Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

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Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

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Hello to all :D; an interesting point..............................

Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

Upon the capture of Naples, Allied smoke units were ordered in at once to protect the port from enemy bombing. Naples, as the most important supply and troop port in the theater, was to witness the most extensive Allied'large-area screening activity of the war. For that reason, the important features of that operation are worth noting.

The smoke installation at Naples covered not only that harbor and key installations of the city, but also the landing area at Bagnoli and a part of the Gulf of Pozzuoli. As many as 175 ships were anchored under the protection of the screen at one time. A provisional SG (Smoke Generator) Battalion, comprising the 163d, 164th, 168th, 172d, and 179th Chemical SG Companies, the 24th Chemical Decontaminating Company, and the 807th British Pioneer Company, manned the smoke line when operations were at their height, late in 1943.

The layout for the Naples area, as shown in Sketch Map 1, consisted of three separate screens, each with inner and outer rings, which blended into one massive screen. During the most critical time, no less than, 20 miles of coast line were screened and the smoke frequently extended for 32 miles. The inner ring of Naples harbor, covering the dock area, the quays, and the breakwater, was manned by British Pioneer troops using No. 24 generators (pots) at 370 smoke-mission points, and 14 Besler smoke generators. The operation of the mechanical generators was supervised by Americans. Six of these generators were on Castel dell' Ovo and immediately northward, to blank out that important landmark. The other eight Beslers were placed directly north of the repair facilities in the center of the harbor.

Source: Military Review. January 1951.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

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Hello to all :D; some data..............................

Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

The outer ring, although continuous, followed a circuitous, and in some cases precipitous, route through the town area. The west end of the line began near the coast, about 600 yards west of Castel dell' Ovo, and extended eastward as a crude semicircle, about 6 miles long and 1 mile north of the water front. There were 86 points of fog-oil emission' along the line, with an average operating distance between generators of 250 yards.

Generally speaking,"within 8 minutes after the command "make smoke" was given at the Naples Gun Operations Room (GOR), an area about 5 miles long and 3 miles deep was covered with a dense blanket from the British pots and American mechanical generators. No attempt was made to produce a smoke screen during the day, as the smoke would have interfered with the firing of the antiaircraft guns, and the consumption of fog oil and smoke pots would have been greatly increased.

The screen at Bagnoli, a part of the Naples screen, was operated from October 1943 until after the Anzio task force was mounted in January 1944. The inner ring, around the water front and over the causeway to the Island of Nisida, had 100 HC M1 smoke-pot emission points, each provided with an oil-drum oven for prevention of glare. Thirty-eight Besler (Navy type) mechanical generators were spread out on the outer ring. At Pozzuoli, 48 "Esso" generators were employed (M1 Mechanical Smoke Generator).

Screening in the Naples area was effected by operating inner and outer rings at each of the three ports, Naples, Bagnoli, and Pozzuoli. The result of the three operations was one large screen. For the screen to be effective, considerable co-ordination was necessary since seven different smoke units, with a combined personnel strength of more than 1,000, were engaged in the operations. The senior American company commander was the battalion commander of United States SG units, and other company commanders occupied staff positions in accordance with their rank.

The senior British officer commanding the 807th British Pioneer Company at Naples was designated as the smoke-control officer. At the beginning of operations, the American smoke units were attached for administration to the 45th AAA Brigade, which was charged with the defense of the port. The operation of the antiaircraft defenses of the port, including the control of smoke, was delegated by the 45th AAA Brigade to the 12th AA Brigade (British). Smoke units were commanded for technical operations and tactical disposition by the Chemical Officer, Fifth Army.

The orders, "make smoke" and "cease smoke," were given through the AA Command in accordance with policies set up and approved by the Navy, the Air Force, and the AA Command. All smoke units maintained liaison officers, each assisted by a noncommissioned officer, in the GOR, which sent out an alert over both telephone and radio when hostile aircraft were reported in the vicinity.

The materiel available for the screening of Naples consisted of British No. 24 generators (pots), American HC M1 smoke pots, 120 M1 mechanical smoke generators, and 52 Besler mechanical generators. The expenditures per minute of operation at Naples approximated:
No. 24 generators (pots) ___________ 20 each
He M1 smoke pots __________________ 6 each
SGF-1 fog oil ________________________ 215 gallons
Fuel oil ______________________________ 30 gallons

Since the average time of making smoke was 34 minutes on the inner ring, and 46 minutes on the outer ring, the approximate expenditures per raid were:
Smoke pots (British and American) 884 each
SGF-1 fog oil __________________9,890 Gallons

Source: Military Review. January 1951.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

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Hello to all :D; more..............................

Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

Forward-Area Operations.

Early in March 1944, II Corps was holding a line along the lower Garigliano River, and the 88th Infantry Division was fighting out of Minturno. The enemy, as usual, held the most favorable positions, to the north and east. In bringing supplies to Minturno, United States forces had to use Highway No.7, which was under enemy' observation.

