The Story of the 115th A.A.A. Gun Battalion

About This Site

My name is Chip Chapin. My father, 1st Lieutenant Charles A. Chapin, served in the 115th (HQ Battery) and was one of the original contributors to the battalion history. When I found The Story of the 115th A.A.A. Gun Battalion among his effects after he passed away in 1998, I soon discovered that it afforded a wonderful, personal look into the experiences and accomplishments of this particular band of citizen-soldiers. Their motivation and dedication is evident as they are transmuted from civilians and strangers into a well-drilled team. It is clear that they take pride in their skills. And yet there is always the overriding certainty that these men are in the Army to do a job and go home. And while they eagerly anticipate firing their big guns, they harbor no romantic illusions regarding the universal horror of war.

Since April 2001, the full text of The Story of the 115th A.A.A. Gun Battalion, including all illustrations, has been presented here. Full access originally required a membership fee, but since early April 2005 full access is now free to all.

Also new in April 2005, I have finally finished adding the text and illustrations of B Battery's own history, Symphony in B-Flak. Several years ago I was able to locate and obtain this volume via the internet from a London bookseller, and began the task of transcription, but only now have finished it. I've heard a rumor that C Battery may also have prepared a unit history. If any readers have more information, on this or other material I'd be grateful to hear about it.

This site, therefore, is dedicated to telling the story of the men of the 115th. If you have any interest in the 115th, I invite you to peruse these pages with my complements. And while membership is no longer required to read all the pages of this site, I encourage anyone who's seriously interested to help show their support by registering as a Member.

Click one of the links below to continue. Or you can use the navigation arrows and table of contents.

Start reading "The Story of the 115th A.A.A. Gun Battalion".
Start reading "Symphony in B Flak" (B Battery's unit history).

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The 115th AAA Gun Battalion, Battery "B" ...
... was one of the U.S. Army's crack mobile 90mm antiaircraft artillery units operating in the European Theater (ETO) during World War 2. This site is dedicated to telling the story of the men of the 115th.

Here you will find the full text of their 1945 self-published history, The Story of the 115th A.A.A. Gun Battalion, as well as B Battery's own unit history Symphony in B Flak.

Deploying radar, remote controlled high-velocity guns and even top secret computers, the 90mm AA units become masters of the most advanced technology to appear on any WWII battlefield. On top of that, they are fully mobile and self-sustaining in the field. That they attain this level of expertise less than a year after most leave their civilian occupations only adds to our wonder at their achievement

Important Note: Effective April 2005, full access to all pages of this site no longer requires a membership fee.

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Updated Tuesday June 07, 2005 09:11:45 PDT

The original text of The Story of the 115th A.A.A. Gun Battalion and Symphony in B Flak, published by the unit in 1945, is in the public domain. So how, you may ask, can I claim that the contents of these web pages are protected by copyright?

The answer is that it is my own transcription of the text and images into electronic format, and compilation into these web pages that is copyrighted. In addition, the web design, art, and annotations, plus all material from my father's personal albums are copyrighted original works. I reserve all rights to how all these materials are used. You may not copy them or store them in any retrieval system without permission.