USAREUR Units - Ordnance

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Ordnance in the European Theater
(Page 2 - Doctrinal & General Information)
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please email me (webmaster).

The 1940s
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The 1950s
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The 1960s
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The 1970s
Class V Ord Units
Special Weapons

The 1980s
Class V Ord Units
Special Weapons

The 1970s

Class V Ordnance Service in USAREUR

1977

(Source: Annual Historical Review, HQ 21st SUPCOM, 1 Jan - 31 Dec 1977)

In a move to decentralize conventional ammunition management, the 60th Ordnance Group underwent a major reorganization in 1977.

In April 1977, the 15th Ordnance Battalion of the 60th was transferred to V Corps and in October the Group's 101st Ordnance Battalion was transferred to VII Corps. In spite of these changes, the commander, 60th Ordnance Group, remained as the overall theater commodity manager for control of ammunition stocks for these battalions.

60th Ord Gp, 1977

At the same time, the 60th Ord Gp special weapons units including the 23rd, 28th and 545th Ordnance Companies and the 9th and 51st MP Detachments were transferred to the 59th Ordnance Group which was controlled directly by USAREUR.

A minor change occurred in the 84th Ordnance Battalion of the 60th Ord Gp when the 144th Ordnance Detachment located at Baumholder was redesignated the 44th Ordnance Company. This unit was responsible for the direct and general support of over 400 units throughout USAREUR, supplying not only conventional ammunition but missiles and small arms ammunition as far away as Belgium.

1978

(Source: Annual Historical Review, HQ 21st SUPCOM, 1 Jan - 31 Dec 1978)

The 60th Ordnance Group expanded its 84th Ordnance Battalion ammunition supply operations into the NORTHAG area with the activation of the 48th Ammunition Detachment at Bremerhaven in May 1978 in support of Brigade 75 (this unit, relocated to Garlstedt, would soon be redesignated as 3rd Bde, 2nd Armd Div). Prior to becoming fully staffed, this detachment was active in support of REFORGER 78 and received abnd stored ammunition at Luebberstedt, Walsrode and Olfen in the NORTHAG area. Also, 44th Ordnance Company was activated at Baumholder on 21 Mach 1978 to operate Ammunition Supply Point #4 in direct support of 8th Infantry Division.

Ammunition Call Forward Plan
All divisions of 60th Ordnance Group were actively involved in the FY 1979 Ammunition Call Forward Plan. This plan, which proposed shipment of over 240,000 short tons of munitions from CONUS to USAREUR, underwent an intensive study to determine the ability of USAREUR to receive, move, and store the proposed tonnage. In coordination with the Corps (V and VII), 4th Transportation Brigade, Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC), Transportation Terminal Group, Europe, Miesau Army Depot, Caerwent Army Depot Activity and the 84th Ordnance Battalion, data was developed which resulted in a recommendation that tonnage proposed in the plan be reduced to 170,000 short tons.

POMCUS NORTHAG
Three former British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) sites were transferred to USAREUR control for construction of storage and maintenance facilities for the NORTHAG POMCUS equipment: Herongen Ammunition Depot, Twisteden Ammunition Depot, and South Park (Ayrshire Barracks, Mönchengladbach-Rheindahlen).

Webmaster Note: the conventional ammunition stocks held at Twisteden were probably the basic load for 2nd Armored Division combat units that would arrive from CONUS and that would receive their equipment from the POMCUS sites in the event of hostilities. The PSP at Lübberstedt, on the other hand, could have been the basic load for the 3rd Brigade already forward stationed in NORTHAG area.

Ordnance - Special Weapons Support

(Source: USAREUR STATION LIST, 1 June 1976, and other public sources)

Figure 1: SW Storage Sites (Draft)

Figure 2: Organization of a German Artillery Regiment under Heeresstruktur 3

The STATION LIST for 1 June 1976 also contains some information on the NATO artillery units that were supported by the 59th Ord Gp during that period. Among the units mentioned were several nuclear-capable Armd Arty Battalions (PzArtBtl) of the German Army equipped with M109G 155mm SP howitzer.

The PzArtBtl was a direct support artillery unit attached to the German armored and mechanized infantry brigade.

M-109G

ARTY UNIT	BRIGADE	DIVISION	WH SPT UNIT
PzArtBtl 35	PzBrig 3	1. PzGrenDiv	32nd USAFAD
PzArtBtl 65	PzBrig 6	2. JgDiv	7th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 85	PzBrig 8	3. PzDiv	25th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 125	PzBrig 12	4. JgDiv	36th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 135	PzGrenBrig 13	5. PzDiv	30th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 185	PzGrenBrig 18	6. PzGrenDiv	13th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 195	PzGrenBrig 19	7. PzGrenDiv	81st USAFAD
PzArtBtl 245	PzGrenBrig 24	1. GebDiv	24th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 295	PzBrig 29	10. PzDiv	2nd USAFAD
PzArtBtl 315	PzGrenBrig 31	11. PzGrenDiv	5th USAFAD
PzArtBtl 365	PzBrig 36	12. PzDiv	3rd USAFAD

Some observations:
It would appear that there was only one armored artillery battalion per division that was nuclear-certified even though most had three DS armd arty battalions.

