View source for Exercise Swarmer

{{operational plan
| name        = Exercise Swarmer (Operation Swarmer)
| partof      = 
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| scope       = 
| type        = 
| location    = Southeastern [[United States]]
| map_coord   = {{coord|35.14|-78.99}}
| map_type    = USA
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| planned     = 
| planned_by  = 
| objective   = Training exercise
| target      = 
| date        = April 24-May 8, 1950
| time        = 
| time-begin  = 
| time-end    = 
| timezone    = UTC-5
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| outcome     = 
| casualties  = 
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}}

'''Exercise SWARMER''' (also known as '''Operation SWARMER''')<ref>Hagerman 1990, p. 247</ref> was a large-scale [[military exercise]] conducted in the spring of 1950 by the [[United States Air Force]], [[United States Army]], and [[United States Navy]] in the area of [[Fort Bragg]], [[North Carolina]] in the southeastern [[United States]]. SWARMER was designed to test the capability of the Air Force and Army to operate and maintain an [[airhead]], a base secured in enemy territory where troops and supplies could be received and evacuated by air, under simulated combat conditions.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 16</ref> This was also the first tactical use of the strategic airlift technique, intending to apply lessons learned during the [[Berlin Airlift]] to battlefield [[logistics]].<ref name="Life"/><ref>Bald 1955, p.23</ref>

Starting on 24 April 1950 and running through 8 May 1950,<ref>MAC 1991, p. 73.</ref>  the exercise took place over ten days and involved over 60,000 personnel.<ref name="Life"/>

==Scenario==
In the hypothetical situation set forth to provide background for the play of the maneuver, the United States was at war with an Aggressor, whose forces had seized the [[Florida]] peninsula early in February. On 10 March, the Aggressor occupied [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], while at the same time enemy [[airborne forces]] seized the Fort Bragg – [[Camp Mackall]] – [[Fayetteville, North Carolina]] area farther inland. To counter these moves, the Southeastern Theater of Operations (SET) was established and assigned the primary task of containing the Aggressor in the
Florida peninsula, with the ultimate objective being the expulsion of the enemy from American soil. Following the Aggressor penetration of North Carolina, SET activated [[Task Force]] (TF) SWARMER to mount an airborne operation to free the Fort Bragg – Camp Mackall – Fayetteville area and destroy the Aggressor force in the Wilmington area. To accomplish these objectives, the plan was to first seize the Fort Bragg – Camp Mackall – Fayetteville area, which would provide airfields for a further buildup of friendly forces. Camp Mackall, located southwest of Fort Bragg, was chosen as the point of the initial attack. D-day was set for 28 April.<ref name="Life"/><ref>Bald 1955, p. 18</ref>

The airhead, as conceived in SWARMER, presupposed two conditions: that the airhead was established in an area where enemy air and ground forces possessed the capability of seriously interfering with the operation, and that the airhead was entirely supported by air. This support was to be provided by strategic airlift; i.e., by the continuous or sustained mass movement by air of personnel, equipment, and supplies into the airhead.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 21</ref>

==Exercise==
Exercise SWARMER involved the [[airdrop]] and landing of five 1,700-man [[regimental combat team]]s and their equipment from the [[82nd Airborne Division]] at Fort Bragg and the [[11th Airborne Division]] at [[Fort Campbell]], [[Kentucky]], including the aerial resupply of these forces.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 16</ref>

