146th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After defending the UK against air attack as part of

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

, it went to Normandy shortly after

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

to defend the important fuel installations at Port-en-Bessin. Later in the campaign it moved to defend the port of

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

Organisation

146th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment (HAA Rgt) was formed during a period of rapid expansion of

, utilising batteries drawn from existing regiments. Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) was established on 26 January 1942 at

Jesmond Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, situated to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city. H ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, and during February the following batteries were regimented with it:Frederick, p. 788. * 176 (County of Durham) HAA Battery joined from 63rd (Northumbrian) HAA Rgt on 1 February * 339 HAA Battery joined from 110th HAA Rgt on 23 February * 414 HAA Battery joined from 64th (Northumbrian) HAA Rgt on 1 February * 465 HAA Battery joined from 65th (The Manchester Regiment) HAA Rgt on 1 February

Home defence

The new regiment formed part of 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade defending Newcastle and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 7th AA Division, but initially 339 HAA Bty was attached to 12th AA Division in the West of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and 414 HAA Bty to 45 AA Brigade in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. Before the end of May the whole regiment had concentrated in 5th AA Division, first under 47 AA Bde covering

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, then under 35 AA Bde in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

. Because of ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

'' 'hit-and-run' raids along the South Coast, there was considerable reorganisation of AA formations in the area during the summer of 1942. In September the regiment moved to 27 (Home Counties) AA Bde, still in the Portsmouth area. On 3 October, 339 HAA Bty transferred to 173rd HAA Rgt.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. In November 1942 the regiment switched command again, this time to 5 AA Bde, which had air defence commitments in Southern England but had a high turnover of units, many of which were under training for deployment overseas. In May 1943 it was 146th HAA Rgt's turn: it left 5 AA Bde and had left AA Command altogether and joined the field forces before the end of the month. It was joined by 598 HAA Bty and a Troop of 600 HAA Bty from 177th HAA Rgt on 19 July 1943.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.

Operation Overlord

Port-en-Bessin-Huppain,_Calvados,_Tablet_of_the_D-day

In April 1944, 146th HAA Rgt joined 76 AA Bde, one of the formations preparing for the Allied invasion of Normandy,

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

.76 AA Bde War Diary, 1944, TNA file WO 171/1084. 598 HAA Bty and the Trp of 600 Bty left to rejoin 177th HAA Rgt on 5 May 1944, reducing 146th HAA Rgt to the three-battery establishment (176, 414, 465) for overseas service. Units of 76 AA Bde landed with the assault waves on

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was ...

and then established AA defences over the beachhead. 146th HAA Regiment was given a follow-up role in the brigade's planning, with its batteries due to arrive on 11–13 June (D + 5 to D +7). In the event the first elements of 176 Bty reported to Brigade HQ at 14.30 on 12 June (D + 6). 414 and 465 Btys (less one Troop still on the road and the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

' workshop, which arrived on 16 June) had arrived by 11.00 next day and were ready for action before the end of the day. 146th HAA Regiment's task was to protect the British and US installations at Port-en-Bessin, where petrol storage depots were being built, fed by 'Tombola' buoyed pipelines from tankers moored offshore. The regiment's commanding officer,

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

A. Key, acted as AA Defence Commander (AADC) for Port-en-Bessin and as the brigade's liaison officer with the neighbouring US forces. The regiment established a sub-AA Operations Room (AAOR), and had 418 and 419 Btys of 125th Light AA Rgt under its command, while its own 414 HAA Bty was under operational command of 112th HAA Rgt. Further protection for the little port and its vital installations was provided by 139th LAA Rgt on barges,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...

s, and Pioneer Corps companies operating smoke generators onshore and aboard

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

trawlers. The HAA batteries were also given the secondary role of providing ground fire in support of XXX Corps. At Port-en-Bessin, the 3.7-inch guns of 146th HAA and

Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

s of 139th LAA Rgt were in action for 33 consecutive nights against high- and low-level bombing, employing visual, radar and barrage methods. The HAA guns fired 5563 rounds, scoring 11 'kills'. A subsidiary task was to establish radar stations on the cliffs above Arromanches and Port-en-Bessin using their Gun-laying radar to track ''Luftwaffe'' minelaying aircraft and plot the fall of the

Parachute mine A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe and initially by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command. Frequently, they were dropped on land targets. Hist ...

s so that they could be cleared by the Royal Navy.

