50th Armored Division (United States)

Last updated

50th Armored Division
50th US Armored Division SSI.svg
50th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1946–93
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Type Armored warfare
Size Division
Part of New Jersey Army National Guard
Nickname(s)"Jersey Blues"
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Donald W. McGowan
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia 50 Arm Div DUI.jpg
NATO Map Symbol
50
NATO Map Symbol - Unit Size - Division.svg
Military Symbol - Friendly Unit (Solid Light 1.5x1 Frame)- Armour (NATO APP-6).svg

The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993.

Contents

History

50th Armored Division with Jersey Blues Tab, used from the 1940s to the 1960s 50th Armored Division with Jersey Blues Tab.jpg
50th Armored Division with Jersey Blues Tab, used from the 1940s to the 1960s

On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army, calling for a 27-division Army National Guard structure with 25 infantry divisions and two armored divisions. Once the process of negotiation was complete, among the new formations formed were the 49th and 50th Armored Divisions, the first armored divisions in the Army National Guard. The 50th Armored Division replaced the 44th Infantry Division within the New Jersey Army National Guard, with the 50th Armored assuming the 44th Infantry's "Jersey Blues" nickname. Most 50th Armored Division units were legacy units of the 44th Infantry and inherited the lineage and history of those units.

In a 1968 reorganization, the 50th Armored was joined by the 27th Armored Brigade from New York, the legacy units left after the inactivation of the 27th Armored Division. Since the 50th Armored Division was no longer completely within New Jersey, it retired the "Jersey Blues" nickname. In 1968, the 50th Armored Division was reorganized to draw its units from New Jersey and the Vermont Army National Guard. Armor battalions in New Jersey and Vermont were upgraded to M48A1 and M48A3 Patton medium tanks.

Between 1975-76 Vermont and New Jersey armor battalions started turning in their M48A3 tanks and began receiving the M48A5 which had the same 105mm gun and fire control system as the M60A1 in use by the active Army. During this time, many Vermont tank crews competed in gunnery exercises held in West Germany and consistently brought back awards. The division's training was rigorous during the Soviet threat peak years of the late 1970s to mid 1980s. Germany was the primary area of operations for the division if it was to have been activated.

The bi-state organization comprised: [1]

The Center of Military History notes that reorganizing the Army National Guard to meet the new 'Division 86' structures in the mid-1980s was a challenging process, and most Guard divisions expanded their recruiting areas. The 50th Armored Division did not, and instead had the allotment for one of its brigades moved to the Texas Army National Guard, making the future of the division within the force structure 'uncertain'. [2] During this time, both battalions of Vermont's 172nd Armor 86th Brigade began doing their annual training at Fort Hood, Texas, a change from their former armor deployment base of Fort Drum, New York. By October 1986, Vermont's 86th Brigade left the 50th Armor Division and became part of the 26th Infantry Division. A few years later the 86th went to the 42nd ID and received M60A3 medium tanks.

While under the 50th Armor Division, Vermont's 1st and 2d Battalion, 172nd Armor of the 86th Brigade excelled at tank gunnery and field exercises, making the 86th Brigade the only Army National Guard unit to ever consistently accomplish Tank Table XIII, an honor it continued to earn even after the 50th AD inactivated.[ citation needed ]

Inactivation

In the early 1990s further consolidation followed the fall of the Soviet Union, and the 26th Infantry Division inactivated, causing Vermont's 86th Brigade to join the 42nd Infantry Division.

The 86th Brigade soon received M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks.[ citation needed ]

On 1 September 1993, the 50th Armored Division was inactivated and its remaining brigades joined other divisions. [3] New Jersey's 50th Infantry Brigade, which took the Division's lineage, was made part of the 42nd Infantry Division. The 36th Infantry Brigade from Texas was reabsorbed into the 49th Armored Division.[ citation needed ]

Due to further military consolidations, the 86th Brigade turned in its Abrams tanks in 2006 and ended its Armor designation just short of 40 years.[ citation needed ]

Structure in 1988

50th Armored Division 1989 (click to enlarge) 50th US Armored Division 1989.png
50th Armored Division 1989 (click to enlarge)
USA New Jersey relief location map.svg
Purple pog.svg
50th Division
Purple pog.svg
1st Brigade
Red pog.svg
1-102 Armor
Red pog.svg
5-102 Armor
Green pog.svg
2-113 Infantry
Green pog.svg
3-113 Infantry
Purple pog.svg
2nd Brigade
Red pog.svg
2-102 Armor
Red pog.svg
3-102 Armor
Green pog.svg
1-114 Infantry
Green pog.svg
2-114 Infantry
Blue 0080ff pog.svg
50th Aviation
1-150 Aviation
Blue 0080ff pog.svg
5-117 Cavalry
Blue 0080ff pog.svg
E/150 Aviation
Yellow pog.svg
DIVARTY
Yellow pog.svg
1-112 Field Art.
Yellow pog.svg
3-112 Field Art.
Yellow pog.svg
4-112 Field Art.
Black pog.svg
104 Engineer
Steel pog.svg
250 Signal
Steel pog.svg
550 Mil. Intel.
Steel pog.svg
50 MP Co.
Steel pog.svg
50 Chem. Co.
50th Armored Division key locations 1989 (without DISCOM):
Purple pog.svg Division/brigade headquarters Green pog.svg Infantry Red pog.svg Armor
Blue 0080ff pog.svg Aviation Yellow pog.svg Artillery Black pog.svg Engineers Steel pog.svg Other units

At the end of the Cold War the division was a unit of the New Jersey Army National Guard, with a round-out brigade from the Texas Army National Guard. The division was organized according to the Army of Excellence table of organization and equipment:

Much of this data is drawn from the Annual Report of the NJ ARNG for 1988.

The brigade's armor battalions were equipped with M60A3 TTS main battle tanks. M48A5 Patton tanks had been replaced by M60A3 TTS tanks by May 1987 and by the end of 1989 the National Guard fielded 3,072 M60A3 TTS. [30] [31] [32] The 410 M1 Abrams [30] tanks of the National Guard were issued to round-out units of army divisions. [33] The division's infantry battalions were equipped with M113 armored personnel carriers, of which the National Guard had 6,870 at the end of Fiscal Year 1987, with a further 1,411 due to be taken in service in 1988. [30] The standard helicopters of National Guard units were the AH-1S Cobra, of which the National Guard had approximately 350 by 1989, [34] the OH-58C Kiowa and the UH-1H Iroquois helicopters. [35] Cavalry Reconnaissance units fielded 19 × M60A3 TTS, 8 × AH-1S Cobra, 12 × OH-58C Kiowa and 1 × UH-1H Iroquois helicopters; attack battalions fielded 21 × AH-1S Cobra, 13 × OH-58C Kiowa and 3 × UH-1H Iroquois helicopters, [36] while the assault aviation company fielded 15 × UH-1H Iroquois helicopters and the command support aviation company UH-1 helicopters in various configurations.

Commanders of the 50th Armored Division

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References

Notes
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Bibliography