User:RekonDog/Marine Corps Test Unit

The Marine Corps Test Unit, or MCTU #1, was an experimental testing unit established outside the Fleet Marine Force for the development of specialized tactics, techniques and organizational concepts and to evaluate its tangible employment in the nuclear age. It reported directly to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Mission
Mission objectives for Marine Corps Test Unit #1 as directed by Commandant of the Marine Corps:


 * 1) Evolve organizational concepts for the Marine landing force under conditions of nuclear warfare,
 * 2) Determine requirements for light-weight weapons and equipment to permit maximum tactical exploitation of nuclear weapons,
 * 3) Develop tactics and techniques responsive to the full employment of nuclear weapons, and
 * 4) Evolve operational concepts, transportation requirements, and techniques to enable fast task force ships and submarines, or a combination of such shipping and airlift, for movement to the objective area and the ship-to-shore movement.

History
After two atomic bombs were dropped in Japan ending World War II, it was under the confluence of Marine Corps planner, Colonel Robert E. Cushman, Jr., who in December 1946, wrote an extensive staff report to then-Marine Commandant Alexander Vandegrift about feasible massive amphibious landings over small areas subject to potential tactical nuclear weapons. He envisioned that the Marine Corps could no longer imagine small-scale operations, recommending the planning for greater mobility and dispersion, and focus entirely on operating more inland from the sea:


 * "The tiny island, the single port, the small area...these will no longer be proper objectives. We must think in terms of 200 miles in width and depth." —Colonel Robert Cushman, April 1955.

Not until the Korean War in 1951 that the Marine Corps began to develop heliborne experience in the battlefield when they used helicopters to rapidly transport companies and battalions into the combat zone. However, still at that time, the Marines Corps didn't have enough helicopters nor the individual helicopter lift capability to carry out the necessary tactical employment to implement Colonel Cushman's concept of dispersion.

Marine Commandant Lemuel Shepherd's staff realized the Marine Corps is in need of a test unit outside the operationally committed Fleet Marine Force to develop special tactics, techniques and organizational concepts to the nuclear age; while remaining under operational control of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. On July 1 1955, Commandant Shepherd approved his staff's recommendation and activated Marine Corp Test Unit #1, near Basilone Road at Camp Horno on MCB Camp Pendleton.

Organization
General Shepherd appointed Colonel Edward N. Rydalch as the Test Unit's commanding officer and Lieutenant Colonel Regan Fuller as the executive officer over a command of 104 Marine officers, 1,412 enlisted, 7 naval doctors and 51 Hospital Corpsmen, and one chaplain.

The MCTU #1 initially began as a regimental-sized unit with a Headquarters and Service Company; one infantry battalion consisted of four companies; one 75mm anti-tank platoon; one 4.2-inch mortar platoon; one 75mm pack howitzer artillery battery. The Test Unit's Operations (S-3) officer was Major Dewey "Bob" Bohn.

The Infantry Battalion was commanded by Lt. Colonel Stanley Nelson, with Major Willmar "Bill" Bledsoe with as the executive officer. It was to assigned to test the helicopters in conducting major 'helicopter' landing assaults, while being projected from the sea. Just as the amphib recon Marines had done, using submarines for coastal projection, during World War II.

On April 1955, a Plans and Development Section was formed within the Test Unit, to evaluate the trials and tests of the Infantry Battalion, and other subordinated unit's experiments of MCTU #1. Major Bruce F. Meyers reported for duty and was initially was assigned as the assistant operations officer of the Infantry Battalion. Subsequently later, he was redesignated as the Helicopter Assault Airborne Techniques Officer.

By September 1955, the Reconnaissance Platoon, commanded by Captain Joseph Z. Taylor, was added to resolve the amphibious reconnaissance role in the Fleet Marine Force. Also, to bring the past Force-level preliminary amphib recon methods of World War II more toward a modern approach of the parachute insertions, in addition of having helicopter capabilities.

An air element of a medium helicopter squadron was augmented with three observation helicopters with additionally six Grumman F9F-2 Panthers to support MCTU #1 during its research and developments. A Marine Air Wing element attached along with administrative and logistic support at the request from nearby MCAS El Toro.

