- Air assault
An Air Assault is a
tactical oroperational manoeuvre of aninfantry unitairlift ed byhelicopter s, usually to fulfil anaerial envelopment role in a larger ground operation plan. The role of the assaulting force is rarely to immediately engage and destroy enemy forces, but rather to seize and holdkey terrain . In addition to regularinfantry training, these units usually receive training inrappelling and air transportation, and their equipment is sometimes designed orfield modified to allow better transportation in helicopters. Due to the transport load restrictions of helicopters, air assault forces are usuallylight infantry though light tracked armored fighting vehicles like the RussianBMD-1 , GermanWiesel 1 and SwedishBv206 designed to fit theheavy lift helicopter s which enable assaulting forces to combine air mobility with a degree of ground mechanisation.Invariably the assaulting troops are highly dependent onaerial fire support provided by escortingarmed helicopter s orfixed wing aircraft .Air assault should not be confused with an airborne assault when infantry called
paratroopers , and their weapons and supplies, are dropped byparachute from transport aircraft, often as part of astrategic offensive operation.Another form of delivering troops to an
area of combat operations by air which is not a type of air assault is calledair landing , and can involve eitherglider infantry , before and during the Second World War, or almost any type ofCombat Arms orCombat Support Arms troops using a securedairhead to form an airbridge for a largerairlift operation. An air landing airlift is also conducted as part of astrategic offensive operation.Organization and employment
Air assault units can vary in organization, but are never smaller than an infantry company as the primary fighting element, supported heavily by helicopter transport, close air fire support,
medical evacuation helicopters andresupply mission s. Air mobile artillery is often assigned to the operation. Units vary in size, but typically are company tobrigade sized units. Even in the largest air assaults only a maximum of abattalion is lifted at any one time due to safety and tactical considerations. [pp.217-218, Scales & Scales]Airmobile units are designed and trained for
air insertion for vertical oraerial envelopment ,air resupply , and if necessaryair extraction .One specific type of air assault unit is the US Army
air cavalry . It differs from regular air assault units only in fulfilling a traditional cavalryreconnaissance role.History
Air mobility has been a key concept in offensive operations since the
1930s . Initial approaches to air mobility focused on airborne and glider-borne troops.Paratroopers were dropped by the
Luftwaffe during theBattle of Crete , and by the Allies during Sicily, Normandy, and Holland operations. Meanwhile, the Germans were using helicopters such as theFocke Achgelis Fa 223 andFlettner Fl 265 to rescue shot downLuftwaffe pilots. The small batch of Flettner 265s were operated off ships in theBaltic Sea and were fitted withrescue winch es. Fl 282s were used in many combat theatres, both land and sea and the large transport Fa 223s was even involved in rescues of civilians. The Fa 223 was used to airliftmountain infantry with 75mm guns and all their ammunition in the Alps close toInnsbruck .Airborne tactics in WWII differed between nationalities and theaters of war. In Europe, Allied airborne tactics often involved broad area landings in advance of ground forces, with limited reinforcement. The airborne forces then linked up with the ground forces when they arrived.The
Luftwaffe tactic in Holland and Crete was to establish an airhead at an airfield using parachute and glider infantry similar to a beachhead in amphibious operations and rapidly reinforce the airhead with specially trained troops, such as the 22.Luftlandeinfanteriedivision, inmilitary transport aircraft . In thePacific Theatre , Allied forces performed a similar airborne landings of the 7th Division at Nadzab, west of Lae, between 7-9 and 12 September, with American paratroopers of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment taking the airhead and theAustralian 7th Division providing the reinforcing infantry in conventional transports. This operation follows the model of anair landing operation of today.Units like the
1st Air Commando Group performed extensive aerial resupply using gliders and conventional transports in the China-Burma-India theater (CBI). The Germans fielded the first troop carrying helicopter, the FA-223 in WW2 and would have used it to rescue Italian dictatorMussolini after the glider assault had their aircraft not needed repairs at the time. In its stead, a short take-off and landing (STOL ) Fieseler Storchobservation plane was used to fly him to safety. TheUnited States Army Air Forces flewSikorsky R-4 helicopters in the China Burma India Theater, performing the first allied helicopter casualty evacuation. The helicopter on that mission could only carry one person other than the pilot. They also used the R-6 which could carry two casualties in pods on the side of the helicopter. All Allied helicopter pilots in WWII were trained by theUnited States Coast Guard atBrooklyn Air Station .In 1946 U.S. Marine General Roy S. Geiger observed the atomic bomb tests at
