27th Air Defence Brigade
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Brigade (27 AA Bde) was an Air Defence formation of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in the
Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
that served in
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
and later converted to infantry.


Origin

German air raids by
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
airships and Gotha bombers on London and other British cities during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
had shown the need for strong anti-aircraft (AA) defences in any future war. When the Territorial Army (TA) was reformed in 1922 it included a number of dedicated AA units of the
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 ...
(RA) and
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
(RE). Two formations were organised in London District to command these units, provisionally known as the 2nd and 3rd London Air Defence Brigades, but soon numbered 26th and 27th. Both brigades were based at the
Duke of York's Headquarters The Duke of York's Headquarters is a building in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England. In 1969 it was declared a listed building at Grade II*, due to its outstanding historic or architectural special interest. History ...
in Chelsea. 3rd AD Bde's units were initially based at Lytton Grove, Putney, taking over buildings previously used by the
City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) The City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Territorial Army, formed in 1901 from veterans of the Second Boer War. In World War I it served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign but reverted to the mounted r ...
. The 27th (London) Air Defence Brigade comprised: * 53rd (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, RA (TA) (HAA unit formed in 1922 at Putney, recruited mainly from men in banks and insurance companies in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
)Litchfield ** HQ at
White City, London White City is a district of London, England, in the northern part of Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, 5 miles (8 km) west-northwest of Charing Cross. White City is home to Television Centre (previously th ...
** 157th (City of London) AA Battery at White City ** 158th (City of London) AA Battery at White City ** 159th (
Lloyd's Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...
) (City of London) AA Battery at White City * 54th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, RA (TA) (HAA unit formed in 1922 at Putney) ** HQ at Putney ** 160th (City of London) AA Battery at Putney ** 161st (City of London) AA Battery at Putney ** 162nd (City of London) AA Battery at Putney * 27th (London) Anti-Aircraft Battalion (London Electrical Engineers), RE (TA) (a searchlight unit) ** HQ at
Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...
** 304th AA Company at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
** 305th AA Company at Westminster ** 306th AA Company at Westminster ** 390th AA Company at Westminster * 27th (London) Anti-Aircraft Signal Company, Royal Signals


1935 Reorganisation

As Britain's AA defences expanded during the 1930s, higher formations became necessary. 1st AA Division was formed at the end of 1935 to cover London and the Home Counties. As part of this reorganisation, 26th (London) Bde assumed command of all the gun and searchlight units of the two former brigades, while the 27th was reformed as 27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Group, based at
RAF Kenley The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was an airfield station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF in the Second World War. It played a significant role during the Battle of Britain ...
, to command new AA units in the South London suburbs.Frederick, pp. 1049–50. * 60th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, RA, (TA) (heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) gun unit formed in 1935 by conversion of
4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment The 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was a Volunteer unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) recruited from East London. During World War I it raised four battalions, which carried out garrison duty in Malta and ...
) ** HQ at
Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...
** 168 Battery at Catford ** 169 Battery at Catford ** 194 Battery at Catford * 30th (Surrey) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE, (TA) (formed in 1935 from HQ Surrey Group AA Searchlight Companies RE) ** HQ at
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
** 315 Company at
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
** 316 Company at Kingston upon Thames ** 318 Company at
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
** 323 Company at Ewell * 31st (City of London Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) (searchlight unit formed in 1935 by conversion of 6th Battalion, the London Regiment (City of London Rifles)) ** HQ at Sutton ** 324 Company at Sutton ** 325 Company at Sutton ** 326 Company at Merton ** 327 Company at Hackbridge * 34th (The Queen's Own Royal West Kent) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) (searchlight unit formed in 1935 by conversion of 20th London Regiment (Blackheath & Woolwich), affiliated to the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment) ** HQ at
Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...
** 320 Company at Greenwich ** 336 Company at Blackheath ** 337 Company at Blackheath ** 338 Company at
Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...
* 35th (First Surrey Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) (searchlight unit formed in 1935 by conversion of 21st Battalion, London Regiment, affiliated to the
East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...
) ** HQ at
Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
** 340th Company at Camberwell ** 341st Company at Camberwell ** 342nd Company at Camberwell ** 343rd Company at Camberwell The AA Groups took the more usual formation title of Brigades on 1 January 1939 after the
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 ...
replaced its traditional unit designation 'Brigade' by the modern 'Regiment'.