Around late May in 1957, MCTU #1 finalized all their reports summarizing the last two years of the heliborne assault exercises, nuclear weapons testing, and the recon platoon's parachute reconnaissnace and pathfinding experiments, into a sixty-page after-action report archived as "Test Project 6H". By early June, the recon platoon received the last remaining jumpers from MCTU #1 and were adjoined by several more recon Marines from the 1st Marine Division Recon Company that became jump qualified.

On 18 June 1957, the Recon Platoon from the Test Unit was disbanded and reported to 1st Marine Division, FMF, then to its Headquarters Battalion to assume command of the 1st Amphibious Reconnaissance Company. Major Bruce F. Meyers relieved Captain Michael Spark, who was later killed in the Vietnam War and awarded the Navy Cross. The next day on June 19 1957, the newly assembled 1st Amphib Recon Company was dissolved, casing its colors for the establishment of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Fleet Marine Force.

Plans and Development Section
In April 1955, Colonel Edward Rydalch created a separate Plans and Development Section in an effort to author staff studies for various tests by the subordinated units of Marine Corps Test Unit #1 and make evaluations and reports to the Commandant on their progress. Col. Rydalch assumed additional duties as the titular head of the P&D Section. He assigned Lt. Colonels Regan Fuller and Chuck Bailey as the executive officers and supervisors of the daily tests and evaluations that were to be generated by P&D. The section operated much like a subsidiary to Operations (G-3) but with nominal independence within MCTU #1. It was established in the newly constructed 'Butler Building', dubbed as the "War Room". The building was completely surrounded by barbed wire and had an armed guard on post.

A significant important figure that evolutionized the modern scope of the Marine Corps reconnaissance doctrine was surmised by a Marine officer, (then-) Captain Bruce F. Meyers. Prior to his assigment with the test unit, Meyers was a combat swimming instructor and also the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Amphibious Reconnaissance School, NAB Coronado for 35-months. During his tenure as OIC, he began to develop innovative ideas of deeper parachute insertion methods from aircraft projected from aircraft carriers. He figured if aircraft slow down enough to land on carriers, they can slow down enough for parachutists to exit and deploy their parachutes.

Meyers took this 'parachute entry' concept to Brig. General Lewis "Chesty" Puller, who requested that Meyers write a letter to the Commandant, outlining the plans and thoughts on deeper reconnaissance and pathfinding. With Chesty Puller's endorsement, the Commandant directed Meyers to attend parachutists schools. Meyers spent two weeks on Temporary Additional Duty orders to the Naval Parachute Loft on NAS North Island, then was sent to Fort Benning for one year with the United States Army service schools to attend the Army Advanced Infantry School and the parachute and jumpmaster course. Upon completion, he was directed to report to the CO of the Marine Corps Test Unit #1 to test his ideas of deep parachute entry in use with reconnaissance. Major Bruce F. Meyers reported to MCTU #1 in early April 1955 and was immediately assigned as the assistant operations officer.

By May 1955, Major Meyers was reassigned to the P&D as the "Reconnaissance/Pathfinder Project Officer", until his title was initially changed to "Helicopter Assault Airborne Techniques Officer" to reflect the test unit's heliborne capabilities within the infantry battalion; title changed but his duties remained the same. After setting up the Standard Operating Procedure for Test Unit 1, Major Meyers and test unit's executive officer LtCol. Fuller prepared a detailed recommendation to the commanding officer of MCTU #1, Col. Rydalch, and to Commandant, for approval of forming and training a reconnaissance platoon for the test unit.

Reconnaissance Platoon
The Recon Platoon, Marine Corps Test Unit #1 of some twenty Marines was established in September 1955, after the approval of the Commandant and under the recommendation of the P&D Section and the commanding officer of MCTU #1. The Recon Platoon are the precursor to the Force Reconnaissance Companies and was created to be employed exclusively in the training, testing, and exercises designed to validate reconnaissance theories and techniques of all-helicopter assault. Not only do they apply to the battalion landing team-level, but to higher levels in the echelon. This recon platoon subsequently became the pivotal beginning of the existing deep recon assets that are maintained at FMF-level.

