page_title: 200th Infantry Regiment (United States)
section_title: Antiaircraft artillery
hierarchical_section_title: 200th Infantry Regiment (United States) / History / Antiaircraft artillery
caption_attribution_description: A U.S. Army gunners of the 200th Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft), New Mexico National Guard, standing by one of their 7.6 cm guns waiting for the next Japanese air attack on Luzon, Philippines, in early 1942.
context_page_description: The 200th Coast Artillery was a United States Army unit during the first half of World War II. Today descendant elements serve with the New Mexico Army National Guard as the 200th Infantry.
context_section_description: The 111th Cavalry, tracing its lineage back to the 1st Regiment, New Mexico Volunteer Militia (1880), was converted and redesignated on 26 April 1940 as the 207th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft). Redesignated as the 200th Coast Artillery (AA) on 1 July 1940, with the 207th CA designation transferred to a New York National Guard unit.
  It was inducted into federal service 6 January 1941 at home stations in New Mexico. The 200th CA was equipped with 12 3-inch guns (an older model with a vertical range of 8,200 m), .50-caliber machine guns, and 60-inch (1.5 m) Sperry searchlights.
  The 200th doubled in size to 1800 while at Fort Bliss preparing for overseas deployment. In August 1941, the 200th was given notice that it had been selected for an overseas assignment of great importance. The Arkansas National Guard 206th CA and the 200th competed for position deployment to either the Philippines or the Aleutian Islands. The 200th, whose personnel virtually all spoke fluent Spanish, were chosen to go to the Philippines in the summer of 1941, and arrived there in September 1941. Upon arrival, this anti-aircraft unit was assigned to US Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and ordered to provide air defenses for Clark Field while based at Fort Stotsenburg, although they were not attached to the Philippine Coast Artillery Command, which was primarily a harbor defense command. At about 0300 hours on 8 December 1941, the 200th went on full alert when the night radio crew picked up commercial broadcasts telling of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
  The 200th CA surrendered on 9 April 1942 to the Japanese 14th Army. Elements of the unit were forced by the Japanese to march into captivity in the Bataan Death March.
  The Headquarters, 200th Coast Artillery, was redesignated 31 May 1946 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 200th Antiaircraft Artillery Group. Headquarters, 200th Antiaircraft Artillery Group, organized and federally recognized 25 September 1947 at Roswell. It was reorganized and was redesignated 1 September 1959 as Headquarters, 200th Artillery Group. It was consolidated 15 December 1967 with the 200th Artillery and consolidated unit designated at the 200th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental system.
  The 2nd Battalion, 200th Coast Artillery, was redesignated 31 May 1946 as the 697th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. It was reorganized and federally recognized 2 November 1947 in southeastern New Mexico with headquarters at Roswell. Redesignated 1 October 1953 as the 697th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.
  The 716th, 717th, 726th and 697th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions; Headquarters, 515th Antiaircraft Artillery Group; 502nd Field Artillery Battalion (organized and federally recognized 21 September 1956 in eastern New Mexico with headquarters at Clovis); 120th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion; and 804th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion consolidated 1 September 1959 and consolidated unit reorganized and redesignated as the 200th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System, to consist of the 1st Automatic Weapons Battalion; the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Gun Battalions; and the 7th and 8th Detachments. The headquarters battery of the 2nd Battalion, reorganized from that of the 200th Antiaircraft Artillery Group, was at Las Cruces. Reorganized 1 April 1962 to consist of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Automatic Weapons Battalions and the 7th and 8th Detachments. Consolidated 15 December 1967 with Headquarters, 200th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental system, to consist of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions.
  The unit was redesignated 1 November 1972 as the 200th Air Defense Artillery. Reorganized 1 September 1975 to consist of the 1st Battalion, an element of the 49th Armored Division; the 2nd Battalion, an element of the 47th Infantry Division; the 3rd Battalion, an element of the 50th Armored Division; and the 4th Battalion, an element of the 40th Infantry Division. 1st Battalion headquarters was at Roswe
caption: 200th Coast Artillery gunners in the Philippines, 1942.
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