27th Armored Division
Active1955 - 1968
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeArmored
Nickname(s)"Empire"
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Major General Ronald C. Brock
(first commander)

The 27th Armored Division was a United States Army formation. It was part of the New York Army National Guard in the 1950s and 1960s.

Activation

In February, 1955 a reorganization of the Army National Guard included reorganizing the 27th Infantry Division as the 27th Armored Division.[1] This included exchanging the black and red "NYD" (New York Division) shoulder patch for the triangle-shaped patch of the Army's armor divisions. The 27th Armored Division was called the "Empire Division," after New York's nickname, the Empire State.[2]

The division headquarters was originally in Buffalo, and was later moved to Syracuse.[3][4]

Composition, 1955

In 1955, the composition of the 27th Armored Division was:

  • Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 27th Armored Division
  • Combat Commands A, B, and C

Infantry:

Armor:

  • 127th Tank Battalion
  • 205th Tank Battalion
  • 208th Tank Battalion
  • 274th Tank Battalion

Artillery:

  • Headquarters, 27th Armored Division Artillery (DIVARTY)
  • 106th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 186th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 249th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 270th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
  • 210th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (from 127th AAA)

Separate Units:

  • 27th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 152nd Armored Engineer Battalion
  • 27th Armored Signal Battalion

Trains:

  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 27th Armored Division Trains
  • 727th Armored Ordnance Battalion
  • 134th Armored Medical Battalion
  • 27th Armored Quartermaster Battalion
  • 27th Military Police Company
  • 27th Replacement Company

Composition, 1960

  • Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 27th Armored Division
  • Combat Commands A, B, and C

Infantry: armored rifle battalions

  • 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry
  • 1st Battalion, 108th Infantry
  • 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry
  • 1st Battalion, 174th Infantry

Armor: medium tank battalions

  • 1st Battalion, 127th Armor
  • 1st Battalion, 174th Armor
  • 1st Battalion, 205th Armor
  • 1st Battalion, 108th Armor
  • 1st Battalion, 210th Armor (from 210th Anti-aircraft Artillery)
  • 1st Squadron, 121st Armor (from 27th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion)

Artillery:

  • Headquarters, 27th Armored Division Artillery (DIVARTY)

Howitzer battalions:

  • 1st Battalion, 104th Artillery
  • 1st Battalion, 180th Artillery
  • 1st Battalion, 270th Artillery
  • 1st Battalion (Rocket), 106th Artillery

Separate units:

  • 127th Aviation Company
  • 152nd Engineer Battalion
  • 227th Signal Battalion (from 27th Signal Battalion).

Trains:

  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 27th Armored Division Trains
  • 727th Armored Ordnance Battalion
  • 134th Armored Medical Battalion
  • 27th Armored Quartermaster Battalion
  • 27th Military Police Company
  • 227th Transportation Detachment (Aircraft Maintenance)
  • 527th Administrative Company

Composition, 1966

  • Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 27th Armored Division
  • 1st Brigade:
    • 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry
    • 1st Battalion, 205th Armor
    • 1st Battalion, 210th Armor
  • 2nd Brigade:
    • 1st Battalion, 108th Infantry
    • 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry
    • 1st Battalion, 208th Armor
  • 3rd Brigade:
    • 1st Battalion, 174th Infantry
    • 1st Battalion, 127th Armor
    • 2nd Battalion, 127th Armor
    • 1st Battalion, 174th Armor
    • 1st Squadron, 121st Cavalry
  • Headquarters, 27th Armored Division Artillery (DIVARTY):
    • 1st Battalion, 104th Field Artillery
    • 1st Battalion, 106th Field Artillery
    • 1st Battalion, 156th Field Artillery
    • 2nd Battalion, 156th Field Artillery
    • 1st Battalion, 170th Field Artillery
  • Separate commands:
    • 27th Armored Division Band
    • 27th Administrative Company
    • 27th Supply & Transportation Battalion
    • 134th Medical Battalion
    • 152nd Engineer Battalion
    • 727th Maintenance Battalion[5]

Commanders

Ronald C. Brock, first commander of the 27th Armored Division.

