Evening star., 1947-05-23
1000 Parairoopers
To Stage Irans-Areiic
Defense Next WinieI
By Nelson M. Shspord

Two thousand toughened para
troopers will be dropped on the
frozen wastes of Northern New York
next winter In the Army's first.
large scale airborne tests in combat
training over Ice and snow.
They will comprise a special COM
bat team of the Bed Airborne
Division, led by veteran trainers who
learned it the hard way In the SUBJ
zero Arctic.
Regarded as an important phase
| OF defense training against possible
trans-Arctic attack, the lessons
learned during the Pine Camp
IN. " maneuvers will be applied
throughout the Army, Gen. Jacob
L. Devers said.
Differing from last winters OPP
erations in the Aleutians, Alaska and
northernmost Canada. the Ground
Forces chief said, the New York tests
will include large-scale tactical"
maneuvers for the first time. Tests
also will be made of equipment.
found reliable in the sub-zero zones.
as well as other clothes and equip
ment designed for use in nilder3
winter climate. 4
! Hodges to Command.
| Gen. Courtney H. Hodges. former
Echief of infantry, who won fame as
| the hard fighting commander OF the
1st Army in Normandy and Ger
many, will be in charge OF the entire
operation. He and his staff Of the
peacetime 1st Army now are working
out plans and tactics of the maneu-
vers, which will provide the largest
role for airborne troops.
Pine Camp provides an enormous
maneuver area near the Canadian
border and close enough to Lake
Ontario, If 1t Is decided to utilize 1t
in the airborne tests. "Hog-back,
sand hill commanding the entire
area, it was said, probably VIII be
the first objective Of the airborne
defenders or the attackers.
Tactics and techniques pertinent
to the air transportation OF men and
equipment under cold weather COM
ditions will be perfected. particularly
for over-snow operations, Gen.
Devers pointed out. The group will
study airborne supply and evacua-
tion, involving the dropping Of
equipment by parachute. Observa-
tions will be made on the efficiency
of gliders and liaison planes on ice
and snow.
Recent tests have disclosed new
methods by which heavy pieces OF
artillery and mortar equipment can
be parachuted to the ground safely.
These tests will be continued and
improved upon, perhaps, in the New
York maneuvers.
Loran to Guide Planes.
Use also will be made of the secret
Loran radar system of navigation
to guide supply planes, tested in the
Muskox operation conducted jointly
by American and Canadian air
forces across 5000 miles of frozen
Arctic wastes. 4l
The Churchill expedition has been
making scientific studies OF military
aircraft and electronic equipment
under sub-zero conditions, all with
a view to improving airborne naviga-
ton. With the added hazards Of
Arctic flying, safety measures are
even more important than under
normal combat conditions.
Most important of all safety meas
ures in Arctic fighting, as disclosed
by the Alaskan maneuvers, Is the
speedy removal of the wounded 1t
is certain death for a wounded man
to remain unattended. even for a
short period, in extreme cold.
Another reason for the present.
insistence on intensive field training
in the Army today. officials said. Is
the fear that the peacetime soldier
is getting soft" With future en-
phasis on a comparatively small
ground Army the aim is individual
toughness and highly specialized
training. Human beings, as we'll as
machine, must be tested for durable
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