Bikini Atoll and instantly recognized that atomic bombs could render amphibious landings difficult because of the dense concentrations of troops, ships and material at the beachhead. TheCommandant of the Marine Corps convened a special board, the Hogaboom Board, that recommended that the USMC develop transport helicopters in order to allow a more diffused attack on enemy shores. It also recommended that the USMC form an experimental helicopter squadron andHMX-1 was commissioned in 1947 with Sikorsky HO3S-1s. In 1948 the Marine Corps Schools came out with "Amphibious Operations—Employment of Helicopters (Tentative)", or "Phib-31", which was the first manual for helicopter airmobile operations. The Marines used the term vertical envelopment instead of air mobility or air assault. HMX-1 performed its first vertical envelopment from the deck of an aircraft carrier in an exercise in 1949.After the start of the
Korean War , fourHMX-1 helicopters were attached toVMO-6 and sent to thePusan Perimeter in 1950. They were used for battlefield observation and control as well as medical evacuation and the rescue of fliers. During theBattle of Chosin Reservoir they were used for liaison between the different Marine units strung along the western edge of the Chosin Reservoir. The Marines began commissioning transport helicopter squadrons flying Sikorsky HRS-1s in 1951. After moving to Korea, these units began performing aerial resupply and aerial assault missions. HMR-161 transported over 200 Marines and 18,000 pounds of cargo in the first helicopter air assault in history inOperation Summit in September 1951. The first battalion-sized helicopter air assault was that of the3rd Battalion 7th Marines in October 1951 inOperation Bumblebee .In addition, the
U.S. Army had their first combat test of thePiasecki H-21 helicopter in Korea. It was unofficially called the "Flying Banana" because of its banana-like appearance.General James Gavin, the famous U.S. Army airborne officer wrote "Cavalry, and I Don't Mean Horses" in "Harper's", April 1954. This article was influential in getting the U.S. Army to start considering airmobile-type operations, but the Army was held back by the U.S. Air Force, which thought that it should control all aircraft including helicopters that would be used to support the Army.
Helicopter use in Indochina and
North Africa , by theFrench Army was limited in the 1950s by the limited availability and capability of the helicopters of the time. Most application was in medical evacuation. However the utility of the helicopter was obvious to forward looking military planners.An early attempt to apply air mobility to warfare was the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. French military leaders believed that they could resupply the garrison there by air indefinitely, regardless of the failure of these operations by the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front. However, the air technology available, the means in which it was applied, and the terrain and geography led to failure and surrender of French troops.The French Army subsequently gained considerable valuable experience during the
Algerian War between 1954 and 1962. The French used American helicopters for what was termed "Aeromobilité". The first air assault operations were small, but quickly grew in size and scope to full battalion sized actions.French Army Light Aviation ("Aviation Legère Armee de Terre", ALAT) helicopters were used as flying command posts, equipped with radios and to carry troops directly into battle. Helicopters were also used to supply units in the field and outposts.On
November 5 ,1956 theRoyal Marines ' 45 Commando performed the first combat helicopter assault during an amphibious landing as part of Operation Musketeer, inSuez ,Egypt . They were flown in Westland Whirlwind Mark 2s of 845 Naval Air Squadron from the deck of the HMS "Theseus", and Whirlwinds and Bristol Sycamore HC.12s and HC.14s of the Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit (JEHU) of the RAF from the deck of HMS "Ocean".In 1956 the U.S. Navy modified and recommissioned the USS "Thetis Bay", a WWII escort carrier, as an Assault Helicopter Aircraft Carrier (CVHA-1). It was the first ship purposely modified for air assault operations. The Marines started receiving their much-used Sikorsky HUS helicopters in 1957. They would be redesignated as UH-34s in 1962. Later three WWII "Essex"-class fleet carriers were also converted and in 1961 the U.S. Navy commissioned the USS "Iwo Jima", the first carrier planned and built as a platform for air assault operations.
