Dull though it seems on
paper, the work of the long tail of non-combatants behind
the Allied fist was vital to the success of the operation.
Richard
Overy, Why the Allies Won, W. W. Norton & Company;1996,
page 146,
One hundred and six
Signal Units, 19 divisional and 89
non-divisional from the First and Third
U.S. Armies, Army Air Force, and Army Service
Forces with Normandy Campaign Participation Credit
have been identified as of the date of the last
modification of this page.
Signal Units who provided significant support and service for the Normandy Campaign are listed in a separate section. They do not have Normandy Campaign Participation Credit because they served in England outside of the geographic boundaries of the Normandy Campaign. This list was compiled to help search for the unit in which my later Felix A. Cizewski's served. After I identified Felix's unit (Co. C, 3110th Signal Service Battalion) from company morning reports, I kept the list and continue to maintain. A list of Signal Units in the Normandy Campaign is not appear to be readily available. This preserves and shares the service and memory of the men and women who served in non-division units in the Signal Corps such as my late father. This also assists families researching their relatives' history. Signal Units in the initial Normandy landings and divisional units in the Normandy Campaign were found in various readily accessible sources. The non-divisional units were found primarily in Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Register (UCCPR), July, 1961 (DA PAM 672-1). Veterans, their families, and unit historians have contacted me with additions and corrections which I welcome and for which I am very grateful. |
"Signal
Corps troops for the invasion constituted, all in
all, the largest gathering of signalmen yet
assembled for combat. FUSA's (First United States Army) Signal
Corps men alone totaled 13,420 men, including three
joint assault signal companies (JASCO's) , the
recently devised units containing both Army and Navy
communicators. Besides these troops, the FUSA list
included 11 division signal companies, 2 of them
airborne and 2 serving with armored divisions; 3
signal battalions; a signal operations battalion and
a signal operations company; 3 construction
battalions and 2 separate construction companies; a
photographic company; a repair company; a depot
company; a radio intelligence company; a pigeon
company; and a number of smaller detachments, some
American and some British. Among these were traffic
analysis units, an air liaison squadron, a signal
intelligence supply unit, and an enemy equipment
intelligence service (EEIS) detachment. In addition,
the troop list included three companies designated
as signal service companies that actually were
special units to perform signal intelligence
functions at corps level." The 13,420 First U.S. Army signalman were in at least 33 signal units. Of these, about 18 units landed in the initial assault. From CHAPTER III: The Signal Corps in the ETO to Mid-1944, The Signal Corps: The Outcome |
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Normandy assault landing credit | ||||
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Meritorious Unit Commendation | ||||
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Distinguished
Unit Citation |
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Units | Notes
|
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Non-divisional Units |
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2d Signal Battalion | Elements of the 2d Signal
Battalion were in the initial assault landing. Company C
landed on D+10. Source: Sgt. Robert Davis, Co. C. |
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3rd Signal Center Detachment or Team | |||||
6th Signal Center Liaison Team | History
and Roster of the 6th Signal Center Liaison Team on Google Docs. |
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12th Army Group Signal Section | + Rhineland & Central Europe. Occupation of
Germany 5 May to 20 July 1945 |
||||
17th Signal Operations Battalion | Constituted 1 November 1942, activated 30 November
1942 at Camp Crowder, Missouri; + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. |
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26th Signal Construction Battalion | |||||
29th Signal Construction Battalion | Constituted on 20 March, 1942 & activated on 10 April, 1942 at Camp Gordon, GA; arrived in France on D+11. | ||||
32d Signal Construction Battalion | Organized 20 March 1943 as the 32d Signal
Construction Company at Chicago, Illinois; Activated at
Camp Crowder, Missouri on 25 March 1943 as the 32d Signal
Construction Battalion; shipped to Europe on 27 February
1944; landed at Normandy on 8 June 1944;19 May 1945
shipped to Okinawa.and deactivated. Unit History |
||||
33d Signal Construction Battalion | Trained at Camp McCain, Mississippi; departure U.S. 9 February 1944 on the British Ship Andes; debarked at Liverpool, England; landed at Utah Beach, Cherbourg Peninsula, on July 7, 8, and 9, 1944, | ||||
34th Signal Light Construction Battalion | |||||
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35th Signal Construction Battalion | + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland | |||
36th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion | Formed 25 May 1943 at Camp Crowder, MO, activated 1 March 1944. + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. Constructed a 1,600 foot open-wire span over the Rhine River in eleven days, one of the world's largest open wire spans. |
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38th Signal Construction
Battalion |
Landed on Omaha Beach on July 19, 1944. |
