CAN ANYONE HELP PLEASE

[FOR VALOUR]

Hello ,

I am about to sell some us items i would like to know please the meaning of the lettering inside a helmet. As follows Micheal w boerner 2/19 FA SVC BTN1 if anyone could help with information i would be most grateful.

Regards David (H)

[W McSwiggan]

2/19 FA translates to Second Battalion, 19th Field Artillery - no question about that.

I could speculate but would rather not SVC and BTN1

That's a start at least.

Erwin

Hello ,

I am about to sell some us items i would like to know please the meaning of the lettering inside a helmet. As follows Micheal w boerner 2/19 FA SVC BTN1 if anyone could help with information i would be most grateful.

Regards David (H)

[Doc]

I would assume it means "Service Battalion". No idea about the meaning of the 1, or why there would be two battalions listed. Maybe he switched units. Doc

[W McSwiggan]

I can't resist so I will speculate that BTN1 is really BTRY hence Service Battery - each FA Bn has one.

Edited November 3, 2009 by W McSwiggan

[army historian]

I can't resist so I will speculate that BTN1 is really BTRY hence Service Battery - each FA Bn has one.

How about 2nd Battalion, 19th Field Artillery, Service Company, Battery 1.

Captain George Albert

[W McSwiggan]

Per Captain Albert's suggestion,

Perhaps but it does not align with anything I've ever seen throughout my career.

Generally - subordinate to FA Battalions one finds batteries not companies. Beyond that companies/batteries subordinate to battalions carry letter designations not numbers.

I still think that the highest probability is that the "1" was actually a misinterpreted "Y" - smudged or worn off at the top. Also in my experience - when marking equipment for identification, soldiers tended to list unit of assignment not a history of assignments to ease return in the event of loss. As there was no mention of "cross outs" then this is is either a list of assignments - or a current assignment and the "Service Company One designation implies a company assigned or attached to another company sized unit. The probability of this happening coupled with "Battery 1" renders this proposal highly unlikely.

Or - at least that would be my guess for what it is worth.

Gunther

[IrishGunner]

I can't resist so I will speculate that BTN1 is really BTRY hence Service Battery - each FA Bn has one.

As a long-time Redleg, I'm with McSwiggan on this one; BTN1 is somehow corrupted from BTRY. I have absolutely no idea what BTN1 could mean; I've tried to rack my head as to the possibility that it's a "section" within SVC Btry, but can't think of anything.

Assuming we are talking about an old helmet here - WWII? - here's a link to a 1944 artillery service battery's organization. Nothing that suggests a BTN1 to me...

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:llGuXCW5WpwJ:www.militaryresearch.org/6-169%252022Nov44.pdf+artillery+OR+organization+%22service+battery%22&hl=en&sig=AHIEtbTXxusKRvfq8XqmrStcW_1X7kaKgg