Three individuals served as commander of the 27th Armored Division:

  • Major General Ronald C. Brock (1955–1957).[6] Brock had been commander of the 27th Infantry Division.[7] He subsequently served as commander of the New York National Guard.[8]
  • MG Almerin C. O'Hara (1957–1959).[9] O'Hara later served as commander of the New York National Guard, and state Commissioner of General Services. When Albany County shifted to a county executive/county legislature form of government in 1975, O'Hara was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Albany County Executive.[10]
  • MG Collin P. Williams (1959–1968)[11] Williams had served as commander of Combat Command B, 27th Armored Division and the division's Assistant Division Commander.[12] He retired in 1968.[13]

Deactivation

The 27th Armored Division was inactivated in February, 1968 during another reorganization of the Army National Guard.[14] During its existence the 27th Armored Division was not activated for federal service and saw no combat.[15] It was activated for state service, including the response to the 1964 Rochester riot.[16]

Subsequent history

27th Infantry Division SSI.

The division was reorganized in 1968 as the 27th Armored Brigade, a unit of the 50th Armored Division.[17]

The 27th Armored Brigade was reorganized as an Infantry brigade in 1975 and aligned with the 42nd Infantry Division.[18]

In 1985 the 27th Infantry Brigade was activated as part of the New York Army National Guard, and assigned as the "roundout" brigade of the Army's 10th Mountain Division.[19]

The 27th Brigade was later reorganized as the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and reestablished use of the 27th Infantry Division's NYD shoulder sleeve insignia.[20] The 27th Infantry Brigade carries on the lineage and history of the 27th Infantry Division.

References

  1. ↑ J.B. Lyon Company, New York State Legislative Documents, Volume 6, 1955, page 13
  2. ↑ Jack Raymond, The New York Times, Most Reservists Could Join Guard: McNamara Plan Envisions Initial Overstrengths, 20 December 1964
  3. ↑ Peter B. Taub, Gannett News Service, Newburgh Evening News, Upstate Shift Due National Guard, 28 February 1963
  4. ↑ John B. Wilson, Center of Military History, Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades, 1988, page 361
  5. ↑ New York National Guard, History of the 27th Infantry Division, 27th Armored Division composition 1955, 1960, 1966. Retrieved 26 July 2013
  6. ↑ Toledo Blade, Ike Pledges Guard to be Maintained, 4 February 1957
  7. ↑ Schenectady Gazette, Kearney Resigns Post in NY Guard, 5 June 1948
  8. ↑ New York Secretary of State, State Legislative manual, 1958, page 446
  9. ↑ Williams Press, New York Red Book, 1959, page 367
  10. ↑ Associated Press, Newburgh Evening News, Coyne 'New Look' County Executive, 5 November 1975
  11. ↑ U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Hearing Record, Military Cold War Education and Speech Review Policies, Biographical sketch, Collin P. Williams, 1962, page 2662
  12. ↑ Army and Navy Journal Incorporated, Army, Navy, Air Force Journal, Volume 94, Issues 27–52, 1957, page 955
  13. ↑ Ruth Collin Stong, John Collin, Stem and Branches, 1980, page 209
  14. ↑ New York Times, State Guard to Disband Division That Once Chased Pancho Villa, 19 January 1968
  15. ↑ National Guard Educational Foundation, 27th Armored Division, 2011
  16. ↑ United Press International, Lexington Dispatch, National Guard Troops on Duty in Rochester, 27 July 1964
  17. ↑ Associated Press, Newburgh Evening News, Guard Streamlined: 27th Division Ends, 18 January 1968
  18. ↑ John J. McGrath, The Brigade: A History, Its Organization and Employment in the US Army, 2009, page 232
  19. ↑ Michael Dale Doubler, John W. Listman, Jr., The National Guard: An Illustrated History of America's Citizen-Soldiers, 2007, page 120
  20. ↑ Uniformed Services Almanacs, 2008 National Guard Almanac, 2008, page 143
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