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40th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom)

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40th Anti-Aircraft Brigade
Active28 September 1938–27 September 1948
Country United Kingdom
Branch Territorial Army
TypeAnti-Aircraft Brigade
RoleAir Defence
Part of2nd AA Division
5 AA Group
Garrison/HQRAF Duxford
EngagementsThe Blitz

The 40th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command in the British Territorial Army formed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Its initial role was to defend Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields in East Anglia.

Origin

The brigade was formed on 28 September 1938 at Boston Lodge, South Ealing in West London, under the command of Brigadier O.W. Nicholson (Territorial Army). It was part of 2nd AA Division, with the following searchlight units under command:[1][2][3][4]

Although the brigade's units were all from London and Middlesex, its war station was at RAF Duxford, with the searchlight detachments defending RAF stations across East Anglia.[2]

Mobilisation

90 cm 'Projector Anti-Aircraft', displayed at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth

While the brigade was forming the TA's AA units had been mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis, with units manning their emergency positions within 24 hours, even though many did not yet have their full complement of men or equipment. The emergency lasted three weeks, and they were stood down on 13 October.[12] In February 1939 the existing AA defences came under the control of a new Anti-Aircraft Command. In June, as the international situation worsened, a partial mobilisation of the TA was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA gun and searchlight positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations.[13]

Battle of Britain and Blitz

40 AA Brigade largely operated as a 'light' AA brigade composed of searchlight (S/L) and light AA gun (LAA) units. By the summer of 1940, all searchlight regiments had been transferred to the Royal Artillery (RA). As more LAA units became available, they were distributed to defend Vulnerable Points (VPs) such as factories and airfields. The S/L layouts had been based on a spacing of 3,500 yards (3,200 m), but due to equipment shortages this had been extended to 6,000 yards (5,500 m).[14] After the intense period of activity against airfields during the Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe switched to night raids against London and other cities (The Blitz). In November 1940 the S/L layout was changed to clusters of three lights to improve illumination, but this meant that the clusters had to be spaced 10,400 yards (9,500 m) apart. The cluster system was an attempt to improve the chances of picking up enemy bombers and keeping them illuminated for engagement by AA guns or RAF Night fighters. Eventually, one light in each cluster was to be equipped with searchlight control (SLC) radar and act as 'master light', but the radar equipment was still in short supply.[15][16][17][18]

Order of Battle 1940–41

By the time the Blitz ended in May 1941, 40 AA Bde's composition was as follows:[19][20][21][22][23]

Mid-War

2 AA Divisional formation sign, worn 1940–42.

In the Summer of 1941 AA Command began to receive purpose-built SLC radar in sufficient numbers to allow some S/Ls to be 'declustered' into single-light sites. These were redeployed into 'Indicator Belts' of radar-controlled S/L clusters covering approaches to the RAF's night-fighter sectors, repeated by similar belts covering AA Command's Gun Defence Areas (GDAs). Inside each belt was a 20-mile deep 'Killer Belt' of single S/Ls spaced at 6,000 yards (5,500 m) intervals in a 'Killer Belt' cooperating with night-fighterss patrolling defined 'boxes'. The pattern was designed to ensure that raids penetrating deeply towards the Midlands GDAs would cross more than one belt, and the GDAs had more S/Ls at close spacing. The number of LAA units to protect Vital Points such as airfields was growing, albeit slowly.[15][33][34]

At this stage of the war, experienced units were being posted away to train for service overseas. This led to a continual turnover of units, which accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch) and the need to transfer LAA units to counter the Luftwaffe 's hit-and-run attacks against South Coast towns that began in March 1942. By May 1942 the brigade only had two units under command (36th and 64th S/L Rgts), but newly-formed units continued to join AA Command, the HAA and support units increasingly becoming 'Mixed' units, indicating that women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) were fully integrated into them.[15][34][35]

Order of Battle 1941–43

During this period the brigade's composition was as follows (temporary attachments omitted):[36][37][38][39][40]