The first airdrop was made on the morning of 28 April adjacent to Mackall Army Airfield (AAF)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KHFF/details|title = AOPA Airports}}</ref> when the 11th Airborne Division’s [[187th Infantry Regiment|187th RCT]] jumped from [[Fairchild C-82 Packet|C-82s]] and [[Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar|C-119s]] . By early afternoon, the airfield had been secured and the airhead perimeter extended sufficiently to allow [[Douglas C-74 Globemaster|C-74s]] and [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|C-54s]], flying the strategic landing mission, to land the 11th Airborne Division’s [[511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States)|511th RCT]], which was airlifted from Fort Campbell. Later in the afternoon, the 82nd Airborne Division’s [[505th Infantry Regiment (United States)|505th RCT]] parachuted into the northwestern corner of the Fort Bragg Military Reservation and advanced southwest to assist the 11th Airborne Division in securing the roads leading into the reservation. The 82nd Airborne Division’s [[504th Infantry Regiment (United States)|504th RCT]] was landed at Mackall AAF by early evening and quickly crossed into the reservation. The following morning, on D plus 1, contact was made between the 505th RCT and elements of the 11th Airborne Division, and by late afternoon all entrances to the western part of the reservation and road junctions in the immediate vicinity had been secured. Early on D plus 2, the 82nd Airborne Division’s [[325th Infantry Regiment (United States)|325th RCT]] was airdropped in the center of the reservation, behind the Aggressor’s lines, forcing him to withdraw, and by afternoon, the 82nd Airborne Division, attacking eastward, had secured [[Pope Field|Pope Air Force Base]], adjacent to Fort Bragg itself. The next two days were spent consolidating positions and preparing for an attack to the southeast to seize the final objective, [[Fayetteville Regional Airport|Fayetteville Airfield]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KFAY/details|title = AOPA Airports}}</ref> Early on the morning of D plus 5, the two airborne divisions jumped off, and by 10:00 reached the eastern limits of the reservation, at which point the exercise was concluded.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 19</ref>

TF SWARMER’s air transport arm consisted of a troop carrier division composed of the [[314th Operations Group|314th Troop Carrier Group]] and [[316th Operations Group|316th Troop Carrier Group]] (C-119/C-82) from [[Sewart Air Force Base]], [[Tennessee]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KMQY/details|title = AOPA Airports}}</ref> deployed to [[Laurinburg–Maxton Airport|Laurinburg-Maxton Army Airfield]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KMEB/details|title = AOPA Airports}}</ref> south of the Camp Mackall airhead, and a strategic air transport division, composed of the [[8th Airlift Squadron|8th Troop Carrier Squadron]] (C-54) from [[McChord Field|McChord Air Force Base]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KTCM/details|title = AOPA Airports}}</ref> and two strategic air transport groups, composed chiefly of [[Military Air Transport Service]] (MATS) units, deployed to [[Donaldson Air Force Base|Greenville Air Force Base]], South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KGYH/details|title = AOPA Airports}}</ref> So extensive were the airlift requirements for the exercise that MATS and the Air
Force Reserve were called upon for heavy commitments, the former for air transport units to be used for landing of troops in the airhead and for resupply operations and the latter for troop carrier units to be employed chiefly in the airlift of units and equipment to and from the maneuver area before and after the exercise.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 16</ref>

The air transport forces participated in SWARMER in three phases. The opening phase, beginning on 14 April and continuing through 21 April, was devoted to training. Phase two, the assault, during which combat operations were initiated, began on 21 April and extended to D-day, 28 April, a period during which air superiority and interdiction missions were run in preparation for the D-day airdrop. During the final phase, termed the development of the objective, D-day through D plus 5, the air transport forces were occupied in airdrops and landings, and in maintaining a strategic airlift to supply the ground forces in the airhead.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 18</ref>

==Results==
Exercise SWARMER took on the proportions of a strategic airlift unprecedented in a peacetime maneuver.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 16</ref> The logistics of the completely air-supported, air-delivered, and air-supplied military operation were initially considered a disappointment as opposed to projections when on D-day only 5,400 troops were delivered instead of the scheduled 8,000. The next day, transport aircraft were landing or taking off every minute and a half, and by D plus 3, over 15, 000 troops had been airlifted into the fight, along with 6,400 tons of supplies and equipment that included [[M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck|2½-ton trucks]] and [[M101 howitzer|105mm artillery howitzers]]. By the time four days of the exercise had passed, the results were considered to be “the biggest step forward since World War II” by the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]].<ref name="Life">''Life'', May 15, 1950, p. 42</ref> The exercise had demonstrated the ability of the armed forces to airlift and airdrop heavy equipment, to make mass tactical parachute jumps, and to conduct ground operations after the seizure of an airhead.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 20</ref> From 28 April through 3 May, TF SWARMER's tactical air and bomber forces flew 3,344 [[sortie]]s in air-defense, counter air, interdiction, reconnaissance, and close support missions. From 28 April through 3 May, TF SWARMER's 237 air transport aircraft flew 2,230 sorties while airdropping and landing 20,851 troops, 15,842 tons of supplies, and 3,098 vehicles and weapons in the airhead.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 19</ref> However, the Air Force determined that existing numbers of transport aircraft were inadequate for the Army’s airlift needs, with Major General [[James M. Gavin]], special advisor to the Department of Defense for airborne operations, calling for an increase in the number of C-119 troop carrier groups.<ref>''New York Times'', May 2, 1950</ref><ref>Woodring and Woodring 1997, p. 61.</ref>

