Congo River and "Congo" is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to "Zahir" or "Zaire" as the name used by the inhabitants remained common. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo are named after it, as was the previous Republic of the Congo which had gained independence in 1960 from the Belgian Congo. The Republic of Zaire during 1971–1997 was also named after the river, after its name in French and Portuguese. The Congo's drainage basin covers , an area larger than India. The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from , with an
2nd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment (United States) designation, with its parent regiment being redesignated as the 27th Field Artillery on 1 September 1971. The battalion was based at Ray Barracks, Friedberg, Germany, as a direct support unit for the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division, armed with the 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. It included three batteries with six howitzers each. On 16 January 1988, the 2-27th was inactivated and relieved from its assignment to the 3rd Armored. Its personnel and equipment were transferred to the simultaneously reactivated 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery. 2nd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment (United States) The 2nd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery