Upon debarkment at Liverpool the 1806th. Ordnance Company along with its sister units of the 97th. Service Group was ordered to proceed to King's Cliffe. They learned that they were to service P-38 aircraft which presented several technical problems new to this theatre relative to Ordnance and Armaemt, this being the first P-38 group in the theatre. The Headquarters Section was headed by First Sergeant Wesly T. Bryant and was under the direct supervision of the Commanding Officer, Capt. Minor. The Automotive Section, consisting of one officer and twenty-nine enlisted men was under the direction of Lt. Paul R. Lincoln. His main assistants in administration of this, the largest section in the Company, were Master Sergeant Eugene Conroy, Technical Sergeant Paul Henkel, and Staff Sergeant Taft and Patterson. One "little" job this section handled was to move, piece by piece and reassemble, an entire blister type hangar from its old location near Air Corps Supply to the rear of the Third Echelon Yard, a distance of some 600 yards. The Automoive Section was responsible for the maintenance and repair of aprox. three hundred and fifty vehicles of all types. This Section also did all the maintenance and repair work for the 67th.Fighter Wing and the 57th. Fighter Control Squadron. In the space of one year the Automotive Section accomplished two thousand third echelon repair jobs. The Machine Shop Crew assigned to the Automotive Section manufactured amny tools and unobtainable items required in the smooth operation of the Section. The Supply Section Over five thousand major items of Ordnance Equipment were procured, stored and issued to the various organizations. Five thousand spare parts were kept on hand for all weapons including caliber .50 machine guns, 20 MM cannon and all hand and shoulder weapons. A complete stockage of gun oils, bore cleaner, paints, varnishes, rags and other expendable cleaning material was maintaned at all times. Over four thousand automotive parts excluding parts common were procured and issued by this Section. Over three thousnad bicycle parts were procured and issued as well. Fifteen hundred feet of metal bar stock and 300 pounds of welding supplies passed through the stock records of the Supply section. Lt. Frank A. Bogart was replaced by Chief Warrant Officer Robert S. Brough of Ogden, Utah in October, 1944 who maintained the same high standard of efficiency that had become almost "habit" with the men of this section. The Ammunition Section under the guidance of Lt. Neil R. Merideth, aided by the diligence of Technical Sergeant Frank Glutz and Sergeant Robert Delaney was the "Labor Gang" of the Ordnance Company. It was to this 18 man section that fell all of the heavy lifting and rigorous work required in storing and issuing many different types of bombs and ammunition. In one year's time this section handled three million rounds of caliber .50 ammunition; two hundred and fifty thousand rounds of 20 MM ammunition; and nearly a half a million rounds of handand shoulder weapon ammunition. All the caliber .50 and 20 MM ammunition had to be linked before each issue. The Ammunition Section also handled in this same period of time nine hundred and thirty tons of bombs with all components, seven thousand five hundred fuzes and thirteen thousand, six hundred pyrotechnics. Early in 1944 Lt. Merideth was transferred to an Ammunition Company and the good work he had started was carried on by Lt. Octavian Tuckerman of Port Amboy, New Jersey. The Armament Section was also under the supervision of Lt. Frank A. Bogart assisted very capably by Technical Sergeant John G. Rickard of Fleming, Long Island. The entire section was made up of one officer and eleven enlisted men. These men were respnsible for the third echelon maintenance of allweapons assigned to the station or in the hands of the troops. They also maintained all the ststion qanti-aircraft weapons. All organized weapons were inspected by the Armament Section every sixty days. During these inspections weapons were carefully checked for modifications, serviceability, rust and care. All weapons not meeting the requirements of the inspection were returned to the armament shop for necessary action. |
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