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Show Fall Pershing series to start next month Sixteen Pershing missiles will be launched during the fall series of firings scheduled for Black Mesa, near Blanding, Utah, from September through November. Units participating in the service practice firings are from ,the 2nd Battalion, 44th Artillery, of Ft. Sill, Okla.; the Seventh UjS. Army, based in Europe; and the Federal Republic of Germany Air Force (FRG), Approximately 75 troops of the 2nd Battalion, comprising two batteries, left Ft, Sill Wednesday in convoy for their base camp at Black Mesa. They are expected to arrive Friday. Units of the. Seventh Army will be operating under simu- Pershing firings (Continued from Page 1) ber, and the German Air Force units will fire their Pershings in mid-October. Ail missiles are programmed to impact in pre-selected safety zones at White Sands Missile Range, some 400 miles southeast of the launch site. A third battery of the 2nd Battalion, which will provide support to the firing units, is already in place at Black Mesa. The 2nd Battalion is the only Pershing missile battalion stationed in the continental United States, and is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jerry A. Williams. White Sands Missile Range personnel will provide instrumentation, range control, communications and ground and flight safety support. Also assisting will be field elements of the Pershing Project Manager's office of Redstone • Arsenal, Ala., and the Field Artillery Missle SystemsEval-uation Group of Ft. Sill. lated wartime tactical condi- < tions, and will launch four Per- .; shings on each of three firing days scheduled for them in September and November. All firings are scheduled to be completed within less than three hours each day. The Ft. Sill troops Will launch two Pershings in mid-Septem-(Continued on Page 7) ' . _Hcdnes<%, August 5,1970 Army Ends Spring Series Of Utah Missile Firins Special to The Tribune BLANDING - The Army Tuesday ended its spring, series of Pershing missile firings at Black; Mesa near Blanding, The final two rounds were fired Tuesday afternoon by troops of the 7th Army here from stations in Europe. Both successfully impacted on White Sands Missile Range, according to Army officials. A new series of firings is scheduled to begin in mid-September and will continue through November. White Sands officials said 16 Pershings are slated for launch during the fall series. Tuesday's rounds, the llth and 12th since the series began April 14, were fired from mobile launchers at 3:01 and 3:25 p.m. There will be no further firing missions this Week. All roadblocks in the southern Utah area have been lifted. |