The Test Unit's executive officer, Lt. Colonel Fuller, personally requested Captain Joseph Z. Taylor, a recon company commander with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, to be the recon platoon commander. Taylor had served under LtCol. Fuller back in 1950 when Fuller was the commanding officer of 2nd Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion on MCB Camp Lejeune. Taylor recently returned from reconnaissance exercise (RECONEX) 551 on Iwo Jima aboard the USS Perch (ASPP-313) with 3rd Recon Battalion. This allowed Taylor to bring fresh submarine and rubber raft experiences to the Test Unit's experimental recon platoon.

LtCol. Regan Fuller tasked both Bruce Meyers and Joseph Taylor to seek new innovative ways in finding practical new aircraft, equipment, and methods to enhance and develop the emerging deep reconnaissance capability in the Marine Corps.

Infantry Battalion
Early 1955, the four-company infantry battalion trained in wooden mockups of Sikorsky helicopters in repetitive troop exerices, making the battalion fully capable of being helicopter transportable by following spring.

Exercise Desert Rock IV


On March 22 1955, the Infantry Battalion of MCTU #1 was temporary assigned to the 3rd Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade, or 3rd MCPAEB, to participate in Exercise Desert Rock IV -codename Operation TEAPOT. Operation TEAPOT was a series of tactical nuclear weapons tests with active nuclear warheads conducted at the Atomic Commission Research test at the Nevada test site. . The battalion and its detached aviation elements were involved in Shot 'Bee'.

A nuclear weapon was detonated simultaneously as the Infantry Battalion manuevered within 3,500 yards away from ground zero, acting as an amphibous battalion landing force in the vicinity of a nuclear fallout. Close air support was used, targeting the helicopter landing zones ninety seconds before the Marines were set down. While the Marines were advancing, the mushroom cloud was still forming above. The battalion simulated their attacks through a simulated and mock build-up of trenches and facilities, to resemble an urbanized city.

Exercise Desert Rock IV also concluded the test of the effects of the atomic blast on their equipment and Marines on the ground. Many equipment and mannequins placed in different locations all varying distances from ground zero and with different degrees of protection. After the detonation and fallout cleared, the Marines from the Infantry Battalion, Marine Corps Test Unit #1, were taken and shown the effects of their equipment and mannequins. The after-action report with the photographs that were taken before and after photographs revealed that their tanks had turrets blown off, amphibious tracked vehicles were turned upside-down, and the mannequins in the open were vaporized. However, the distance from ground zero and the additional level of protection proved noteworthy. The tactical exercice that they had successfully demonstrated, proved to the Marine Corps the estimatated of survivability and the appreciation for the atomic power of nuclear weapons.

Recon Platoon
The Reconnaissance Platoon of Marine Corp Test Unit #1, conducted terrestrial (ground) reconnaissance training to hone their skills, as well as basic and advanced amphibious recon training set up through the liaison at the Amphibious Reconnaissance School, Troop Training Unit, Pacific (TTUPac) on NAB Coronado. Another training liaison was established with the Commander Naval Air Force, US Pacific Fleet, or COMNAVAIRPAC, at NAS North Island in enrolling the recon platoon into the Navy's SERE School and the USAF's Escape and Evasion (E&E) course; originally designed for aviation pilots that faced the possibility of being shot over enemy territory down during conflicts. It became a reasonable conclusion that reconnaissance Marines will be operating deep behind enemy lines and would require such training. When MCTU #1 has been dissolved, the 1st Force Recon Company continued to experiment in newer innovative means in projecting and recovering their recon Marine operators from behind enemy lines safely.