Vietnam War
U.S. Army CH-21 helicopter transports arrived in Vietnam on
11 December 1961 . Air assault operations using South Vietnamese (ARVN) troops began 12 days later inOperation Chopper . These were very successful at first but theViet Cong (VC) began developing counter helicopter techniques and at Ap Bac on January 1963, 13 of 15 helicopters were hit and four shot down. The Army began adding machine guns and rockets to their smaller UH-1 Huey helicopters and developed the first purpose built gunship, the UH-1B with the M-6E3 armament system.U.S. Marine helicopter squadrons began four month rotations through Vietnam as part of Operation SHUFLY on
15 April 1962 . Six days later, they performed the first helicopter assault using U.S. Marine helicopters and ARVN troops. After April 1963 as losses began to mount, U.S. Army UH-1 Huey gunships escorted the Marine transports. The VC again used effective counter landing techniques and in Operation Sure Wind 202 on27 April 1964 , 17 of 21 helicopters were hit and three shot down.The
2nd Battalion 3rd Marines made a night helicopter assault in the Elephant Valley south ofDa Nang on12 August 1965 shortly after Marine ground troops arrived in country. On17 August 1965 inOperation Starlite the2nd Battalion 4th Marines landed in three helicopter landing zones (LZs) west of the 1st VC Regiment in the Van Tuong village complex, convert|12|mi|km south of Chu Lai, while the3rd Battalion 3rd Marines landed on the beaches to the east. The transport helicopters were 24 UH-34s from HMM-361 andHMM-261 escorted by Marine and Army Hueys. VC losses were 614 killed, Marine losses were 45 KIA and 203 WIA.The need for a new type of unit became apparent to the Tactical Mobility Requirements Board (normally referred to as the
Howze Board ) of the U.S. Army in 1962 when they saw a new kind of war heading their way. The Army saw thatVietnam was varied interrain , having jungles, mountains, and rivers, making ground movement very difficult. To circumvent this problem, they developed the idea to use helicopters to move troops in and out and around a battlefield area, carry out the wounded, and drop off supplies.Initially a new experimental unit was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia, the 11th Air Assault Division on
11 February 1963 , combining light infantry with integral helicopter transport and air support. Following training and testing, the unit's assets were merged with the co-located 2nd Infantry Division and reflagged as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), continuing the tradition of the 1st Cavalry Division. Within several months it was sent to Viet Nam.The first unit of the new division to see action was the 1st Battalion/
U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment , led byLieutenant Colonel Harold G. Moore, an old army paratrooper. The 7th Cavalry was the same regiment that Custer had commanded at the ill fatedBattle of the Little Bighorn . OnNovember 14 ,1965 , he led his troops in the first large unit engagement of the 1960s Vietnam War, which took place near theChu Pong massif near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. It is known today as theBattle of Ia Drang Valley .This unit gave common currency to the U.S. term Air Cavalry. Units of this type may also be referred to as Airmobile or with other terms that describe the integration of air and ground combat forces within a single unit.
Today
In the United States military, the air assault mission is now the primary role of the
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) . This unit is the Army's only division-sized helicopter-borne fighting force. Many of its soldiers are graduates of the Air Assault course qualifying them to insert and extract using fast rope and rappel means from a hover in addition to the ordinary walk on and off from an airlanded helicopter. Since the 101st relinquished its parachute capability in 1968, the82nd Airborne Division is the United States Army's remaining parachute division.All
U.S. Marine Corps ground units are trained in basic air assault tactics and capable of performing heliborne operations that require them to walk off the airlanded helicopter.There are other major "conventional" units in the United States Army that have parachute capabilities; the separate 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Italy and Germany, and the Alaska-based 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, which has its division headquarters in
Hawaii , and the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment based in Fort Polk, Louisiana supporting the Joint Readiness Training Center as the opposing force for training rotational units. The 173rd ABCT parachuted into NorthernIraq during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. These units are considered regional quick reaction parachute forces for the Pacific and Atlantic regions.The
16th Air Assault Brigade of theBritish Army is a unit that is tasked with performing air assaults. It contains paratroopers from the Parachute Regiment and infantry units trained in being inserted by helicopter, as well as light tanks andartillery .Units
*
Airmobile Operations Division
** Air Assault Brigade 1* "Friuli" Air Assault Brigade
*
16th Air Assault Brigade *
101st Airborne Division
** 1st Brigade Combat Team
** 2nd Brigade Combat Team
** 3rd Brigade Combat Team
** 4th Brigade Combat Team
**101st Combat Aviation Brigade
**159th Combat Aviation BrigadeSee also
*
Airborne forces
*Paratroopers
*United States Army Air Assault School Citations and notes
References
* Scales, Robert H. & Scales, Jr., Robert H., "Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War", Brassey's, 1994
External links
* [http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/Airmobility/airmobility-fm.html Vietnam Studies: Airmobility 1961-1971 by Lieutenant General John J. Tolson, 1989]
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