MIG. The aircraft that we most commonly saw in training and maneuvers was the American F-86 Sabre Jet.

In addition to routine, day-to-day maintenance and repair activities at the home base, other activities of the detachment included:

Periodic deployments on maneuvers with the anti-aircraft battalion, often involving NATO allies. Typically these were for the battalion to defend airbases in surrounding areas of Germany. Two locations pop into my mind but my memory may not be serving me well in these regards. The two are Spangdahlem and Bitburg.

Periodic deployments to a British firing range on the German Baltic shore near the little village of Todendorf. There the battalion weapons were fired at target sleeves towed by aircraft and drones using full fire control system capabilities. There were always plenty of repair and maintenance issues with the radar and other systems to keep our detachment very busy.

Occasionally the battalion would transport its anti-aircraft weapon systems to a firing range at Grafenwoehr to manually fire the weapons without using the radar or computer systems. Our detachment would send one shop truck and 2 or 3 technicians with the battalion in case issues arose with the hydraulic slewing mechanisms (parts of which we also serviced). I believe that Grafenwoehr was primarily a tank firing range.

I don’t recall any details of the organizational relationships of our detachment with higher levels of Army units. The 183rd detachment was attached to the 91st anti-aircraft battalion for billets, mess and to provide maintenance and repair for its Skysweeper units. Otherwise it operated fairly independently of the battalion. Wiesbaden was primarily an Air Force area and, interestingly, we were paid by the Air Force. Pay was in the form of military scrip (looked like monopoly money) and, in the mid-1950’s, it was illegal to use American greenbacks on the German economy. You could exchange the scrip for deutschmarks at the American Express office in town and spend those on the German economy.

At the beginning of my tour, we were still considered an Army of Occupation and occupied Germany was still divided into American, British, French and Russian sectors at that time. Wiesbaden was in the American sector and right on the border with the French sector. The contrast regarding progress in recovery from the war was stark. At that time, ten years after the end of World War II, the American sector of Germany had recovered to an astonishing degree. Wiesbaden, which had not been bombed very much, was an incredibly beautiful city and thriving. Just upstream on the other side of the Rhine River from our barracks was the city of Mainz, in the French sector. Mainz was still mostly a plain of rubble from the bombing with very little recovery evident. The French, as one might expect, had not invested a dime in the reconstruction of its sector of Germany.

While I was in Germany with the 183rd Ordnance Detachment in 1955-1956, for those uniforms for which a left shoulder patch was worn, it was the triangular Seventh Army patch, referred to informally as the "seven steps to hell".  To the best of my recollection, both the anti-aircraft battalion personnel and the ordnance detachment personnel wore that same shoulder patch. 

My tour of duty with the Army in Wiesbaden was a terrific experience and I would not have missed it for anything. It has been gratifying to reflect back on that experience. I kept in touch with a few of the guys for a time after I got out in 1956, but I am no longer in touch with any of them. I have tried from time to time to see if I could locate any of them on the internet, but without success. I am now 76 and it is entirely possible that some of them are no longer with us. Although I went into the Army at 18 in 1953, right out of high school, several of them had graduated from college (the draft was still on in those days) and, hence, were several years older than I.

Although the original team had 8 members, those numbers sometimes increased by one or two, perhaps in anticipation of someone rotating out. I have forgotten the names of some of the team members. The commanding officer was CWO “Bud” Thoenen. The supply clerk was Ken Entfield (or, perhaps Entfeld). The original technicians that I can recall, in addition to myself, were Roger Felker, Marshall Coburn and Larry Tyree. Some who joined us later were Richard Szostak, Denny Schroeder, and Ross and Joseph Cassella (twins!). Another, Bart Spears, I can’t remember if he was one of the originals or a later addition. I left the unit with the rank of SPEC-5 (E-5).

I hope this has not had too much extraneous personal stuff in it. If you have any questions about any of it I would be happy to try to respond. If you have received any information regarding any of the people mentioned above or the detachment itself I would appreciate hearing about it so that I might try to get in contact with them.