150 cm Searchlight with AA Radar No 2
  • 78th (1st East Anglian) HAA Rgt – transferred to 41 AA Bde Summer 1941
    • 243, 244, 245, 409 HAA Btys
  • 30th LAA Rgt – left December 1941, later joined 44th (Home Counties) Division and went to Egypt[41]
    • 117, 118, 120 LAA Btys
  • 33rd LAA Rgt – from 33 (Western) AA Bde Autumn 1941, left December 1941, later went to India[42]
    • 67, 68, 132 LAA Btys
  • 96th LAA Rgt – new regiment formed November 1941; left Spring 1942, later went to East Africa Command[43][44]
    • 80, 299, 300 LAA Btys
    • 454, 479 LAA Btys – joined February 1942
  • 138th LAA Rgt – new regiment formed May 1942';[43] to 65 AA Bde Summer 1943
    • 454, 469, 470 LAA Btys
    • 458 LAA Bty – joined July 1942
  • 36th (Middlesex) S/L Rgt – to 50 AA Bde September 1943
    • 317, 345, 346, 424 S/L Btys
  • 64th (Essex) S/L Rgt – to 32 AA Bde, May–June 1942; returned by October 1942; to 31 AA Bde August 1943''
    • 441, 442, 443 S/L Btys
  • 72nd (Middlesex) S/L Rgt – to 41 AA Bde late 1941
    • 465, 466, 467, 510 S/L Btys
  • 40 AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Subsection – part of 1 Company, 2 AA Division Mixed Signal Unit, Royal Corps of Signals (RCS)

Later War

File:Anti Aircraft Command formation Patch.gif
AA Command formation sign worn after 1942.

In 1942 AA Command abolished its hierarchy of divisions and corps, and established a single tier of AA Groups; corresponding to the Groups of RAF Fighter Command. 40 AA Bde came under 5 AA Group based at Nottingham and affiliated to No. 12 Group RAF.[15][45][38]

Postwar

On 1 January 1947, 40 AA Bde was redesignated 66 AA Bde in the reformed TA, with its HQ at RAF Coltishall and constituting part of 5 AA Group in Nottingham. It had the following units under command:[46][47][48]

The brigade was disbanded in September 1948.[46]

Notes

  1. ^ 2 AA Division 1939 at British Military History
  2. ^ a b c AA Command 3 September 1939 at Patriot Files
  3. ^ Routledge, Table LVIII, p. 376.
  4. ^ Routledge, Table LX, p. 378.
  5. ^ Litchfield, p. 171.
  6. ^ 19th London at Regiments.org
  7. ^ a b c Litchfield, p. 178.
  8. ^ a b Litchfield, p. 179.
  9. ^ 9th Middlesex at Regiment.org
  10. ^ Litchfield, p. 174.
  11. ^ 3rd City of London at regiment.org
  12. ^ Routledge, pp. 62–3.
  13. ^ Routledge, pp. 65–6, 371.
  14. ^ Routledge, pp. 388-9.
  15. ^ a b c d Pile's despatch.
  16. ^ Collier, Chapter XVI.
  17. ^ Collier, Chapter XVII.
  18. ^ Routledge, p. 393.
  19. ^ 2 AA Division 1940 at British Military History
  20. ^ 2 AA Div at RA 39–45. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Routledge, Table LXV, p. 396.
  22. ^ Farndale, Annex D, p. 258.
  23. ^ Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, with amendments, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 212/79.
  24. ^ Litchfield.
  25. ^ a b c Norfolk Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.org
  26. ^ 78 HAA at RA 39–45. Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ a b Litchfield, p. 69.
  28. ^ 30 LAA at RA 39–45.
  29. ^ 36 S/L at RA 39–45. Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ Litchfield, p. 71.
  31. ^ 64 S/L at RA 39–45.
  32. ^ 72 S/L at RA 39–45.
  33. ^ Routledge, p. 99.
  34. ^ a b Routledge, pp. 398–404.
  35. ^ Collier, Chapter XX.
  36. ^ Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 2 December 1941, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/80.
  37. ^ Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 14 May 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/81.
  38. ^ a b Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 1 October 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/82.
  39. ^ Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 13 March 1943, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/83.
  40. ^ Order of Battle of AA Command, 1 August 1943, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/84.
  41. ^ Joslen, p. 71.
  42. ^ Joslen, p. 523.
  43. ^ a b Farndale, Annex M.
  44. ^ Joslen, p. 491.
  45. ^ Routledge p. 401 & Map 36.
  46. ^ a b 667–106 AA Bdes at British Army Units 1945 on
  47. ^ Litchfield, Appendix 5.
  48. ^ TA 1947. Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ 266–288 Rgts at British Army Units 1945 on
  50. ^ Suffolk Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.org
  51. ^ 638–677 Rgts at British Army Units 1945 on
  52. ^ 520–563 Rgts at British Army Units 1945 on

References

  • Basil Collier, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Defence of the United Kingdom, London: HM Stationery Office, 1957.
  • Gen Sir Martin Farndale, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941, Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, ISBN 1-85753-080-2.
  • Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945, London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6.
  • Norman E.H. Litchfield, The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges), Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, ISBN 0-9508205-2-0.
  • Sir Frederick Pile's despatch: 'The Anti-Aircraft Defence of the United Kingdom from 28th July, 1939, to 15th April, 1945' London Gazette 18 December 1947.
  • Brig N.W. Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55, London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, ISBN 1-85753-099-3.

Online sources

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