The 486th Anti-Aircraft Bn was ATTACHED to the 3AD from Dec '43 thru VE. At that time, US Divisions did not have organic AAA units. I do not believe there were any other AAA units attached to the 3AD fo rmuch more than a week or so.

The 486th had a HQ and 4 firing batteries, A,B,C,D and had both the M16 GMC(quad-50) and the M15(37mm/twin-50), but I cannot give you any more specifics without some research. I would think that one battery(D?) might be a 90mm battery

During the war, they gained the nick-name "Anti-Anything Battalion" because they were used against aircraft, personnel, vehicles, and whatever was available. They are credited with 30 aircraft destroyed, 16 aircraft damaged, and over 200 vehicles destroyed (incl tanks, trucks, artillery, & 2 trains).

Markings:
Technically, the 486th would have been a 1st Army unit, attached to 3AD, and thus would have carried 1st Army bumper markings.
1A-486AAA * X-N
where X= battery (HQ,A,B,C,D) and N=vehicle#

There is nothing to confirm or deny that they may have adopted 3AD markings & replaced the "1A" with a "3(delta)" ...

I have not found a picture of a 486th vehicle to confirm/deny bumper markings. I have seen pictures of AAA vehicles attached to other divisions with various placements depending on front bumper style, etc.

Hope this helps.
John

Th I would think that one battery(D?) might be a 90mm battery ??



Markings:
Technically, the 486th would have been a 1st Army unit, attached to 3AD, and thus would have carried 1st Army bumper markings.
1A-486AAA * X-N



where X= battery (HQ,A,B,C,D) and N=vehicle#

There is nothing to confirm or deny that they may have adopted 3AD markings & replaced the "1A" with a "3(delta)" ...

I have not found a picture of a 486th vehicle to confirm/deny bumper markings. I have seen pictures of AAA vehicles attached to other divisions with various placements depending on front bumper style, etc.

Hope this helps.
John

Quoted Text

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Th I would think that one battery(D?) might be a 90mm battery ??



Markings:
Technically, the 486th would have been a 1st Army unit, attached to 3AD, and thus would have carried 1st Army bumper markings.
1A-486AAA * X-N



where X= battery (HQ,A,B,C,D) and N=vehicle#

There is nothing to confirm or deny that they may have adopted 3AD markings & replaced the "1A" with a "3(delta)" ...

I have not found a picture of a 486th vehicle to confirm/deny bumper markings. I have seen pictures of AAA vehicles attached to other divisions with various placements depending on front bumper style, etc.

Hope this helps.
John

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It is entirely feasible that they did adopt 3Delta markings rather than 1A, since the 3rd Armored also served under 9th Army (and 3rd Army, I'm pretty sure), but they stayed with the division when it switched Armies.

AAA(AW) Battalions did not have any 90mm guns. Those were organic to AAA Battalions. From late 1944, especially during the Bulge, some units had 90mm Batteries attached for anti-tank defense. These however remained under the TO&E of their original units. Some AAA units, would have been attached to Corps, while others (for example my Dad's) were subject to 12 Army Group.

You might try contacting the Air Defense Museum, now at Ft Sill OK, or the Patton Museum at I believe Ft Benning for further help.

I've actually seen several 1:32 scale models of the M16 Half-Track on ebay and elsewhere, some say 3rd Armored, but what numbers or decals determine if the vehicle was assigned to the 486 AAA or one of the other AAA units? Is there a specific number I should look for say on the side of the vehicle? PMs and emails welcome.

Incidentally I found this one on the 3rd Armored's website:

http://www.3ad.com/history/at.ease/models.pages/m16.halftrack.htm

Note: They specify that this one is from the 486 AAA.

Quoted Text

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Incidentally I found this one on the 3rd Armored's website:

http://www.3ad.com/history/at.ease/models.pages/m16.halftrack.htm

Note: They specify that this one is from the 486 AAA.

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U.S.A. 4061377

3 Triangle Shape 486 AA

If anyone knows where I can find a model of this kind, that would be great.

Well Dragon has a kit of the M16 in 1/35th scale as does Tamiya. The Tamiya is a much older kit and the Dragon has generally better detail but is a little fiddly to build. Right off hand I cannot recall what the kit decals are but you can order dry transfers from Archer for US Bumper Codes and registration numbers. Archer's website is:

http://www.archertransfers.com/

Okay. No problem there. On top of the markings I was also trying to decide on size. 1/18 vs 1/32. Which will have better detail?

Hmmm. Yeah I looked at the Forces of Valor models. Strangely enough the Liberator series, Forces of Valor Series, Unimax Series and so on are all supposed to be the exact same model in 1:32 scale and all have the same product number #81003. The Liberator Series model listed on the 3AD website is the main one I was originally looking for because they claimed it had the markings from the 486th. But if I could find the aftermarket decals for the 486, I think I should be able to apply them to any of those models.

Perfect thats what I was looking for. Is the paper background blue and not the actual decal? What size model would this fit?