A pathfinder is a paratrooper who is inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander. Pathfinders use a wide array of skills including air traffic control, ground-to-air communications, sling load operations and inspections, and drop zone and helicopter landing zone support in order to ensure the mission is a success.
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During World War II, the pathfinders were a group of volunteers selected within the Airborne units who were specially trained to operate navigation aids to guide the main airborne body to the drop zones. The pathfinder teams (sticks) were made up of a group of eight to twelve pathfinders and a group of six bodyguards whose job was to defend the pathfinders while they set up their equipment. The pathfinder teams dropped approximately thirty minutes before the main body in order to locate designated drop zones and provide radio and visual guides for the main force in order to improve the accuracy of the jump. These navigational aids included compass beacons, colored panels, Eureka radar sets, and colored smoke.[1] When they jumped, the pathfinders many times would encounter less resistance than the follow up waves of paratroopers, simply because they had the element of surprise on their side.[1] Krypton lights were also used prevalently.[2] Once the main body jumped, the pathfinders then joined their original units and fought as standard airborne infantry.
The first two American airborne campaigns, the drops into North Africa (Operation Torch) and Sicily (Operation Husky) did not make use of pathfinders. The jump into North Africa, which was made up of the men of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB), resulted in its men being scattered to places such as Algeria, Gibraltar, and Morocco when they ran into bad weather and got lost.[3] The next major airborne operation took place in the invasion of Sicily in July, 1943. Many of the same problems were encountered, as the men were scattered as far as 65 miles from their drop zones, due to high winds and poor navigation.[3] In fact, some of the paratroopers landed so far off course that it would be a matter of weeks before they finally found their way back to Allied lines.[3]
After the serious problems uncovered during the parachute drop in the Allied invasion of Sicily, Allied high command questioned the utility of parachute infantry primarily because of the difficulty of dropping the infantry as cohesive units rather than as scattered groups. A review of procedures and methods resulted in the establishment of the pathfinder teams to aid navigation to drop zones. In fact, the pathfinder forces were only formed about a week in advance of the jump at Paestum, Italy on September 13, 1943.[4] When the majority of the pathfinders landed directly on target, they were able to set up their radar sets and Krypton lights on the drop zone.[4] A quarter of an hour later, the main body of paratroopers from the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) landed right on the middle of the drop zone.[4]
The same night, the newly formed pathfinder detatchment from the 509th PIB saw their first action in that capacity at Avellino, Italy.[3] However, unlike the successful pathfinders at Paestum, those at Avellino had markedly less success. However, this was not their fault, as the mountainous terrain surrounding the area deflected the radar signals and caused the pilots to become disoriented.[4]
Not until June 6, 1944, D-Day, would the airborne and pathfinder forces see combat again as part of Operation Overlord. Pathfinders taking part in the Allied parachute assault on Normandy, France on 6 June 1944, were trained by the Pathfinder School at RAF North Witham of which the USAAF designation was Army Air Force Station 479. At 21.30 hours on 5 June, about 200 pathfinders began to take off from North Witham, for the Cotentin Peninsula, in 20 C-47 aircraft of 9th Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder Group. They began to drop at 00.15 on June 6, to prepare the drop zones for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. They were the first US troops on the ground on D-Day. However, their aircraft were scattered by low clouds and anti-aircraft fire. Many never found their assigned landing zones. Some of the landing zones were too heavily defended. Some were flooded. The low clouds and extremely intense anti-aircraft fire caused the pathfinder sticks to be dropped off course, with only one stick landing in the correct place (Ambrose, p. 196). Their radar beacons did work somewhat effectively; even though the pathfinders set up their equipment off course, many of the sticks of follow up paratroopers landed clustered near these beacons.[5] However, the lights proved ineffective, as most were not set up due to the clouds and misdrops of the pathfinders.[6] While the bad weather and heavy anti-aircraft curtailed the effectiveness of the pathfinder teams on D-Day, the overall airborne drop was a success. This was true because the misplacement and scattering of the airborne forces deceived the German High Command, convincing them that there were far more American parachutists present than there actually were in France.[6]