Ostend

Once the Allies had achieved a breakout from the Normandy beachhead in mid-August, 76 AA Bde prepared to move up in support, handing over its responsibilities, including Port-en-Bessin, and moving to

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

on 3 September. 146th HAA Regiment deployed at Dieppe, with Lt-Col Key acting as AADC once more. 76 AA Brigade HQ then moved on to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

while 80 AA Bde HQ came up from the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

to take over at Dieppe on 11 September, including command of 146th HAA Rgt. However, First Canadian Army's advance along the Belgian coast was proceeding rapidly, and on 14 September 146th HAA Rgt was ordered to move up to

, which had just been liberated.Routledge, Table LI, p. 329.80 AA Bde War Diary, 1944, TNA file WO 171/1085. At Ostend the regiment came under the command of 75 AA Bde, which had been moved up from Normandy to take over both AA and coast defence for the port. The re-opened harbour became an important supply point for stores and bulk petrol for

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

, the first tankers berthing on 30 September. Five HAA and two, later three, LAA regiments were devoted to its defence. 146th HAA Regiment also contributed a troop (4 guns) of its 3.7-inch guns to the coast defence role. There was no enemy air activity in the area at this stage of the campaign, but enemy torpedo boats attacked shipping in the anchorage. By November the LAA allocation to Ostend had been scaled back, but the HAA guns remained in place. Then the Germans launched their

Ardennes offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

against the First US Army on 16 December, accompanied by major air strikes right across the Allies' front. These strikes extended as far as Ostend on 26 December when some 60 German aircraft made random attacks in mist and cloud. The early warning and reporting arrangements failed, and only two aircraft were shot down. The climax came on 1 January 1945 (

Operation Bodenplatte Operation Bodenplatte (; "Baseplate"), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of ''Bodenplatte'' was to gain air superiority during th ...

) when over 900 fighters and

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

s made surprise attacks on Allied airfields, including those close to Ostend. Despite the damage inflicted on the airfields, a high proportion of the attackers were shot down by fighters and AA guns. In January 1945, 5

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

AA Bde took charge of Ostend while 75 AA Bde moved to defend the

Breskens Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western Netherlands. Its population is 4,787 (). The town is noted for the ''Visserijfeesten'' (Fishery Festival), the largest f ...

–

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...

channel leading to the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

estuary and the port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. 75 AA Brigade borrowed some troops of HAA guns from the regiments at Ostend to thicken up its defences against mine-laying aircraft, which were active up until 23 January.

Disbandment

With the war in Europe rapidly coming to an end after the crossing of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

in March, 21st Army Group began to reorganise its surplus AA troops as infantry, garrison or transport troops. On 16 April 146th HAA Rgt was moved up to the Scheldt to rejoin 76 AA Bde, taking over gunsites from one of the HAA regiments that was converting. Next day the regiment received warning orders to be ready to move to 80 AA Bde and itself convert to garrison troops on the

River Maas The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. It ceased fire on 19 April, but the warning order was cancelled the next day. As 76 AA Bde's war diary commented, 'It is most exasperating for the Regt to be left high and dry with no orders for its future employment'. On 27 Apr 1945, 146th HAA Rgt regiment was listed as one of several AA units still awaiting re-employment or disbandment, but the next day it left for its new duties.76 AA Bde War Diary, January–July 1945, TNA file WO 171/4889.Routledge, p. 348; Table LVII, p. 366. RHQ with the three batteries formally disbanded on 30 October 1945.

Footnotes

Notes

References

* Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol I: ''The Battle of Normandy'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1962/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol II: ''The Defeat of Germany'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * 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. Heavy anti-aircraft regiments of the Royal Artillery Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945