It would be interesting to get some more information on these units and how they were supported by the warhead custodial detachments - can anybody provide details?

The 1980s

Class V Ordnance Service in USAREUR

(Source: DA Pam 700-16, The Army Ammunition Management System, Dec 1982)

Standard Army Ammunition System (SAAS)

Prior to 1973, the Army did not have a standard automated ammunition management system for use in the field. Operations were basically manual; however, several commands had unique ADP systems for providing class V management information and developing the WARS (Worldwide Ammunition Resporting System) report for ARRCOM (US Army Armament Materiel Readiness Command).

In 1972, a detailed analysis of current ongoing automated systems was undertaken to determine a system that would serve as the theater system baseline. The system selected was the US Army Pacific (USARPAC) Central Munitions System. In addition, WARS was selected as the baseline reporting system between the major command (Level 1) and the national level.

In June 1973, the converted USARPAC Central Munitions System was tested by the 60th Ordnance Group, USAREUR. This system was accepted by USAREUR in July 1973, renamed SAAS (Standard Army Ammunition System), and designated as the level 1 (theater) system.

Theater Application - Level 1. The Theater Materiel Management Center (in USAREUR, the 200th TAMMC performs theater ammunition management) is an activity which performs centralized theater inventory management, maintains visibility of all theater assets, and acts as the theater's interface with the DARCOM wholesale level. It performs the mission and functions of supply management, maintenance, serviceability, transportation, intransit control, and SAAS/NICP interface management. It also provides the required logistical/tactical interface management.

Ammunition assets are divided into five general categories:

Prepositioned War Reserve Materiel Stocks (PWRMS) (1)

Operational Project Stocks

Basic Loads (2)

Training/Operational Stocks

Combat Operations Support Levels

Below Theater Application - Level 3. The stock control activity (Level 3) is an activity which exercises stock control over the assets of one or more storage activities.

Storage Activity - Level 4. The storage activity (Level 4) is one whose principal mission is to exercise custody of stocks for distribution to the user (Direct Support Unit role) or to other storage activities (General Support Unit role). This is an operational level and operates in a manual environment.

(1) PWRMS are part of the theater's war reserve and represent stockage levels of mission-essential items to support post D-day combat consumption until resupply from CONUS facilities can be accomplished.
(2) The basic load is that quantity of non-nuclear ammunition the theater commander authorizes for wartime purposes and requires to be designated for and carried into combat by a unit. The basic load provides the unit sufficient ammunition to sustain itself in combat until the unit can be resupplied.

Standard USAREUR Munitions Systems (SUMS)

To accommodate the installation of the SAAS Level 1 system in USAREUR, the Miesau Army Depot lot locator system was renamed as the SUMS and expanded to provide a reporting capability to SAAS level 1.

SUMS operates in two modes, the "depot mode" and the "visbility mode." The "depot mode" accommodates those processes necessary for managing and controlling the day-to-day operations of an accountable supply distribution activity (ASDA) such as Miesau Army Depot. (Class V accountability in USAREUR is decentralized.) This service is provided also for the 84th Ordnance Battalion in support of its management of approximately thirty (30) prestock points stocking war reserves and units' basic loads. SUMS serves all other USAREUR munitions activities in the non-accountable "visibility mode."

As of 31 December 1981, USAREUR had 838,000 short tons of storage capacity on the continent and in the United Kingdom. The largest of the sites were as follows:

LOCATION	NET SQ FEET	STORAGE CAPACITY (A)	(A) short tons
United Kingdom
Bramely	689	98,429
Caerwent	573	81,857
Italy
Camp Darby	334	47,714
BENELUX
Sugny	66	9,429
Barronville	110	15,714
Germany
Miesau/Weilerbach	1,860	265,714
Saarland Sites (4)	98	14,000
Fischbach	196	28,000
Bruchsal	168	24,000
Dahn	131	18,714
Kriegsfeld	150	21,429
Muenster	110	15,714
Bamberg	102	14,572
Koeppern	270	38,571
Viernheim	155	22,143
Other (1)	854	122,000

(1) The 122,000 short ton capacity of the "Other" category is spread among 30-plus sites whose individual capacities range from medium to very small.

