Large-Area Screening in the MTO.
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:06 am
Hello to all ; 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 .
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 .