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The 486th AAA Battalion

INTRODUCTION

 

The 486th Armored Anti-Aircraft Battalion, an attached unit of the 3rd Armored "Spearhead" Division, wasn't in action long before it had acquired a nickname of its own. They called it the "Anti-Anything" Battalion.

During the United States First Army's five campaigns in Europe, men of the 486th constantly demonstrated their versatility with fifty-caliber quadruple mounts and 37 mm automatic cannon. While these weapons, when mounted on M-15 and M-16 half-tracks, were originally designed for anti-aircraft defense duties, they proved equally effective against enemy ground troops, tanks, armored cars, railway trains, and pill-boxes. Colonel Raymond E. Dunnington's battalion was the first Allied anti-aircraft unit to enter Germany in World War II, and the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft from German soil. [text continued below]

 

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The 486th was activated at Camp Davis, North Carolina, on December 10, 1942, and exactly one year later, the battalion the 486th arrived at East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England, and was attached to the 3rd Armored Division. From the time that the Division landed on the continent of Europe until VE day, the 486th AAA Bn., was operational. In more than 70 direct air attacks on division areas protected by M-15 and M-16 half-track AA mounts of the battalion, there was not a single case of serious damage caused by the attacking planes.

Some explanation is needed concerning the abbreviations "AA", "AAA", "AW", and "SP" in this section. AA means Anti-Aircraft. AAA means Anti-Aircraft Artillery. Either AA or AAA is correct in describing the battalion. AW means Automatic Weapons. And SP means Self-Propelled. All of those abbreviations apply to the battalion's primary "tools of the trade" -- the M-15 and M-16 half-tracks.

Our appreciation to Dominic Rizzo of Rocky Hill, CT, long-time president & secretary of the national 486th AAA Bn Veterans Association for supplying the above battalion book cover (left), photo of a quad-.50 turret, battalion logo, and various 486th historical documents.

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