to its weight and the TO&E of February 1944 still had airborne divisions keeping their 37 mm guns. To increase firepower, the 82nd and the 101st airborne divisions were re-equipped with British-manufactured 6-pounders on the narrow carriage Mk III designed for glider use – 24 in AA battalion, and 9 in each glider infantry regiment – for the Normandy airdrops. In the fighting after the Normandy landings, the paratroops used them against German armour near St Mere Eglise and Carentan. However, few tanks were encountered and they were mostly used for support, which made the lack of an HE shell more significant. The British 6-pounder with the MK III carriage was also used by 442 AT Company as part of the glider invasion force assigned at that time to the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, First Airborne Task Force, during Operation Dragoon; the invasion of Southern France. Limited availability of different ammunition types limited the efficiency of the gun in the infantry support role. Only after the Normandy Campaign did the HE round reach the battlefield although before then US units were sometimes able to get a limited amount of HE ammunition from the British Army). The canister shot was not seen in significant amounts until early 1945. Some British stocks of APDS were supplied to the US units, although APCR and APDS rounds were never developed by the US. From July, US anti-tank units encountered the Panther tank, which was vulnerable to the 57 mm only from the sides. Towed anti-tank guns were less effective in the hedgerow terrain, where mobility suffered; but, when the Germans went on the offensive in August, they were effective in defence with infantry. Subsequently, the guns were officially introduced under the TO&E from December 1944. According to the TO&E, a division was issued 50 pieces: 8 in the divisional artillery, 24 in the AA battalion, and 18 in the glider infantry regiment; parachute infantry regiments did not have anti-tank guns. The British guns were referred simply as 57 mm guns. Towards the end of the war, towed anti-tank units were out of favour due to their lack of mobility compared to self-propelled guns and the 57mm was used by infantry battalions. However, with few tanks to contend with, some units that would have been equipped with the 57mm were instead deployed as rifle companies or only with the Bazooka. The M1 went out of