50th Armored Division (United States)

50th Armored Division
50th Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1946–93
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Armor
Role	Armored warfare
Size	Division
Part of	New Jersey Army National Guard
Nickname(s)	"Jersey Blues"
Commanders
Notable commanders	Donald W. McGowan
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993.

On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army, calling for a 27-division Army National Guard structure with 25 infantry divisions and 2 armored divisions to accommodate the desires of all the states. Once the process of negotiation was complete, among the new formations formed, for the first time in the National Guard, were armored divisions, the 49th and 50th. The 50th Armored Division replaced the 44th Infantry Division within the New Jersey Army National Guard. New Jersey, which had supported part of the 44th Division before the war, now supported the 50th Armored Division, which became nicknamed the "Jersey Blues." Therefore, most of its elements 'inherited' the history of the organic units of the old 44th, and elements of the new 44th perpetuated the history and traditions of former units in Illinois.

In a 1968 reorganization, the 48th and 49th Armored Divisions were disbanded but not the 50th, which from that point was joined by the 27th Armored Brigade from New York, the remnant of the 27th Armored Division. At this point, the division lost its 'Jersey Blues' nickname. Following efforts by Army Chief of Staff General Frederick C. Weyand to raise the readiness of the Army National Guard, the 50th Armored Division was reorganized as a bi-state division in New Jersey and Vermont. At the time, individual armor battalions in NJ and VT were issued 90-mm M48A1 and M48A3 medium tanks.

The bi-state organization comprised:

Between 1975-76 Vt & NJ armor battalions started turning in their M48A3 tanks and began receiving M48A5 105mm models, which were practically identical to the base-model M60 medium tank with the round turret. The M48A5 had the same main gun system as on the M60A1 and M60A3's in use by active-army. During this time, many VT tank crews competed in gunnery exercises held in West Germany and consistently brought back awards. Training within the 50th was rigorous during the Soviet threat peak years of the late 1970s to mid 1980s. Germany was the primary AO of the 50thAD if it were to be activated.