Outbreak of war

During the period of tension leading to the
Munich crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
and eventually the outbreak of the Second World War, the Territorial Army grew enormously, and existing TA infantry battalions continued to be converted to AA regiments. The number of divisions and brigades was expanded, and the whole AA defence of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
was taken over by Anti-Aircraft Command on 1 April 1939. When the UK declared war on 3 September 1939, 27th (Home Counties) AA Bde was a searchlight formation in 6 AA Division (also based at Uxbridge) and had the following composition:AA Command 3 September 1939 at Patriot Files
/ref> * Brigade HQ:
Lingfield, Surrey Lingfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, approximately south of London. Several buildings date from the Tudor period and the timber-frame medieval church is Grade I listed. The stone cage or old ...
* 31st (City of London Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) ** HQ, 324, 325, 326, 327 Companies as before * 34th (The Queen's Own Royal West Kent) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) ** HQ, 302, 336, 337, 338 Companies as before * 70th (Sussex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (a newly formed TA Unit) ** HQ, 459, 460, 461 Batteries all at
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
In August 1940, during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, the RE 'Anti-Aircraft' (searchlight) battalions became regiments of the RA.


The Blitz

By late 1940, at the height of
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
, 27 AA Bde was serving in 5 AA Division covering the important naval base of
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 dens ...
, with the following regiments under command: * 31st (City of London Rifles) Searchlight Regiment, RA (TA) * 70th (Sussex) Searchlight Regiment, RA (TA) The AA Corps and Divisions were disbanded and replaced on 1 October 1942 by new AA Groups. Late in 1944, 27 AA Bde was serving in 2 AA Group, covering the Solent, South-East England and southern
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
.303 Bde at RA 39–45


Mid-war

Over the two years following the end of the Blitz, the brigade had the following changes in composition:Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/79.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. * 31st S/L Rgt (converted into 123rd Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Rgt February 1942; left August 1942)Farndale, Annex M. ** 324, 325, 326, 327 S/L Btys (converted into 405, 408, 409 LAA Btys) * 34th S/L Rgt ** 302, 336, 337, 338 Btys * 23rd LAA Rgt (attached to 65 AA Bde; joined May, left June 1941) ** 73, 74, 130, 229 Btys * 43rd LAA Rgt (joined and left June 1941) ** 147, 148, 198 Btys * 35th S/L Rgt (rejoined Summer 1941, left December 1941) ** 340, 341, 342, 343 Btys * 124th HAA Rgt (joined Autumn 1941, left October-November 1942) ** 219, 410, 412, 415 Btys * 1st S/L Rgt (Regular regiment, joined January 1942) ** 1, 2, 7 Btys ** 8 Bty (attached to 71 AA Bde October–November 1942) * 132nd LAA Rgt (converted from 85th S/L Rgt March 1942, joined by May 1942, left June 1942) ** 436, 437, 438, 441 Btys * 107th HAA Rgt (joined and left June 1942) ** 334, 335, 337, 390 Btys * 68th LAA Rgt (joined August 1942, left October-November 1942) ** 203, 278 Btys ** 204 Bty (attached to 47 AA Bde) * 98th LAA Rgt(joined August 1942) ** 304 Bty (attached to 47 AA Bde) ** 305, 306, 481 Btys * 146th HAA Rgt (joined September 1942; left November 1942) ** 176, 359, 414, 465 Btys * 179th (Mixed) HAA Rgt (new regiment joined October-November 1942; left November 1942) ** 564 Bty (attached to 47 AA Bde) ** 584, 606 Btys * 4th (Ulster) LAA Rgt (converted from 3rd (Ulster) S/L Rgt; joined October-November 1942; left November 1942) ** 7, 8, 10 Bty * 112th (Durham Light Infantry) LAA Rgt (converted from 47th (DLI) S/L Rgt; joined October-November 1942; left November 1942) ** 364, 365, 366 Btys * 125th (Cameronian) LAA Rgt (converted from 56th (Cameronian) S/L Rgt; joined December 1942) ** 417, 418, 419 Btys Increasingly, HAA and support units were 'Mixed', indicating that the operational personnel included women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).


