OPREP for the 315 Troop Carrier Group, DDAY 1944

[JayJones]

This is the scanned OPREP for the 315 TCG, which dropped pathfinders and paratroopers from 505PIR near St. Mere Eglise. Note they report 4 refusals at the door. Also, note that one aircraft had a grenade go off inside near the wing prior to takeoff, killing 3 troopers and injuring 15 and the radio operator. Incredibly interesting stuff.

www.6juin1944.com/assaut/aeropus/data/315tcg_01.pdf

(thanks to PFC Elling for bringing the website this came from to attention)

[jim]

Read this report and then read the 82nd packing list.

What can you deduce?

[jim]

Been over 24 hours.  Other than the Lt who is nearing the bullseye - No takers on the challenge?

[Bruce "Face' Dale]

One of the troopers did not pocket his fragmentary grenades as instructed in the packing list.

[jim]

That's what I say - but the experts on the GI help page disagree and wish us nobodies would stop questioning their mental gymnastics.

[JayJones]

Reenactor help page is a fiasco these days.

[jim]

My S-I-L has a Masters in History.  I remember handing him a book on history one time and the first thing he did was flip to the footnotes and look through them.

I based my comments on the OpRep and the packing list and came up with one of the frag grenades not where is was supposed to be.

They said it was a Gammon Grenade because everybody who wasn't there said so in books published after the war.  No footnotes to any report, everyone just knew it had to be a gammon grenade.

The gammon grenade had a nasty fuze system once you took the protective cap off - and the troops hated it because of that.  So, well, Hell, accident in the plane?  Must have been the Gammon Grenade.  The Gammon Grenade also came partially filled with explosive.  You either up loaded it with more explosives for anti vehicle or some more explosives and fragmentation to make it AP.

A point I made was why would they issue 2 Mk - IIs (frag grenade) and upload a gammon grenade to be AP - instead of just issuing two more Mk - IIs?  If they wanted the Gammon Grenade to be AV there would be no fragmentation in it.

With everybody in the stick killed of wounded - plus the plane RTO - it's pretty conclusive that the device that exploded was fragmentation.  A Gammon Grenade only has one fragment - the fuzing system.  It blows and that piece could fly, break apart and maybe wound one or two.  The blast itself would probably kill the primary and the troop on the blast side and maybe one on the far side of the isle.  Makes the death toll correct (one died later making 4) - but the gammon grenade would not have wounded everybody else.  

The experts said it was the gammon grenade because everybody who wasn't there said so, what? you expect them to follow the packing list, we were not there - and last but least - the OpRep was probably wrong.

I found the remark about the packing list was odd from Jr. so I asked if he had ever been in the military and he said that he had been an 11B for 6 years.  I could (not would) assume with that TIS he would have been at least a Squad Leader if he was squared away and being young he would have deployed to a combat zone at least once.  In that position he would have been responsible to ensure everybody in his squad had the required gear as per the unit SOP.  If he was stupid and never made squad leader he still would have been inspected.  I conclude that if he was really in it wasn't with a unit that he deployed to combat with.  Could have continued that line but would have made it personal.  Which made me question what others see, who are not my friends, when they click on my profile.

82nd rotating in and out of DRF 1 was all about packing lists, layouts, inspections, over and over and over.  SF had a company on DRF 1 just like the 82nd.  We had to lay out all the B Team and 6 A Teams Team equipment plus the individual's equipment as per the packing list.  Quite a site - everything inside outside.

[JayJones]

Well put Top.