The invasion of the South of France took place on August 15, 1944, in the form of Operation Dragoon (Rottman, p. 80). The 509th PIB, the 517th PIR, and the 1st Battalion of the 551st PIR formed the American airborne contingent of the invasion, dropping into the French Riviera in the early hours of the morning.[3] As had been the problem with previous night drops, such as Normandy, the pathfinders here were misdropped when the planes carrying them got lost.[4] Further delays were encountered when these men had to find each other on the ground, work their way through a heavily wooded area near the town of Le Muy, and fight off German soldiers in the process.[4]
Due to the ineffective placement of the pathfinders, the follow up waves of paratroopers were not dropped in the right place either. This was further exacerbated by pilot error, as many of the pilots opted to drop their paratroopers at too high an altitude; the result was that these men were widely scattered.[4] Much like the paratroopers in Normandy, however, the overall operation was a success as the paratroopers still managed to accomplish their missions and capture their objectives in conjunction with the seaborne landing forces.[4]
Operation Market Garden, which took place on September 17, 1944, was the next major airborne operation into Holland, the largest to date.[5] The mission of the paratroopers was to capture a series of bridges from Best in the south, to Arnhem (by British paratroopers) in the north.[5] While the operation ultimately failed, due to delays among the ground forces, the airborne divisions accomplished most of their missions; this was due in large part to the efforts of the pathfinder forces.[5] A combination of the drop taking place in broad daylight and the fact that the Germans were not expecting an airborne attack allowed the pathfinders to land on target and guide in the rest of the paratroopers to the proper location.[5] This is especially remarkable, considering the fact that the number of pathfinder sticks and the number of men in each stick were reduced to the bare minimum (one per drop zone) for this drop.[4]
During the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944, the 101st Airborn Division along with elements of other units was trucked to the Belgian town of Bastogne in order to secure and defend the town which contained a major road junction. By December 22, 1944, the units defending the town were surrounded and running low on supplies. Two sticks of pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division were ordered to parachute into Bastogne to set up signal beacons to guide in a flight of planes to resupply the Allied units in that town; the resupply succeeded, thanks to the efforts of the pathfinders.[4] This was a slightly different mission than what the pathfinders were trained however it fell within their core compentency of guiding aircraft to a particular location for the purpose of a parachute drop.
Interestingly enough there were pathfinder trained personnel in Bastogne however they were unable to perform the pathfinder duty without the equipment that were parachuted in with the pathfinders.
A similar mission was carried out by the pathfinders of the 506th PIR at Prüm, Germany, on February 13, 1945.[4] Their objective was to set beacons to guide in planes to resupply the surrounded 4th Infantry Division, and they succeeded; this allowed the division to fight off the Germans surrounding them.[4]
The only major airborne operation into Germany came on March 24, 1945, in the form of Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine River by Allied paratroopers.[4] Due to the fact that it was another daylight drop (navigation should not be a problem) and that the drop zones were heavily defended, pathfinders were not dropped prior to the main paratrooper forces in this operation.[4] Instead, some set up beacons on the Allied side of the river, and others dropped with the main paratrooper force to set up smoke and panels as a final navigational aid.[4]
There was a much lesser demand for pathfinders and airborne forces in general in the jungles and islands of the Pacific. The 511th PIR was the only Pacific based airborne unit to employ pathfinders, which it did in the Philippines.[4] They were used twice, at Tagaytay Ridge in early February, 1945, and again on June 23, 1945.[4] However, neither time did they parachute in to mark the drop zones; rather, they infiltrated over a beach in one instance, and across a river in the other.[4] Needless to say, the pathfinders were used unconventionally in the Pacific Theater.
The divisional pathfinder units of World War II were assigned to the subordinate parachute infantry regiments. In 1947, the first divisional pathfinder platoon was organized in the Headquarters Company, 82d Airborne Division. Pathfinders were also established in the 11th Airborne Division, at that time on occupation duty in Japan.
The organizational structure of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team included a Pathfinder Team; however, when the 187th conducted a parachute assault in October 1950 near the villages of Sukchon and Sunchon in North Korea, the commander, Brig. Gen. Frank S. Bowen, decided against using pathfinders on the jump. According to USAF Historical Study No. 71, "Bowen thought that the use of pathfinder teams to signal for resupply drops would have been valuable, but such teams, had they been employed to mark the initial jump areas, would have been killed before they got into action."
