Hellcat News, (Camp Barkeley, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 4, Ed. 1, March 2, 1944 Page: 3 of 8
8 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
2 March, 1944
HELLCAT NEV/S
Page 3
"Grasshopper Patrol" Important
Element Of Division In Combat
The hedgehopping Grasshopper
airplanes, now a part of the Artil-
lery Command, will become a for-
midable weapon against the en-
emy when employed by the "Red
¥
Legs" in adjustment of their artil-
lery fire when this division goes
into combat.
The field for the 12th"Grasshop-
per Patrol" is north of Theatre
No. 1, where the Artillery Com-
mand keeps its eight planes. In
addition to the field on the post,
there are several fields on the res-
ervation used by the pilots for
training purposes.
Each battalion of the Artillery
has two planes. When adjustment
of artillery fire is desired on an
Infantry Cooks
Take Battle Course
When riflemen, experienced in
the art of creeping and crawling,
look upon a forthcoming Battle
Inoculation Course with a notice-
able lack of enthusiasm, you may
be certain that the company cooks,
who do all their creeping in a
mess-hall, pass through a couple
of sleepless nights before the or-
deal. At least, that's how the
cooks in Company "C," 66th AIB,
felt when their battalion went
through the Course in the middle
of February.
Take "Tiny" Lazzari, 6' 3", 235
lb. Mess Sergeant. Don't you
think he worried about that ex-
cess bulk when the tracers zip-
ped overhead that certain dark
night?
And T-4 Joseph Catanzaro, a
cook, had this to say: "I hugged
that ground And were we tir-
ed?," he looked over at T-5 Estell
Good, who was stirring some sort
of a stew in a huge pot. He didn't
wait for the answer. Instead he
inserted a gripe "We went off
shift at about quarter to seven
that night after working all af-
ternoon. We went through the
course and then to work again at
four thirty the next morning."
T-5 Good then mentioned, "I'm
glad the guy holding the machine
gun trigger that night was satis-
fied with my cookin'."
enemy, the light craft is flown
aloft to observe the shell burst,
and report it to the ground crews.
Although it is possible for any
trained artilleryman to accom-
pany the pilot and make the ad-
justment for him, pilots are train-
ed to adjust the fire themselves.
The value of this type plane
is found in its ability to fly near
the ground and land on a small
emergency field near the batta-
lions' position in the area. The
planes seldom fly at an altitude
of more than 500 feet. By flying
close to the ground, following
terrain in uneven country, the
pilot evades observation by en-
emy ground troops.
Training of these pilots takes
place at the Field Artillery School,
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The tech-
nique learned there has been used
in the Tunisian campaign and re-
ports have already been received
of their employment in the com-
bat areas of Sicily and Italy. In
fact, even the navy used them to
observe and adjust their shelling
of the coast during invasion oper-
ations.
The insignia on this page is the
official one of the Grasshopper
Patrol, which got its name from
the type of flying it uses; jumping
over fences, trees, etc. The plane
can be brought down or taken up
on a 150 to 200 yard run way.
Formerly blimps were used for
this type of work but were found
to be impracticable.
These planes took part in the
Tennessee maneuvers, and were
flown here in six days, having
been grounded for awhile on ac-
count of high winds. They are
single wing monoplanes and have
a cruising speed of 80 miles per
hour.
The only accident that the divi-
sion crews have had was at Camp
Campbell, when S-Sgt Donovan,
was unable to get the plane out
of a spin and it crashed into a
tree. He was uninjured.
Personnel of the division's pat-
rol are: Capt E. F. Whitney, Lt.
J. W. Givens, and Lt. L. R. John-
son, pilots, and Tec 4 J. Wright,
mechanic, of Artillery Command
Headquarters. Pilots of the 493rd
are Lt. C. Poppas and S-Sgt W. T.
Crenshaw; the mechanic is Tec 3
C. R. Larmore.
In the 494th: Lt. T. A. Kelly,
Lt. G Lindley, and Lt. M. L. Glo-
ver, pilots; and Tec 3 R. A. Smith,
mechanic; 495th, Lt. C. G. Schu-
man and S-Sgt W. J. Donovan,
pilots, and Tec 3 Matheney, me-
chanic. T-Sgt C. R. Wiygul is
supply sergeant for the patrol.