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40th Signal
Construction Battalion |
African American. Constituted 31 July 1942, activated 21 September 1942 Camp Campbell, Kentucky, departed for England 12 January 1944, arrived in France 30 days after the initial D-Day landings, performed cable construction. | ||||
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50th
Signal Battalion |
Formed at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in 1940. The battalion was in support of the VII Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General J. Lawton Collins, First US Army. The battalion participated in preinvasion exercises (notably Exercise Tiger) and the landing on Utah Beach, then the isolation of the Cotentin Peninsula and the capture the port of Cherbourg. The battalion ended the war in Leipzig,Germany before VE day. Source: Bill Thornton, veteran of the 50th Signal Battalion |
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56th Signal Battalion | Photo album of training in England and service in Europe | |||
59th Signal Battalion | |||||
69th Signal
Battalion |
The 69th Signal Battalion originated at Camp
McCain, Mississippi..On 13 August 1942, it was constituted
and then activated on 15 December 1942, as an affiliate
unit sponsored by the Ohio Bell Telephone Company. On 19
July 1944, the unit landed on Utah Beach and joined the
recently activated XX Corps of Lieutenant General George
S. Patton's Third US Army, as the Corps Signal Battalion. As part of XX Corps, the battalion advanced across Central Europe through France to the heart of Germany and then southward to Austria, a distance of over 750 miles in 281 days. This pace resulted in an average of one command post displacement every three days. Though often forced to fight as infantry, the battalion accomplished its mission of providing Corps Headquarters with communications support. After VE Day, the battalion continued to serve XX Corps in its occupation role in Bavaria. The battalion returned to inactive status on 20 April 1946. |
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92d Signal Battalion | XV Corps: Arrived in Ireland January 9, 1944 | ||||
106th Signal Inspection and Maintenance Team | Renamed the
3159th Signal Service
Battalion, Inspection and Maintenance Team No. 4.(Sources: UCCPR, UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II: UNITED STATES ARMY FORCES IN NORTHERN IRELAND ,and 3159th veterans' obituaries.) |
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113th Signal Radio Intelligence Company (SRIC) ** | Northern France, Rhineland Central Europe, Occupation of Germany |
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118th Signal
Radio Intelligence Company (SRIC) ** |
Activated
May 9, 1942, Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, TN, in Great
Britain, January 29, 1944, landed on Utah Beach July 15,
1944 Third Army (Patton) |
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165th Signal Photographic Company | Aleutian Islands (General Assignment Unit No. *), Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe. Occupation of Germany | |||
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166th Signal Photographic Company | Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe. Occupation of Germany | |||
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175th Signal
Repair Company |
Source: Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Register | |||
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179th Signal Repair Company | Activated May 15, 1942. + Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe. Meritorious Unit Commendation for Service from September 1, 1944 to March 1, 1945. |
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208th Signal Depot Company | ||||
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215th Signal Depot Company | D-Day, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland,
Ardennes-Alsace (Battle of the Bulge), and Central Europe
Campaigns and Occupation of Germamy. Meritorious Unit Commendation Detachment 2 and Storage and Issue Section Detachment No. 3 French Croix de Guerre for D-Day. |
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216th Signal Depot Company |
+
Northern
France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe Constituted 11 May 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 216th Signal Depot Company Activated 25 January 1943 at the Lexington Signal Depot, Avon, Kentucky |
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221st Signal Depot Company |
+
Northern France; Rhineland Constituted 3 November 1941 in the Regular Army as the 221st Signal Depot Company Activated
14 August 1943 at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey |
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|
240th Signal Battalion | ||||
246th Signal Operations Company | + Northern
France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.
Occupation of Germany. A detachment of the 246th Signal was attached to the Provision Engineer Special Brigade (ESB) for the landing at Normandy. The Operation Neptune Operations Plans (undated) lists the 246th as having 297 personnel and 72 vehicles. Then to the 17th Signal Operations Battalion, 1st Army And then to the 301st Signal Operations Battalion, 3rd Army Source: Alan Moeller, Major, Signal Corps (Retired) and DA PAM 672-1 |
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255th Signal Construction Company |
+ Central Europe, Northern France, &
Rhineland.Occupation of Germany, 2 May to 31 October 1945 |
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268th Signal
Heavy Construction Company |
Activated on 1 September 1943 at Camp Crowder, MO.
+ Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. Northern France, and Rhineland. |
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270th Signal Heavy
Construction Company |
+ Central Europe, Northern France, &
Rhineland. Activated 1 September 1943 at Camp Crowder, Missouri Reorganized and re-designated 15 February 1944 as the 270th Signal Heavy Construction Company |
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282d Signal Pigeon Company | + Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and
Central Europe. Advance party landed on Omaha Beach on June 12, 1944 (D-Day plus 6) and the rest of the company arrived July 9, 1944. Constituted 11 May 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 282d Signal Pigeon Company Activated 28 October 1942 at Camp Crowder, Missouri Organic to First Army headquarters.Source: John Alosi, son of a late veteran of the company. |
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286th Joint Assault Signal Company | For the Normandy Invasion, the
286th JASCO worked under the 1st ESB (Utah Beach), the
294th JASCO was attached to the 5th ESB (Omaha Beach),
while the 293d JASCO operated under the 6th ESB (Omaha
Beach) |
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293d Joint Assault Signal
Company |
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294th Joint Assault Signal Company | ||||
297th Signal Installation Company | + Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and
Central Europe and Occupation of Germamy |
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298th Signal Installation
Company |
+ Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe. | |||
302d Signal Battalion | 12th Army Group |
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303d Signal Operations
Battalion |
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321th Signal Company | |||||
324th Signal Company | Activated at Camp Pinedale, California on 10 January 1943 | ||||
|
332d Signal Company, Wing |
|
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324th Signal Company, Wing | + Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | ||||
334th Signal Company, Wing |
+
Northern France; Rhineland; Central Europe Constituted 6 January 1943 in the Army of the United States as the 334th Signal Company, Wing Activated 10 January 1943 at Pinedale, California |
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392d Signal Company, Air Force |
+ Northern France; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe Constituted 23 July 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 392d Signal Company, Aviation Activated 1 August 1942 at MacDill Field, Florida Re-designated 16 January 1944 as the 392d Signal Company, Air Force Reorganized and re designated 26 August 1944 as the 1709th Signal Service Battalion |
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394th Signal Company | Landed about June 12, 1944. Attached to the 9th Air
Force Source: 394th veteran Jess Hollins |
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395th Signal Company | ||||
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433d Signal Construction Battalion | + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | |||
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438th Signal Heavy
Construction Battalion |
+ Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | |||
447th Signal Construction Battalion, Aviation | + Central Europe, Northern France, &
Rhineland. Constituted 10 August 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 447th Signal Construction Battalion, Aviation Activated 29 August 1942 at Dale Mabry Field, FloridaReorganized and re designated 5 October 1944 as the 447th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion |
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|
448th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion | ||||
459th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion | +Northern France and Central Europe | ||||
461th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion | |||||
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555th Signal Air Warning Battalion | Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Register does not list Normandy Assault Landing Credit. | |||
563d Signal Air Warning Battalion | + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern
France, & Rhineland. |
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564th Signal Air Warning Battalion | + Central Europe, Northern France, &
Rhineland. Thanks to James Ravesloot son of Corporal Harold J. Ravesloot, 2nd Reporting Platoon, C Company, for pointing out the 564th's Meritorious Unit Commendation.for service from August 28, 1944 to April 1, 1945 and for sharing PHOTOS |
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566th Signal Air Warning Battalion | + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France
& Rhineland.
MUC Company C only. |
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577th Signal Depot Company |
+ Northern France & Rhineland. |
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579th Signal Depot Company | + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern
France, & Rhineland. |
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581st Signal Depot Company | + Northern France & Rhineland. |
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582d Signal Depot Company | + Northern France. | ||||
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Squads,
583d Signal Depot Company |
+
Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace (Battle of
the Bulge) and Central Europe and
Occupation of Germany. Two Meritorious Unit Commendations
for WWII and immediate post WWII service. Source for Normandy Campaign Information: The 583rd Signal Depot Company Goes To War and Glenn Peach son of a 583d veteran. |
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593rd Signal Company | Activated in June 1941 at Fort Ord, California. + Northern France and Rhineland. | ||||
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816th
Signal Port Service Company |
+ Northern France. | |||
819th Signal Port Service Company | + Northern France. | ||||
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877th Signal Company Depot Aviation |
+Northern France, Rhineland, and Occupation of Germany May 2 to July 4, 1945. |
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900th Signal Depot Company (Aviation) |
+ Northern
France, Rhineland, Central Europe Occupation of Germany May 2 to October 31, 1945 |
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926th Signal Battalion * |
* Assault landing credit for 1st Platoon, Co. C. On D-day, 926th Signal Battalion radio operators communicated from landing ships with the 8th and 9th Air Force headquarters in England and landed on D-day+2. + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France & Rhineland. |
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980th Signal
Service Company *** |
+ Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern
France, & Rhineland. |
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990th Signal Port Company |