Exercise SWARMER saw the service introduction of the first [[Parachute Rigger Badge]], used by the 11th Parachute Maintenance Company, although the badge would not become official until 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/asoi_rigger_badge.html |title=Parachute Rigger Badge |year=2009 |work=Airborne & Special Operations Insignia |publisher=U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum |location=Fort Lee, VA |access-date=2010-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617000116/http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/asoi_rigger_badge.html |archive-date=2011-06-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''Note:''' Exercise SWARMER was the first real test of the C-119 Flying Boxcar for tactical suitability, and valuable lessons were learned. Serious doubts had been raised concerning the effectiveness of the C-82 Packet’s internal centerline monorail as a device for discharging cargo. SWARMER demonstrated that the C-119’s monorail could salvo supply bundles quickly and smoothly, with more than 300,000 pounds of equipment and supplies dropped without a malfunction. The C-119 also proved to be an outstanding contributor to the growing capability of troop carrier forces to airdrop heavy equipment. The C-119 dropped [[jeep]]s, trailers, and 105mm artillery howitzers with 90-foot parachutes. The C-119 also proved very useful in landing heavy equipment; it carried 2½-ton trucks, [[M114 155 mm howitzer|155mm artillery howitzers]], [[90 mm gun M1/M2/M3|90mm antitank guns]], and 7½-ton [[Caterpillar D4]] bulldozers (minus the blades). The C-119’s cargo floor proved to be its only major weakness; heavy vehicles and the failure to use a sufficient number of load spreaders caused damage to the floors of several aircraft. One C-119 sustained a warped fuselage when loading a D-4 bulldozer. The recommended solution to this problem was that the C-119’s cargo floor be strengthened; the use of more load spreaders, it was believed, would only add to the aircraft’s already numerous pieces of equipment without solving the basic difficulty. Finally, the C-119 could only land at a prepared airfield; it could not perform an assault landing on an unprepared airfield.<ref>Bald 1955, p. 21</ref>

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist|2}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite magazine |author=The Editors |date=May 15, 1950 |title=Airpower Becomes Supply Power |magazine=Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DE0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42 |access-date=2010-11-27}}
* {{cite book|editor=Hagerman, Bart|title=USA Airborne - 50th Anniversary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bgv6nas1X4oC&q=operation+swarmer&pg=PA247|year=1990|publisher=Turner Publishing|location=Nashville, TN|isbn=978-0938021902}}
* {{cite news |title=Planes Fall Short of Airlift Needs - Leaders of Exercise Swarmer Say United States Craft Cannot Haul Modern Army Cargoes |first=Austin |last=Stevens |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 2, 1950 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-first=Bart |editor1-last=Hagerman |title=USA Airborne: 50th Anniversary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bgv6nas1X4oC&pg=PA397 |access-date=2010-11-27 |year=1997 |publisher=Turner Publishing |location=Paducah, Kentucky |isbn=978-0-938021-90-2}}
* {{cite book |author=Military Airlift Command Office of History |title=Anything, Anywhere, Anytime: an Illustrated History of the Military Airlift Command, 1941-1991 |year=1991 |publisher=Headquarters Military Airllift Command |location=Scott AFB, IL |asin=B001H0B0GK }}
* {{cite book |last=Woodring |first=Frank |author2=Suanne Woodring |title=Images of Aviation: Fairchild Aircraft |year=2007 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=978-0-7385-4439-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Bald |first=Ralph D. |date=1955 |title=Air Force Participation in Joint Army-Air Force Training Exercises, 1947-1950 |url=https://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090601-098.pdf |publisher=USAF Historical Division, Research Studies Institute, Air University}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Military exercises involving the United States|Swarmer]]
[[Category:20th-century military history of the United States]]
[[Category:Military logistics of the United States]]
[[Category:1950 in the United States]]
[[Category:1950 in military history]]