The MCTU #1 participated in major exercises with the 1st Marine Air-Ground Task Force in AGLEX 57-I in December 1957 and Operation SKI JUMP in January 1957. During Operation SKI JUMP, the Reconnaissance Platoon were to provide pre-D-Day reconnaissance and, later, pathfinding for the upcoming helicopter assault waves. Thirty days prior to the scheduled landing, or D-Day minus thirty (D-30), the recon platoon was divided into two separate reconnaissance teams and parachuted into two separated drop zones to conduct reconnoiter the planned helicopter landing zones. A simulated nuclear weapon were to be detonated between the two helicopter landing zones at 0810 the same day, prior to the planned pathfinder drop and following after helicopter landings of a battalion of Marines. The mock atomic bomb was 55-gallon barrels of napalm buried into the ground. The pathfinder teams were scheduled to parachute to their respective drop zones, DZ Yellow and DZ Red, at 0815.

However, three parachutist Marines were killed during SKI JUMP on January 17 at Case Springs, a high plateau and wooded area on Camp Pendleton. Severe winds suddenly appeared while the parachutists were in their descent. Corporal Ben Simpson and PFC Matthew J. O'Neill Jr., were dragged over 1,000-feet. They were found dead by Major Bruce Meyers, their skulls were crushed; helmets gone due to the forcible drag. Lieutenant Kenneth Ball, the jumpmaster in the stick was knocked unconscious and wasn't able to attempt the quick-release, and later died from multiple intrusions at the Camp Pendleton hospital. The Marines in the Recon Platoon were using the standard military-issued T-10 parachutes. One of the findings were that the T-10s safety "quick release" on the front of the harness made it quite impossible to detach in case of emergencies. Although every parachutist practiced the process over and over; while being dragged at 15-miles an hour, in addition to the dirt and small rocks while pounding the ground frequently fouled the quick-release, making it uneffective.

The Board of Investigations concluded that improvements to their parachutists and equipment were to be provided. Chief Warrant Officer Lew Vinson suggested that the Capewell canopy release be installed on all the Marine's parachutes, static-line or free-fall, to permit the jumper to get out of the harness if caught in a drag. Later, the Army Parachute Boards came to the same conclusion at Fort Benning and Fort Bragg. They recently had six Army parachutist killed in the same scenario at Fort Bragg as the unfortunate Marines at Case Springs. Because of these deaths, it led to the recommendation and requirement of adopting the Casewell release for all the services involved in parachuting.

Parachutist and Jumpmaster Training
Not until April 1956, the Marines in the Recon Platoon were able to gain the necessary quotas to send the recon platoon leader, Captain Joe Taylor, and his twenty enlisted Marines to the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. However, Bruce Meyers being the only Marine within MCTU #1 that had parachutist experience and qualifications recognized the perils of not being prepared for airborne school. Through their recommendation, Meyers and Taylor were enabled to construct its own 'pre-jump school', to prepare and prevent any Marines from not completing the course; therefore losing Marines that became unqualified due to the Test Unit's training quota.

Captain Taylor managed to get the services of Sergeant Robert Zweiner, a parachute rigger from an Air Delivery Platoon at the nearby airstrip on Camp Pendleton. Sgt. Zweiner led a grueling course, instructing the Marines in Parachute Landing Falls (PLFs), body positioning and positive exits from aircraft. And all of them were able to pass the pull-up physicals and complete the long runs, by the time the Test Unit's recon Marines were sent to the actual school, they were well prepared and everyone were able to pass the course, each earning their silver wings, all returning back to MCTU #1. Robert Zweiner was quickly reassigned and transferred to MCTU #1 to head the test unit's Parachute Loft, becoming the founder of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company's Paraloft.

Although all the Marines assigned to the Test Unit's recon platoon were now low-level static line qualified, Major Bruce Meyers was still, however, the only Marine in MCTU #1 with free-fall experience. Meyers's next objective were to turn the majority of Marines in the recon platoon to become also free-fall qualified.