Hit and run

The AA defences of Southern England were severely tested in the summer of 1942 by the ''Luftwaffes 'hit-and-run' attacks along the South Coast, and there was much reorganisation, accounting for some of the turnover of units listed earlier. In August 1942, 27 AA Bde was transferred from 5th AA Division to 3rd AA Division, a HQ brought down from Scotland to handle the increased workload. However, all the AA Divisions were disbanded on 30 September. 27 AA Brigade joined the new 2 AA Group covering South East England, and took responsibility for S/L units in that area. After this major reorganisation in October–December 1942, the brigade settled down with the following composition: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. * 125th LAA Rgt ** 417, 418, 419 Btys * 1st S/L Rgt ** 1, 2, 7 Btys ** 8 Bty (attached to 71 AA Bde) * 34th S/L Rgt ** 302, 337, 338 Btys ** 336 Bty (attached to 47 AA Bde) However, in the spring of 1943, 125th LAA left 27 AA Bde, later joining 76 AA Bde, one of the formations earmarked for the planned invasion of Normandy (
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
). It was briefly replaced in 27 AA Bde by the return of 4th LAA Rgt, but that unit left permanently in May. After that, 27 AA Bde once again became purely a S/L formation. In February, the brigade was strengthened to deal with renewed 'hit-and-run' attacks by ''
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-Fliegerabtei ...
'' fighter-bombers attacking coastal towns at low level in daylight. 73rd (Kent Fortress) S/L Rgt joined from 56 AA Bde, where it had been covering airfields in Kent, and 355 S/L Bty was detached from 39th (Lancashire Fusiliers) S/L Rgt in 53 AA Bde in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
, and travelled by train to join 27 AA Bde on the South Coast.355 S/L Bty War Diary, 1943, TNA file WO 166/11550. Because of the hit-and-run raids, the allocation of Lewis guns for local defence was increased from one to four and later six per S/L site. The guns had to be manned throughout the hours of daylight. On 11 March a raid on Hastings by
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
s and
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
s flew right over 355's Battery HQ, and a raid by Bf 109s on
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...
on 24 March was engaged by one of 355's sites. However, in May 1943, 355 S/L battery was disbanded, the ATS personnel and specialists being posted to other units in 27 AA Bde, the remainder being drafted as reinforcements to LAA units. In April, 73rd S/L Rgt was exchanged for 33rd (St Pancras) S/L Rgt from 66 AA Bde in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, which took over four areas of Kent under Biggin Hill Sector of
No. 11 Group RAF No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the Ba ...
. This area was under regular attack by ''Luftwaffe'' fighter-bombers, and the defensive armament of S/L positions was increased, with the existing Lewis guns being supplemented with twin Vickers K machine gun mountings and later twin 0.5-inch Browning machine guns on power mountings.Sainsbury, Chapter 5. By the summer of 1943 the brigade had the following composition:Order of Battle of AA Command, 1 August 1943, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/84. * 1st S/L Rgt ** 1, 2, 7, 8 Btys * 33rd S/L Rgt ** 332, 333, 334, 543 Btys * 34th S/L Rgt ** 302, 336, 337, 338 Btys * 83rd S/L Rgt joined between 1 Aug and 7 Sep ** 365, 513, 514, 515 Btys From September 1943, 33rd S/L Rgt carried out experiments for AA Command on new combinations of S/Ls and searchlight control radar (SLC).