The most vulnerable position along this route was the highway bridge over the Garigliano River. On 9 March, the 88th Division relieved the British 5th Division along the lower Garigliano. Until 28 March, the Chemical Officer, 88th Division, operated a smokepot screen along Highway No.7 with provisional personnel, just as the British had done before being relieved. On 28 March, however, one of the smoke-generator units which had been employed in Naples was made available for screening the MSR along the lower Garigliano.

A pot and generator line was established to give maximum protection to the exposed stretches of Highway No. 7, and another bridge crossing farther up the Garigliano, as shown in Sketch Map 2. Around the lower bridge-the more vital point-were 10 smoke-pot emission points at a radius of approximately 200 yards. At a radius of about 600 yards was a ring of M1 mechanical smoke generators, manned by the 172d Chemical SG Company.

Between the front line and the bridge were a number of pot and generator positions, designed primarily to screen transportation between the bridge and Minturno. During the day, the wind usually blew upstream; at night and in early morning, in the opposite direction. Several mechanical generators, mounted on small craft, smoked the shore end of the line near Mount Scauri during the daytime.

At the beginning of II Corps operations on the lower Garigliano, it was planned to produce smoke only during daylight hours, but it was found necessary to provide a screen during periods of moonlight and during night air raids.

Source: Military Review. January 1951.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

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Hello to all :D; more..............................

Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

Forward-Area Operations.

During March, before mechanical generators became available, 700 to 1,000 M1 smoke pots were consumed daily along the lower Garigliano. After 28 March, the expenditures of pots dropped to about 200 per day but the mechanical generators required about 4,000 gallons of fog oil per day.

During the lower Garigliano operations, several generators and personnel from the 172d Chemical SG Company were detailed to screen a MSR in the zone occupied by French forces along the upper Garigliano. The difficulties encountered during these two Garigliano operations were not too serious, considering the benefits of the screens. The supply of fog oil had to be well-planned and adequate, and generator positions had to be selected with the supply problem in mind.

The generators had to be dug-in to protect the men and equipment from shell bursts. Smoke pots were still useful for employment in relatively inaccessible places, and as a substitute for a nonfunctioning generator. The problems of the M1 generator, namely its large size, silhouette, and lack of mobility, which had not been serious factors in port-screening operations, could only be solved by the development of a smaller generator.

The conclusion reached in both operations was that the large-area screen, produced by mechanical generators; was effective in covering vital forward areas which were subject to enemy observed artillery fire. The bridges across the Garigliano were not hit, neither were troops nor supplies subjected to observed enemy fire while moving forward.

Source: Military Review. January 1951.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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Re: Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; more..............................

Large-Area Screening in the MTO.

Forward-Area Operations.

It has been said that smoke "saved the day" for VI Corps at Anzio. For more than three months, from 22 January 1944 to the breakout in May, the front lines at Anzio were relatively static. As shown in Sketch Map 3, the beachhead extended about 20 miles along the coast and, at its deepest point, was only 9 miles wide. The 24th Chemical Decontaminating Company, a full-fledged smoke unit by this time, landed on D-day and was ready to screen the harbor the fii-st night.

The entire beachhead was within range of enemy artillery. During the daytime, enemy shelling could and did force the LSTs and Liberty ships to stop unloading and go out to sea. Until mid-March, only an antiaircraft twilight and night screen was employed, but after that date General Mark Clark directed that two screens be operated. The 179th Chemical SG Company was brought in to screen the forward area during daytime. These troops were given the mission of denying observation to enemy artillery. They emplaced the smoke generators 2 to 3 miles from the enemy positions and maintained a continuous smoke haze over the area. Regardless of wind direction, enemy artillery observers were unable to see the harbor through which supplies and troops were pouring. At Anzio, the mechanical smoke generator was also employed to conceal the flash of guns.

After the May breakthrough at Anzio, the Germans retreated northward rapidly and, in the pursuit, the 179th Chemical SG Company was taken along for any screening missions which might develop. By this time, Fifth Army commanders were well acquainted with the variety of missions which the chemical SG unit could perform. Plans were made to screen a key bridge in Rome, but the Germans failed to shell the area. When Leghorn was captured, a smoke line was installed, similar to the one which had existed at Anzio. One smoke company screened the port, while another maintained a haze over the area between Leghorn and the enemy-held hills to the north and east.

Shortly after the Arno Valley was captured, the War in northern Italy became static, with IV Corps holding the left flank to the Tyrrhenian Sea and with II Corps in northern-central Italy, south of Bologna. From mid-October to mid-April, both corps maintained screens almost continuously on MSRs, bridges, and friendly artillery positions in forward areas. The 172d Chemical SG Company operated a smoke line continuously for 179 days and on moonlight nights, excepting when nature provided its own fog.

To summarize forward-area screening operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations briefly: in the mountainous terrain of southern Italy, the Chemical Officer, Fifth Army, discovered, in the employment of the large-area smoke screen, a method of counterbalancing the customary enemy advantage of superior position and observation. From Salerno through the Garigliano Valley, Anzio, Leghorn, and the winter warfare in northern italy, the employment of large-area smoke screens resulted in the saving of lives, supplies, and equipment and, in many cases, made it possible for Allied forces to pursue operations without too much fear of enemy artillery.

Source: Military Review. January 1951.

It's all. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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