The battalion's first combat jump was in Sicily on the evening of July 9, 1943, in support of the 82nd Airborne Division's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Throughout World War II the 456th would continue to provide Cadres for other Parachute Field Artillery Battalions. It also had an anti-tank platoon of four x M3A1 37mm anti-tank guns. The battalion was initially comprised of three batteries, each with 4 x M1A1 75mm pack howitzers. The 456th PFAB was permanently attached to the 82nd Airborne Division on 1 October at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. was activated from the Cadre and assets of the original Parachute Test Battery. On the 24th of September, 1942, the first Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, the 456th PFAB, under the command of Colonel Harrison B. With persistent training the 75-mm Pack howitzer could be reassemble in 30 minutes. During the summer of 1942 they perfected this system which involved disassembling into 9 bundles a 75-millimeter Pack howitzer and air dropping the weapon out of the door or from the bottom of a C-47. After the officer and enlisted men chosen qualified as paratroopers, the Parachute Test Battery (see photo below) under the command of Lieutenant Joseph Harris began developing a system to airdrop artillery guns and artillery men behind enemy lines to provide close support fire for infantry units. The War Department authorized the creation of the first test parachute artillery battery in February 1942. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 456th PARACHUTE FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION
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