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Divisions · from 1943

11th Airborne Division

Airborne division of the United States Army.

History

The 11th Airborne Division ("Arctic Angels") is a United States Army multirole infantry division made up of specialized light infantry and airborne infantry based in Alaska.

Currently, this unit specializes in arctic warfare, airborne operations, combined arms, maneuver warfare, and urban warfare.

First activated on 25 February 1943, during World War II, it was held in reserve in the United States until June 1944 when it was transferred to the Pacific Theater where it saw combat in the Philippines. On 30 August 1945 the division was sent to southern Japan as part of the occupation force where it remained for four years. One parachute infantry regiment was detached for service in the Korean War. On 30 June 1958 the division was inactivated.

In the summer of 2022 the U.S. Army Alaska headquarters was redesignated as the 11th Airborne Division, and the two Brigade Combat Teams in Alaska, the 1st Brigade Combat Team and 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, were transferred to the 11th Airborne Division and redesignated as the 1st and 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 11th Airborne Division.

Text from Wikipedia: 11th Airborne Division, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Wars and campaigns

World War II

From Wikidata (CC0).

Key dates

  1. 1940
    Inspired by the pioneering German use of large-scale airborne formations during the Battle of France in 1940 and later the invasion of Crete in 1941, the various Allied powers decided to raise airborne units of their own.
  2. 1943
    The Knollwood Maneuver took place on the night of 7 December 1943, with the 11th Airborne Division being airlifted to thirteen separate objectives by 200 C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft and 234 Waco CG-4A gliders.
  3. 1945
    188th Glider Infantry Regiment (188th GIR) (reorganized as 188th Parachute Infantry Regiment on 4 July 1945)
  4. 1945
    The divisional staff received orders to this effect on 11 August 1945, and the division was transported to Okinawa on 12 August; an operation that involved 99 B-24 Liberator bombers, 350 C-46s and 150 C-47s to airlift 11,100 men, 120 vehicles and approximately 1.16 million pounds (530,000 kg) of equipment.
  5. 1950
    Training continued until the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.
  6. 1962
    The Howze Board released its findings on August 20, 1962.
  7. 1963
    Redesignated 1 February 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Air Assault Division
  8. 1965
    On 29 June 1965, the colors and subordinate unit designations of the 1st Cavalry Division were transferred from its post in Korea to Fort Benning.
  9. 2022
    On June 6, 2022, during separate ceremonies, the 1st and 4th Brigade Combat Teams of the 25th Infantry Division were reflagged to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division respectively.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone with this unit

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