+ Northern France. |
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999th Signal Service Company | * On June 6, 1944, one officer and ten enlisted
men of the 999th on detached to service with
the 286th Joint Assault Signal
Company
landed on Utah Beach. The assault landing arrowhead is for
that detachment. + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. |
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1028th Signal
Company |
+ Northern France, & Rhineland. Signal unit
for the 371st Fighter Group. In Normandy they were
operating at the Advanced Landing Group (ALG) A-6
airfield, Beuzeville-au-Plain,La Londe from June 15
to September 18, 1944. |
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1053d Signal
Company, Service Group |
+ Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | ||||
1071st Signal Company | + Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | ||||
1091th Signal Company, Service Group | + Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | ||||
1106th Signal Company, Service Group | + Northern France. | ||||
1109th Signal Company, Service Group | + Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. | ||||
1147th Signal Company | + Northern France, & Rhineland. | ||||
1709th
Signal Service Battalion (Aviation) |
+ Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France. | ||||
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3104th Signal Service Battalion * |
Activated Feb.1, 1944, Ft. Monmouth, NJ. * Ardennes-Alsace Co. C only; * Rhineland Co. A only; + Northern France; Occupation of Germay |
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3111th Signal Service Battalion | Activated on 1 February 1944 at Eastern Signal Corps School., Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. | ||||
3112th Signal Service Battalion | Constituted on 26 January 1944, activated on 1
February 1944 at Eastern Signal Corps School, Fort
Monmouth, New Jersey. Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace (Battle of the Bulge), and Rhineland Campaigns. They served in the Occupation of Germany from 20 May to 30 November 1945. |
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3132d Signal
Service Company |
+ Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern
France, & Rhineland. Trained separately at the Army Experimental Station in Pine Camp, New York, where it pioneered in the development of "sonic deception" techniques. |
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3159th Signal
Service Battalion, Inspection and Maintenance Team No. 4. |
See the 106th Signal Inspection and Maintenance Team above. | ||||
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3250th Signal Service Company (RI) *** | Men trained
at Camp Crowder, Missouri and sent to Britain were formed
into the 3250th, 3251st, 325d, and 3253d Signal Service
Companies. Organized 1 April 1944 & constituted 12 April 1944 in England; Normandy with arrowhead, the only SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) unit to be awarded assault landing credit for the Normandy. Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. V Corps (3rd Army - Patton, 12th Army Group) Inactivated 13 March 1946 in France. History Scroll down to Annex 2. From 204th MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BATTALION, the 3250th's successor unit: Interview with 3250th veteran Morton Kernis WWII History: Pages 9 to 11 in PDF edition: The Origination and Evolution of RadioTraffic Analysis:World War II, Cryptologic Quarterly, National Security Agency Broken Link: History of the 3250th (http://www.asa-alpiners.com/3250signalservice.htm) Indicates company strength was about 116 men. Suffered 21 casualties which equaled 18% of the unit |
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3251st Signal Service Company (RI) *** | Constituted
and activated in England; Landed on Utah Beach on D+4. + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. VII Corps (1st Army, 12th Army Group) |
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3252d Signal Service Company (RI) *** | Activated in England on 1 April 1944; the
daughter of a 3252d veteran reports he recalls they
landed on a Normandy beach on June 8. + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. XIX Corps (1st or 9th Army, 12th Army Group) |
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3253d Signal Service Company (RI) *** | Constituted 12 April 1944;
activated 25 April 1944 in England; + Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern France, & Rhineland. XV Corps (3rd Army - Patton, 12th Army Group until 29 Sept., then 7th Army) |
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3254th Signal
Service Company (RI) *** |
+ Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Northern
France, & Rhineland. VIII Corps (Patton). |
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3264th Signal Service Company * |
* Normandy: Photo Detachment. No. 51 only + Central Europe, Northern France, * Assault landing credit, Wesel, Germany, 26 Mar 45, Photo Detachment. No. 62 only. |
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Total Non-Divisional Units | 94 |
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Divisional Units |
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1st Signal Company, 1st Infantry Division | ||||
2d Signal Company, 2d Infantry Division. | |||||
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4th Signal Company, 4th Infantry Division | Comanche
Nation code talkers of the 4th Signal Company |
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5th Signal
Company,
5th Infantry Division. |
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8th Signal
Company,
8th Infantry Division. |
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9th Signal Company, 9th Infantry Division. | |||||
28th Signal Company, 28th Infantry Division. | |||||
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29th Signal Company 29th Infantry Division | ||||
30th Signal
Company,
30th Infantry Division. |
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35th Signal
Company,35th
Infantry Division. |
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79th Signal Company, 79th Infantry Division. | |||||
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82d Airborne Signal Company 82d Airborne Division | ||||
83rd Signal Company, 83d Infantry Division. | |||||
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90th Signal Company 90th Infantry Division | ||||
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101st Airborne Signal Company, 101st Airborne Division | ||||
142d Armored Signal Company, 2d Armored Division. | |||||
143d Armored Sig Co, 3d Armored Division. | |||||
144th Armored Signal Co 4th Armored Division. | |||||
146th Armored Signal Co, 6th Armored Division. | |||||
Total Divisional Units | 19 | ||||
Total All Signal Units | 113 |
All
material not in the public domain
© 2010
- 2024 Leonard
H. Cizewski Last Major Update: July 21, 2024 Minor Revision or Correction: June 18, 2023 Last Reviewed: February 7, 2018 Posted: 2010 |
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