Due to a new important project,I will sell several interesting WWII pièces, among which this most interesting and rare jump jacket of the First Airborne task force, which took part to the Southern France invasion on the 15th of August 1944. This estate find jacket, paid a few Euro, is an authentic relic of the invasion which took place on this date.

Light black and green paint have been applied just before the jump on all theparatroopers uniformsto assure an efficient camouflage effect, what makes the jacket most desirable.

The overall condition is good. The jacket shows the normal wear of a 70 years old uniorm which saw and participated toreal combats. Here are the détails I can note:

-Size approx. 38R

-Belt missing but was present in 1944 when the camouflage was applied...

-Soldier\'s serial number. Can be maybe identified for someone having the time to do some search.

-Main Zip CONMAr works well

-1 small zip of the small knife Pocket damaged, other one ok

-All snap buttons ok except one missing on right cuff

-Name tab was present

-The clear presence of a 5th Army patch makes no doubt on the left shoulder. I have placed a 5th Army patch on it, it matchs perfectly (other airborne patches are far bigger, and do not match). This unit was Under the 5th Army in Italy, it explains why the pach was present.

-The jacket stillretains approx. 60% of the original camouflage paint I guess.

-I have added a color picture of a paratrooper showing a similar jacket before the jump as an exemple, plus the below information on the Task Force found on internet...

Paypal is requested for all buyers or bank transfer.

Shipment will be only via UPS or Fedex registerd mail. Task Force (Allied)

1st Airborne Task Force

Active

11 July – 23 November 1944

Country

United States
United Kingdom
Canada

Allegiance

Allies of World War II

Branch

United States Army
British Army

Type

Airborne forces

Role

Parachute infantry

Size

9,000

Engagements

Operation Dragoon

Commanders

Notable
commanders

Robert T. Frederick

The 1st Airborne Task Forcewas a short-lived Allied airborne unit during WorldWar II created for \"OperationDragoon\" – the invasion of Southern France. Formed in July 1944, under thecommand of Major General Robert T. Frederick, it took partin the \"Dragoon\" landings on 15 August 1944, securing the areanorth-west of the landing beaches, before moving towards the French-Italianborder as part of the United States SeventhArmy. It was disbanded in November 1944.

In the initial plans for theinvasion of France it was proposed that two forces would land simultaneously inNormandy and in southernFrance in June 1944, attacking the Germans from the north and south in a classic pincermovement, after which the southern forces would head east to aid Allied forces in Italy.However it was soon realized that there were not enough landing ships or menavailable to carry out both operations at the same time, so the southerninvasion (\"Operation Anvil\") was postponed.[1] The southerninvasion (now \"Operation Dragoon\") was planned for August 1944, andall airborne forces were allocatedto a new unit formed on 11 July 1944[1] as the Seventh Army AirborneDivision (Provisional). This was redesignated the 1st Airborne Task Force onthe 21st.[2]

In order to form the 1ABTFairborne units were withdrawn from combat in Italy. These werethe U.S. 509th ParachuteInfantry Battalion and U.S. 517th ParachuteRegimental Combat Team, and the British 2ndIndependent Parachute Brigade. Added to them were the U.S.550th Glider Infantry Battalion and U.S.551st Parachute Infantry Battalion, both of which had previouslybeen stationed in Panama, and neither of which had seen combat.[1] Two FreeFrench parachute battalions had originally been assigned in early July, butdisagreements over their deployment with Generalde Gaulle meant that the troops were not made available,[3] and so theBritish 2nd Parachute Brigade was assigned to the operation on the proviso thatthey would be returned to operations in Italy once the beachhead was firmlyestablished.[4]

Operation Dragoon[edit]

Map showing landing zones for \"Dragoon\".

1ABTF\'s part in\"Dragoon\", was codenamed \"Operation Rugby\". They were toland around the village of Le Muy, midway between Draguignan, and thelanding beaches at Fréjus–Saint-Raphaël.[5] There werethree DropZone/Landing Zones:

• The British 2nd Para Brigade were assigned an area of open fields and vineyards, designated DZ/LZ \"O\", 400 yards north of Le Muy on the northern side of the Nartuby River.
• The U.S. 517th PRCT were assigned an area of narrow fields about two miles west of Le Muy, designated DZ/LZ \"A\", south of the Nartuby River.
• The 509th PIB and the 463rd Field Artillery were assigned an area, designated DZ \"C\", about two miles south-east of Le Muy. This area, lying in a basin between two ridges with hills to the east and west, was steep, rocky, and wooded, with only small areas of level and open ground at either end. It was reluctantly chosen in order to put troops on the high ground dominating Le Muy from the south.[6]

The landings[edit]

Troops of the 517th PRCT prepare forthe landings.