Once again, Meyers set up training with a training liaison to send a bulk of the platoon on temporary additional duty in July 1 1956 to the Naval Parachute Unit (NPU) at Naval Auxiliary Air Station in El Centro, California. Under the instructions of a very highly qualified navy jumpmaster, Chief Warrant Officer Lewis T "Lew" Vinsen, introduced the art of free-falling to the recon platoon. Due to the free exchange and cross-training cooperation in these efforts, on one occasion, Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger from Wright Patterson Test Center jumped several times with the Marines of Recon Platoon, Marine Corps Test Unit #1. Capt. Kittinger later made, and still holds, the world-record for the highest free-fall parachute jump from the gondola a high-altitute balloon.

The recon Marines would jump on average two- to three-times daily testing various types of parachutes, which soon became apparent by both MCTU #1 and NPU that the Marine should also try to become 'navy test parachutist' due to the increased sophisticated and variant types of free-fall jumps the recon Marines were experimenting. By the next year, Major Bruce Meyers, Captain Joe Taylor, Sergeant Robert Zweiner and several other of the 'more-qualified' Marines parachutists within the test unit's recon platoon subsequently became qualified as "Naval Test Parachutists" after completing the twenty-two jump syllabus.

In the realization of the increasingly sophisticated parachute jumps, jumpmasters were assigned to oversee of overall conduct of the jumps. Those most important aspect of this training was the jumpmaster's judgement, determining the exit points that would best get his Marines into the LZ, and to judge appropriately of the winds both on the ground and aloft. Eventually, all the staff non-commissioned officers were jumpmaster qualified after five jumps as Assistant Jumpmaster.

Off-Carrier Tests
One of the highest priorities considered for reconnaissance and pathfinder parachute insertions in the Marine Corps were to expand its capability in jumping from carrier aircraft. The jump logs for MCTU #1 and the first twenty months of 1st Force Recon has shown various types of parachutes and different carrier-based aircraft had been experimented in finding alternative methods parachute entry, such as the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars, Douglas R4D-6 Skytrains, Lockheed P2V Neptunes, L-2 Beavers, AJ-2 Savages, F3D-2 Skyknights, TF-1 Trader and A-3 Skywarriors.

Beginning in May 1956, Major Bruce, Captain Taylor and Sergeant Zweiner headed to the Air Transport Squadron Five at NAS North Island and spent countless hours examining the Grumman TF-1 Trader. Originally, the TF-1 Trader was a carrier onboard delivery aircraft, whose primary mission was the consignment of personnel, mail, and critical parts for the naval carrier vessel itself. It was capable of launching off every size of naval carrier, even its smallest, in the United States Fleet. Detachments of VR-5 were dispersed worldwide ever where US Naval carriers were sent. This proved the feasibily of the TF-1, assuring of it being potentially accessible almost virtually anywhere in the world.

The only difficulty was that the TF-1 Trader never in the past had foreseen its use in parachute deployment, modification were made to the bombing bay chutes by mounting anchor-line cables to allow parachutist to hook up their static lines. After a thorough review, aerial and still photography, plus extra scrutiny of the aircraft, they attached dummies with the appropriate weight and gear and tested its use. Major Meyers, CWO Lew Vinson and two other NPU parachute engineers made the first live jumps from the TF-1 carrier aircraft on 9—July 13 1956. They began to test later jumps with the TF-1 by wearing additional combat gear, including weapons, packs and the AN/GRC9 radio.

The "first" off-carrier parachute jump test in naval aviation history was on July 26 1956, when the Test Unit arranged a TF-1 Trader from VR-5 to depart the USS Bennington (CVA-20) and the Marines be recovered from sea. The Marines from Recon Platoon, MCTU #1, Major Bruce Meyers, 1stLt. Donald E. Koelper (later killed in combat as a Captain, receiving the first Navy Cross of the Marine Corps in the Vietnam War), and PFCs Kenneth Bell and Matthew O'Neill (later killed during the Test Unit's parachute training) made the jump. In August 1956, the recon platoon made its first parachute jump from a jet aircraft, the F3D-2 Skyknight.

The American broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite later filmed 2nd Force Recon in their off-carrier parachute jumps from the A3D Skywarrior in "The New Recon Marines" in 1962.

