View source for 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion (United States)

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The '''550th Airborne Infantry Battalion''' was an independent [[airborne forces]] formation of [[battalion]]-size of the [[United States Army]] formed during [[World War II]] on 1 July 1941 at [[Fort Kobbe]] [[Panama Canal Zone]].<ref name="ww2-airborne.us">[http://www.ww2-airborne.us/18corps/other_overview.html The U.S. Airborne during WW II – Attached Units – The First Airborne Task Force] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227123458/http://www.ww2-airborne.us/18corps/other_overview.html |date=27 February 2009 }}</ref> The 550th was originally formed as an air landing unit rather than a [[parachute]] or [[military glider|glider]] battalion.
The battalion's mission was to land if required in Central, Latin, and South American countries as well as areas in the Caribbean, notably [[Martinique]]. The unit would be preceded by the [[551st Parachute Infantry Battalion (United States)|551st Parachute Infantry Battalion]].
As the threats to the [[Caribbean]] and [[Latin America]]n regions subsided in 1943, the 550th was redesignated the '''550th Glider Infantry Battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel Edward Sachs''' and undertook glider training in [[Sicily]].<ref>p.26 National World War II Glider Pilots Association ''World War II Glider Pilots'' Turner Publishing Company 1991</ref> The unit was assigned, along with other [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] airborne units, to the [[1st Airborne Task Force (Allied)|1st Airborne Task Force]] and participated in [[Operation Dragoon]], the Allied invasion of Southern France, on 15 August 1944 where the 550th captured the town of [[Le Muy]].
The 550th Airborne was sent to [[Aldbourne]], [[England]] in November 1944 after the 1st Airborne Task Force was disbanded. During the [[Battle of the Bulge]] in late December 1944 the 550th was attached to the [[194th Glider Infantry Regiment (United States)|194th Glider Infantry Regiment]], part of the [[17th Airborne Division (United States)|17th Airborne Division]]. In February 1945 the 550th was consolidated into the 3rd Battalion of the [[193rd Glider Infantry Regiment (United States)|193rd Glider Infantry Regiment]].<ref name="ww2-airborne.us"/>
Both the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment and the 550th were disbanded in Belgium on 1 March 1945.<ref>[http://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/193/193.html The 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) – Unit History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224112303/http://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/193/193.html |date=24 December 2015 }}</ref>
==Campaign streamers==
* Rome-Arno
* Southern France (with arrowhead)
* Ardennes-Alsace
* Rhineland
==References==
Buckeridge, Justin P. ''Bolt From the Blue: 550th Airborne Battalion 1941–1945'' Battery Press 1978
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Infantry battalions of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Airborne units and formations of the United States Army|550]]