Sltamatiana
Temporary promotions in the di-
vision this week were earned by
the following men:
To be Staff Sergeant:
Sgt Clifford O. Hanson, Troop
E, 92d Cav Ren Sq (Mecz); Sgt
James P. Scully, Co B, 17 AIB.
To be Sergeant:
Cpl Arthur V. Cook, Hq Btry,
495th AFA Bn; Tec 5 Carl E. Cash,
Sv Co, 66th AIB; Pvt Go van C.
Faison, Co A, 44th Tk Bn; Tec 4
Cletis R. Pendergrass, Sr., Co D,
Pvt Joseph W. Miles, Hq Co, 44th
Tk Bn.
To be Technician Fourth Grade:
Pvt Frank A. Duer, Hq Co, Tec
5 Frank E. Stroman, Co A, 44th
Tk Bn; Tec 5 William F. Clay, Co
D, Tec 5 John W. Brown and
Tec 5 Chester Harris, Hq Co, 44th
Tk Bn; Tec 5 Roy L. Hardy, Tec
5 Carl E. Peterson, Tec 5 William
E. Schuhart, Tec 5 Edward J.
Schoettmer, 92nd Cav Ren Sq
(Mecz); Pvt Theodore A. Winner,
Co B, 66th AIB; Tec 5 Joseph Tur-
co, Hq Btry, 493rd AFA Bn.
To be Corporal:
Tec 5 Eugene R. Eastman, Tec
5 Edward C. Lee, Tec 5 Z. L. Mas-
sengale, Pfc Frank Bauer, Pfc
Frank T. Sanchez, Pvt Martin P.
Sovistoski, 92d Cav Ren Sq
(Mecz).
To be Technician Fifth Grade:
Pfc Edward P. Baylee, Pfc Mar-
vin Dorf, Pfc Walter R. McRae,
Pvt William Freebury, Pfc Er-
nest L. Loop, Pfc Carl Pickard,
92d Cav Ren Sq (Mecz); Pfc Ste-
phen Dulleba, Co A, 82d Med Bn.
WACs Being Recruited
To Serve at Barkeley
Barracks have been built, and
jobs are waiting for Barkeley's
WAC Detachment-to-be.
Recruiting officers in Abilene
and Camp are now enlisting wo-
men of this vicinity to serve in the
WAC at Camp Barkeley as: Ad-
ministrative Clerks, General
Clerks, Bookkeepers, Stenogra-
phers, Typists, Messengers, Radio
Operators, Drivers for light auto-
motive equipment, Opticians, X-
ray Technicians. Dental, Medical,
and Surgical Technicians, Medical
Laboratory Technicians, and Pho-
tographers.
These women are being recruit-
ed in the Women's Army Corps
under the "Station and Job As-
signment Recruiting" plan,
whereby each recruit is assured
that her initial assignment after
completion of training will be to
a station of her choice in the
service command.
Each recruit will be recom-
mended for initial assignment to
a specific occupational field. Many
who do not already have techni-
cal training in a particular field,
will be given such training on the
job.
For further information see or
write to the WAC Recruiting Of-
ficer at the Barkeley News or
the WAC Recruiting Officer in
the post office, Abilene.
o
More than 50 per cent of the
needs of the Army Ordnance De-
partment are now being filled by
synthetic rather than natural rub-
ber, Maj. Gen. L. H. Campbell, Jr.,
Chief of Ordnance has announced.
TEAMWORK
IW—8
Prior to maneuvers the L-5 was used by the 12th in aiding the
Artillery by target location and fire control. The planes in use
now are of the L-4 type and can be seen often as they fly over the
reservation.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
United States. Army. Armored Division, 12th. Hellcat News, (Camp Barkeley, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 4, Ed. 1, March 2, 1944, newspaper, March 2, 1944; Tennessee. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410342/m1/3/: accessed July 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.