(Source: GAO Report, NSIAD-94-148R Military Ammunition in Europe, 1994)

Ammunition Stockpile in USAREUR, FY1991 -- 900,000 short tons on-hand

Number of Storage Sites in USAREUR, FY1991 -- 101

ORDNANCE AMMUNITION COMPANIES, mid-1980s

UNIT	SUPPORTED CMD	LOCATION	COMMENTS
15th ORD BN			battalion operates a total of 18 PSP's (1984) ; in 1991, AOR encompasses area reaching from Wildflecken (east) to Darmstadt (south) to Mainz (west) and Butzbach (north) (1)
60th Ord Co	3rd AD?	Friedberg	activated Jan 16 1985
144th Ord Co	WTA	Wildflecken	operates ASP 3 at Wildflecken MTA in support of training ops
184th Ord Co	8th ID?	Münster	operates PSP in support of V Corps combat units
2040th CSG	V Corps	Darmstadt
101st ORD BN
20th Ord Co	3rd ID	Regensburg
501st Ord Co	VII Corps units	Crailsheim	operates 5 PSP's (1982)
529th Ord Co	1st AD	Nürnberg	activated July 15 1985
663rd Ord Co	GTA	Vilseck	operates ASP 1 in support of operations at Grafenwöhr MTA
2041st CSG	VII Corps
84th ORD BN

191st ORD BN

196th ORD BN

(1) The 4230th CSG (Guard), with six detachments, provides physical security for all Class V storage sites under 15th Ord Bn control (1984).

The corps ordnance ammunition battalion operates a number of prestock points (PSP's) throughout the corps area of responsibility. These PSP's contain every kind of conventional ammunition required by the combat units that they support. Each PSP is divided into sections which store the same type of ammo. The ammo is stored in protected concrete bunkers and each supported unit has its own designated location for the ammo storage unique to its mission.

Ammo stocks at the PSP's can be mobilized at any time and transported to Corps forward combat positions.

The concept of "modeling" used in USAREUR means that each unit's basic load - all the ammo needed for the initial stages of a conflict - is stored at the same location. In the event of an outbreak of hostilities, the units would move to their PSP's, upload their ammo and transport it to the field.

The Ordnance Ammunition Company is composed (1985) of

Hq Platoon

1st Magazine Platoon

(2nd Magazine Platoon)

Maintenance and Service Platoon

Communications Platoon

A Forward Storage Theater Site (FSTS) consists of approx. 20 bunkers or storage magazines
A Prestock Point (PSP) consists of approx. 30 magazines

(Source: German Bundesarchiv, via Rick Anders, and other sources)

Conventional Class V Storage Sites in Germany

Information is still incomplete.

(Sources: Base Realignment and Closure announcements, early 1990s, HQ USAREUR)

LOCATION	DESIG.	UNIT	COMMENTS
Langen	PSP 2J		Also known as Walldorf Ammunition Area?
(near Büdingen)	PSP 3J		Koeppern Ammo Area?
Münster-Dieburg	PSP 4J		Germans designate PSP as MUNA Münster; colocated with the conventional Class V storage facility was a large SW-storage fac (NATO 111)
Vielbrunn	PSP 5J		Germans designate PSP as Munitionslager Hainhaus
(near Tauberbischofsheim)	PSP 6J		(Standortmunitionsniederlage Tauberbischofsheim?)
Würzburg	PSP 7J		Steinbachtal Ammunition Area (at Büchelberg)
Kòppern-Nord	PSP 8J		Germans also designate PSP as Munitionslager Wehrheim; in use by US Army from 1949 to 1996
Fulda	PSP 16J		Bimbach Class V Storage Area?
Böblingen	PSP 25
(near Schw. Hall)	PSP 26		probably MUNA Kupfer Ammunition Facility
Bad Mergentheim	PSP 27J		probably Roggenberg Ammunition Area
Waldstetten	PSP 28
Oberdachstetten	PSP 30
(near Ansbach)	PSP 31		at Urlas?
(near Günzburg)	PSP 32
Tennenlohe	PSP 34J
Hepberg	PSP 35
Spabrücken	PSP 50
Fürfeld	PSP 51
(near Worms)	PSP 52		at Eppelsheim?
Lampertheim	PSP 54
Bernbach	PSP 56J
(near Germersheim)	PSP 75
Kandel	PSP 76
Schifferstadt	PSP 77
Friedrichstal	PSP 78		at Hochstetten (near Linkenheim)
Schwetzingen?	PSP 79
(near Heilbronn)	PSP 80
(near Ulm)	PSP 81
Crailsheim	PSP 82
(near Bamberg)	PSP 94

Darmstadt	PSP 242

Lorsch-Viernheim	RASP 951
Kriegsfeld	RASP 952
Limbach	RASP 953
Bruchsal	RASP 971
Dahn	RASP 972

Lemberg	PSP A64
Ruppertsweiler	PSP A65
Leimen	PSP A67
Börrstadt	PSP A82

Haustadt	PSP S5
Differten	PSP S9A
Büschfeld	PSP S29A
Urexweiler	PSP 32

RASP 951
Lorsch-Viernheim

1. (KB)

2. (KB)

3. (KB)

RASP 972
Dahn

1. (KB)

2. (KB)

Ordnance - Special Weapons Support

(Source: Building for Peace: US Army Engineers in Europe, 1945-1991)

LRSP Sites in Germany 1981

Long Range Security Program, 1976-1982

(details to be added soon)

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