In Vietnam Pathfinder Infantrymen were inserted into areas to establish landing zones for air assaults or other helicopter operations. Pathfinders determined the most practical landing zones, withdrawal routes, approach lanes, and landing sites for helicopter assaults, in hostile areas.[7]
The US Army's 11th Aviation Group landed in country in August 1965, and while assigned to the 1st Air Cavalry Division expanded its Pathfinder unit to company size, creating the provisional 11th Pathfinder Company.
While the 11th Pathfinder Company was assigned to the 1st Air Cavalry Division's reconnaissance section, units such as the 1st Infantry Division, 101st Airborne (Airmobile), 82nd Airborne (3rd Brigade), etc., operated Ranger or LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols) companies within their reconnaissance elements.[8]
The 1st Air Cavalry Division, which had deployed to Southeast Asia in September 1965, departed South Vietnam on 29 April 1971. The 11th Aviation Group re-deployed from Southeast Asia on 14 March 1973.
Pathfinders still exist in a number of armed forces around the world. Most of them are senior members of parachute units and have earned the right to wear the Maroon beret.
Pathfinders in the US Army and Canadian Forces wear the Pathfinder Badge.
In the Canadian Forces Land Force Command, airborne pathfinders are an élite of "quiet professionals" who — besides securing drop zones, gathering intelligence, and briefing follow-on forces — also conduct ambushes, reconnaissance behind enemy lines, hostage rescue, etc. Pathfinders are Tier 2 Special Operations forces.
To qualify as a pathfinder in the Canadian Army, the soldier must pass the Patrol Pathfinder course, which is designed to be the most difficult course in the Canadian Army, rivaling other extremely difficult courses such as Sniper school, CANSOFCOM assaulter selection, and Search and Rescue selection. It is passed only by the most physically and mentally fit soldiers. Historically, the pass rates average less than 10%. The course is conducted by the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre since it absorbed the Canadian Parachute Centre that used to conduct it.
The Canadian special forces unit JTF2 employs pathfinders in several roles. The Canadian Special Operations Regiment also uses pathfinders. The pathfinders of the Canadian Airborne Regiment were some of Canada's best soldiers.
Pathfinders in the British Army form the Pathfinder Platoon of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The Pathfinder Cadre is open to any male member of the UK Armed Forces. However, many of the applicants originate from within Airborne Forces. Potential Pathfinders are required to go through a rigorous selection course before being accepted for further training.
The U.S. Army operates three Pathfinder schools. These are at the Sabalauski Air Assault School of Fort Campbell, KY [9], and another at Fort Benning, GA [10]. The third is part of Fort Benning's Army National Guard Warrior Training Center, which also conducts Pre-Ranger and Air Assault classes. The courses taught at the WTC and Fort Campbell do not include parachute jumps.[11]
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell has a pathfinder unit in each of its two aviation brigades. The second was created when the division's long range surveillance detachment (LRSD) was reassigned from the division's military intelligence battalion to one of the aviation battalions and converted to a pathfinder unit. In 2006 the Long Range Surveillance Detachment in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg was likewise transferred to 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment to create a pathfinder unit.[12]
In the United States Marine Corps, pathfinders missions are conducted by the Force Reconnaissance platoons by inserting in the battlefield and placing signal panels or illuminating flashers, eventually being replaced by remote sensors and beacons during the Vietnam War.
In June 2005 the 17th Aviation Brigade in Korea was inactivated, along with its pathfinder detachment. At the time, it was the only pathfinder unit on the rolls outside of the 101st. Since then, the 82nd Airborne Division added a pathfinder unit as noted above.[13] [14]
There are three standing pathfinder companies in the Army today. The first is Company F (Pathfinder), 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The second pathfinder company, also of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), was activated in 2005 from the now-disbanded Long Range Surveillance Detachment, 311th Military Intelligence Battalion. It was reorganized and reassigned as Company F (Pathfinder), 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Aviation Brigade.
The third pathfinder company is at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As with the 159th's pathfinders, the 82nd's pathfinder company was constituted from the now-disbanded 82nd Airborne Division Long Range Surveillance Detachment, 313th MI Battalion. Its new designation became Co F (Pathfinder), 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment.
The Army's force structure also includes a provisional pathfinder unit that is not documented on the parent unit's MTOE. This is the platoon-sized Company F, 2d Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Fort Drum, NY.[15][16][17]
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