Pathfinder Training
The development of Marine Corps pathfinding in the Test Unit were first being tested in April 1953. The Marine Corps Test Unit #1's concept of pathfinder methods were; to develop techniques for undetected movement from their drop zones (DZ) to the preselected helicopter landing sites and approach-lane control points, coordination timing for pathfinder drops with atomic or other fire support, and methods for last-minute emplacement of visual and electronic terminal guidance aids.

After the Grumman TF-1 Trader was tested operationally for parachute entry in reconnaissance, the Recon Platoon assembled and trained in pathfinder teams; designed to parachute in, set up, and operate one helicopter landing zone consisting of one or more landing points for individual helicocpters. Many of the pathfinder methods were developed by the recon-pathfinder Marines themselves. Major Bruce Meyers set up a direct liaison with their helicopter counterparts at MCAS El Toro and MCAS Santa Ana of the 1st Marine Air Wing.

The helicopter crew and the Test Unit recon Marines cross-trained in a series of day-and-night trial and error tests. They used the emergency SE-11 signal lights and the Justrite, a three-colored high-intensity beam used to guide pilots onto aircraft carriers during night landings. The Justrite had a simple visual sight that was intended for aiming either the lower edge, bottom red lens, indicating a too-low descent; the middle green lens, indicating a perfect elevation and/or descend; and the upper, top amber lens, indicating that the pilot need to increase his rate of descend so as not to overshoot the landing zone (LZ). If the pilot saw "red", he were to decrease his rate of descend and immediately climb up until he was back into the "green".

In September 1956, Recon Platoon of MCTU #1 tested their pathfinding capabilities, the "first" operational use of Marine pathfinders in the Marine Corps. In preparation for the Air-Ground Landing Exerices (AGLEX) 57-E that was to be scheduled for early 1957, a pathfinder team parachuted into MCB Camp Pendleton from a TF-1 Trader, established visual and radio aids and guided four helicopters to a designated LZ. It was proved satisfactory in utilizing the procedures and techniques worked out between the pathfinder teams, Marine Aircraft Group 36 (MAG-36) and MARS-37.

On March 28 1957, the pathfinders jumped in Helicopter Landing Exercise IV (HELILEX IV) with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

Extraction and Recovery Methods
The MCTU #1 reported to the Commandant of the Marine Corps that the Marine Corps had proven and tested its capability in full operational methods of insertion for deeper pre-assault and post-assault parachute reconnaissance. It would supplement the already existing methods of amphibious reconnaissance of areas close proximity of the littoral landing beaches. The Marines now had the capability of carrier-launching recon teams, day or night, for effecting penetration of enemy radar air defenses and postdrop retirement of the carrier aircraft.

Important among the reconnaissance and pathfinder elements were to improve the existing methods of post-reconnaissance evasion and recovery of the reconnaissance and pathfinder teams. It was already logical that if the recon teams were on or near the littoral areas of the amphibious operation, they were close enough to be extracted by submarine or seaplane. However, since Marine were going to be penetrating inserted deeper into enemy territory, it was time to develop practical means in overland evasion techniques to reach recovery from the sea.

In September 1956, the first training exerises in evasive methods were in the rugged Laguna Mountains, east of San Diego in a region between MCB Pendleton and El Centro in California. The recon Marines chose the Cuyamaca Reservoir, a large, grassy, dried-up reservior suitable for a night parachute drop zone and subsequent helicopter landing zone.

The recon platoon was broken down into four-man recon teams and planned three successive jumps from the TF-1 Trader and two night jumps from the F3-D Skyknight jet. A P5M Marlin seaplane was arranged to rendevouz with the teams off the western shore of the Salton Sea at dawn for recovery once they conducted their preliminary pre-D-Day reconnaissance. The recon Marines would traverse sixty miles through the south Californian desert due east through the Chocolate Mountains to be picked up the seaplane. The recon platoon even made arrangements with the civilian agencies to create maximum realism to their evasion exercises. They notified the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the United States Border Patrol, and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, as well as all the police agencies working in the area.

These long-range, cross-country evasion exercises were admittingly borrowed from the Royal Marines, which despicted the similar roles in the british film, The Cockleshell Heroes