Unfortunately, on D-Day (15August) the pathfinder teams foundthe area obscured by ground fog up to 800 feet (240m). Asa result, only three of the nine teams, all from the British 2nd Brigade,landed in their drop zones, when they dropped around 03:30. Two American teamslanded thirteen miles east of Le Muy; another eight miles to the east, andthree more, which landed closer to Le Muy, were unable to orient themselvesbefore dawn.[5]

The fog and a lack of signalsfrom the ground meant that the 509th PIB and the 463rd Field Artillery, thefirst American units to drop, were scattered. Two companies of the 509th andtwo batteries of artillery landed on the correct drop zone at 04:30, but oneinfantry company and two artillery batteries landed south of St.Tropez, nearly fifteen miles to the southeast. The 517th PRCT fared worse, withnone of the troops landing on their assigned drop zone. Arriving from about04:35, most of the 1st Battalion, 517th PIR, were scattered between Trans-en-Provence, four miles tothe northwest, and Lorgues, six miles farther west. Most ofthe 2nd Battalion landed one or two miles northwest of Le Muy, but about athird of the battalion found themselves east and northeast of the town. The 3rdBattalion dropped about twelve to fourteen miles northeast of Le Muy, while abattery of the 460th Field Artillery landed just northwest of Fréjus, twelvemiles southeast. Many others were scattered far and wide in ones and twos.[5]

With two of its three pathfinderteams operating their radio beacons to mark thedrop zones, the British 2nd Brigade did somewhat better. From about 04:50, halfof the 4th Battalion, one companyof the 5th Battalion, and most ofthe 6th Battalion, totalingtwo-thirds of the brigade, landed in their drop zone. Most of the rest werescattered over an area nine miles northeast and northwest of Le Muy, around Fayence.[5]

British gliders towed by C47 Dakota aircraft overSouthern France for the Allied airborne invasion.

Once on the ground theparatroopers regrouped. Most of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 517th PIRreached their assembly areas shortly after dawn, and the British troops who hadlanded near Callas arrived later in the morning.The bulk of the troops who landed outside of the immediate area joined theirparent units on D+1, but the last scattered elements did not arrive until D+5.Overall, less than 40 percent of the troops in the pre-dawn drops landed intheir zones, and by dawn at 06:00, only about 60 percent of the men hadassembled in the Le Muy area.[5]

Follow-up parachute and gliderlandings were scheduled to arrive at 08:15, bringing in artillery and anti-tankunits of the 2nd Brigade. However, fog still blanketed the landing areas whenthe aircraft and gliders arrived, so the aircraft turned back without cuttingtheir tows, finally returning about 18:00. Other gliders carrying the TaskForce headquarters and other support troops were delayed for about an hour, andlanded about 09:30. The 551st PIB, dropped into the 517th\'s drop zone at 18:10,as planned, while the 550th arrived in their gliders at 18:30, also onschedule. Other support units that came in by glider late in the day alsolanded according to schedule.[5]

The Germans had plantedanti-landing obstacles throughout much of the area, mostly twelve feet woodenstakes, six inches thick, dug deep into the ground. These snapped off thegliders\' wings and caused ground loops. Only 50 ofaround 400 gliders used were salvageable. Fortunately, damage to cargo andpassengers was light – only about 80 casualties among the paratroops and about150 glider troops, not counting 16 glider pilots killed and 37 injured. By19:00 about 90 percent of the troops and equipment brought in by glider wereready for action.[5]

In combat[edit]

The failure of the Britishartillery support to arrive early in the day meant that Le Muy remained inenemy hands,[5] but theBritish secured the high ground along both sides of the ArgensRiver east of Le Muy, and also the high ground to the north, establishing roadblocks and patrols, while the 517th PRCT occupied the hills overlooking the Toulon-Saint-Raphaël corridor inthe vicinity of Les Arcs, five miles west of Le Muy, andthe 509th dug in on the high ground south of Les Muy with eleven 75mmguns in position overlooking the town.[7] The firstcontact with ground forces was made that evening about 20:30 when troops of the509th PIB met a patrol from the U.S. 45th Division\'s reconnaissancetroop.[5] An attempt tocapture Le Muy was mounted by the 550th GIB after dark, but the attack failedand the battalion withdrew to wait until morning.[7] Except for theseizure of the town, the 1ABTF completed its D-Day objectives, establishing astrong blocking position along the Argens Valley and isolating the beachhead.The scattered parachute drop did not appreciably affect the operation and mayhave helped confuse the Germans as to the objectives of both the airborne andamphibious assaults.[5]

