The 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion was an independent formation of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 formed on 1 July 1941 at Fort Kobbe

Fort Kobbe

Fort Kobbe was an Army fort created in 1932 that was adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in Panama. It was a relatively small post, and housed a battalion of paratroopers , a firing battery of artillery M-102 105mm; six gun battery with survey and search light section, a battalion of engineers , and a...

 Panama Canal Zone

Panama Canal Zone

The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

. The Battalion was originally formed as an air landing unit rather than a parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

 or glider

Military glider

Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...

 battalion.

The unit's mission was to land if required in Central, Latin, and South American countries as well as areas in the Caribbean, notably Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

. The unit would be preceded by the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion

551st Parachute Infantry Battalion

The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion was for many years a little-recognized unit of the United States Army during World War II and the Battle of the Bulge. Originally commissioned to take the French Caribbean island of Martinique during World War II, they were shipped instead to Europe...

.

As the threats to the Caribbean and Latin American regions subsided in 1943, the 550th was redesignated the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion and undertook glider training in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. The unit was assigned to the 1st Airborne Task Force (United States)

1st Airborne Task Force (United States)

The 1st Airborne Task Force was an short-lived Allied airborne unit created for "Operation Dragoon" – the invasion of Southern France. Formed in July 1944, under the command of Major General Robert T. Frederick it took part in the "Dragoon" landings on 15 August 1944, securing the area north-west...

 and participated in Operation Dragoon

Operation Dragoon

Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...

, the invasion of Southern France on 15 August 1944 where the 550th captured the town of Le Muy

Le Muy

Le Muy is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It was one of the first places to be liberated in the Allied invasion of Southern France in August 1944.It lies near Draguignan and Saint-Tropez....

.

The 550th Airborne was sent to Aldbourne

Aldbourne

Aldbourne is a village and civil parish about northeast of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. It is in a valley in the south slope of the Lambourn Downs, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

, England in November 1944 after the First Airborne Task Force was disbanded. During the Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...

 the 550th was attached to the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division (United States). In February 1945 the 550th was consolidated into the 3rd Battalion of the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment.

Both the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment and the 550th were disbanded in Belgium on 1 March 1945.