The night 15/16 August was quiet,and on the morning of the 16th the 550th attacked Les Muy again, and by 15:30hours it was in Allied hands – 170 prisoners were taken.[7] Around noon anAuster aircraftcarrying Colonel Pearson arrived to report on the progress of the U.S. 36th Division – Frejus andSt Raphael had been captured and the 142nd Infantry would start tomove up the Argens Valley towards Les Muy that afternoon. This was the firstdirect contact between the 36th Division and the airborne force.[7] Early on themorning of the 17th forward elements of the 36th reached Les Muy, and thencontinued their advance towards Draguignan and Toulon.[7]

Following \"OperationRugby\" the 1ABTF moved north-east, covering the right flank of the SeventhArmy, and liberating Cannes and Nice, before beingdeployed to the Maritime Alps in a staticrole, initiating patrols and keeping a close watch on Germans in the area ofthe Franco-Italian border.[1]

The 1st Special ServiceForce was attached on 22 August after capturing the islands of Port Cros and Îledu Levant[5] to replace the2nd (Independent) Parachute Brigade, which was released on 26 August 1944. Sixweeks later it was deployed to Greece.[8] In November1944 1ABTF was sent to Soissons to rest and refit,[1] and wasdisbanded on 23 November 1944,[9] with most ofthe units being attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps.[10]

Order of battle[edit]

Main force[edit]

The 1ABTF was composed of thefollowing units:[11]

Robert T. Frederick (as a Brigadier General)

• 1ABTF HHC – Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick
• U.S. 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment – Lt. Col. William P. Yarborough
• 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion – Lt. Col. John Cooper
• U.S. 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team
• 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment – Col. Rupert D. Graves
• 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion – Lt. Col. Raymond L. Cato
• 596th Airborne Engineer Company – Capt. Robert W. Dalrymple
• U.S. 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion (Glider) – Lt. Col. Edward I. Sachs
• U.S. 1st Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment – Lt. Col. Wood G. Joerg
• 602d Glider Field Artillery Battalion – Maj. George M. Hunt
• British 2nd (Independent) Parachute Brigade – Brig. Charles Hilary Vaughan Pritchard [detached 26 August]
• 4th Parachute Battalion – Lt. Col. H.B. Coxen
• 5th (Scottish) Parachute Battalion – Lt. Col. D.R. Hunter
• 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion – Lt. Col. V.W. Barlow
• 1st Independent Parachute Platoon (Pathfinders)[12]
• 1st Special Service Force (U.S./Canada) – Col. Edwin A. Walker [attached 22 August]

Support units[edit]

• 512th Airborne Signal Company
• 887th Airborne Engineer Aviation Company
• Antitank Company, 442nd Infantry Regiment (United States)*
• 552nd Antitank Company* (The 552 Antitank Company was formed in July 1944, in Rome, specifically for this operation. Since the 442nd became available while the 552nd was in training and took very little time to train on the British 6lb. guns need for gliders, it went in first. But the 552nd was always on the compliment of troops slated for this operation (and the 1st ABTF) and relieved the 442nd mid-October 1944 supporting the 1st ABTF member units still in the area. From documents from the National Archives.)
• Company A, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion
• Company A, 83d Chemical Mortar Battalion
• Detachment, 3d Ordnance Company
• 676th Medical Collecting Company

Base support units[edit]

• 3358th Quartermaster Truck Company
• 334th Quartermaster Depot Company
• 172d Detail Issues Depot, British Heavy Aerial Resupply Company

Airlift units[edit]

• Provisional Troop Carrier Air Division
• 50th Troop Carrier Wing
• 51st Troop Carrier Wing
• 53d Troop Carrier Wing
• Glider Pilot Regiment (Horsa)

On Nov-21-16 at 02:06:51 PST, seller added the following information:

0 response buyers need to contact me before placing their offer. Or offer will e cancelled.