Baby Blitz and Operation Diver

By the end of January 1944, 27 AA Bde had been reinforced by further S/L regiments: * 36th (Middlesex) S/L Rgt ** 317, 345, 346, 424 Btys * 38th (The Kings Regiment) S/L Rgt ** 350, 351, 352, 353 Btys * 61st (South Lancashire Regiment) S/L Rgt ** 432, 433, 434 Btys Between 21 January and 14 March 1944 the ''Luftwaffe'' carried out 11 night raids on London in the so-called '
Baby Blitz Operation Steinbock (german: Unternehmen Steinbock), sometimes called the Baby Blitz, was a strategic bombing campaign by the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) during the Second World War. It targeted southern England and lasted from January to ...
'. However, by March 1944, AA Command was being forced to release manpower for Operation Overlord. Each of 27 AA Bde's S/L regiments lost one of its four batteries, leaving: * 1st S/L Rgt ** 1, 2, 7 Btys * 33rd S/L Rgt ** 332, 333 334 Btys * 34th S/L Rgt ** 302, 336, 337 Btys * 36th S/L Rgt ** 317, 345, 346 Btys * 38th S/L Rgt ** 350, 351, 352 Btys * 61st S/L Rgt ** 432, 433, 434 Btys * 79th S/L Rgt ** 502, 503, 504 Btys * 83rd S/L Rgt ** 365, 513, 514 Btys In May and June 1944, while the build-up for Overlord was at its height, 38th and 61st S/L Rgts were transferred to 38 AA Bde in 2 AA Group (covering the
Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
), but they returned a month later. In July 1944 came the start of the
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
campaign against London, though Kent was on the fringe of the V-1's route. 27 AA Bde's S/L layout was little affected by the massive reorganisation that AA Command had to carry out to meet this threat (
Operation Diver Operation Diver was the British codename for countermeasures against the V-1 flying bomb campaign launched by the German in 1944 against London and other parts of Britain. Diver was the codename for the V-1, against which the defence consisted of ...
). However, as
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 ...
overran the V-1 launching sites, the ''Luftwaffe'' began to launch them from aircraft over the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. AA Command shifted units from Kent to deal with them, and in November 33rd S/L Rgt had to take over some of the vacated sites along the East Kent coast. By mid-October, 79th and 83rd S/L Rgts had been transferred to 56 AA Bde in 2 AA Group, and both regiments were disbanded shortly afterwards. By October 1944, the brigade's HQ establishment was 9 officers, 8 male other ranks and 23 members of the ATS, together with a small number of attached drivers, cooks and mess orderlies (male and female). In addition, the brigade had a Mixed Signal Office Section of 1 officer, 5 male other ranks and 19 ATS, which was formally part of the Group signal unit.


Conversion

By the end of 1944, 21st Army Group was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry. At the same time the ''Luftwaffe'' was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious aerial attacks on the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
could be discounted. In January 1945 the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
began to reorganise surplus anti-aircraft and coastal artillery regiments in the UK into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. 61st S/L Regiment had already left the brigade in December and been converted into a Garrison regiment, while in mid-Jan 45, 1st S/L had joined 21st Army Group to defend
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,
and the
Scheldt Estuary The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
. On 22 January 1945, HQ 27 AA Bde under Brigadier H.G. SmithIWM papers
/ref> was converted into 303rd Infantry Brigade with the following units under command:Joslen, p. 399. * 33rd S/L Rgt became
632nd (St Pancras) Infantry Regiment, Royal Artillery 63 may refer to: * 63 (number) * one of the years 63 BC, AD 63, 1963, 2063 * +63, telephone country code in the Philippines * Flight 63 (disambiguation) * ''63'' (album), by Tree63 * ''63'' (mixtape), by Kool A.D. * "Sixty Three", a song by Karm ...
* 36th S/L Rgt became 634th (Middlesex) Infantry Regiment, Royal Artillery * 38thS/L Rgt became 635th (King's Regiment) Infantry Regiment, RA After initial infantry training, 303 Bde was sent to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in June 1945 as part of the liberation of that country (
Operation Doomsday In Operation Doomsday, the British 1st Airborne Division acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945, immediately after the victory in Europe during the Second World War. The division maintained law a ...
).


Postwar

When the TA was reformed on 1 January 1947, 27 AA Bde was reformed at
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
under the new designation of 53 (Home Counties) AA Brigade, with the following composition:AA Bdes 30–60 at British Army units 1945 on
/ref> * 259 (Home Counties) (Cinque Ports) HAA Regt * 489 (Cinque Ports) HAA Regt * 516 LAA Regt However, the brigade was disbanded in September 1948.


Notes


References

* ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927; artillery units reprinted in Litchfield Appendix IV. * Major L. F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Volume II: ''The Defeat of Germany'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * 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, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992. * Brig N. W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . * Col J.D. Sainsbury, ''The Hertfordshire Yeomanry Regiments, Royal Artillery, Part 2: The Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment 1938–1945 and the Searchlight Battery 1937–1945; Part 3: The Post-war Units 1947–2002'', Welwyn: Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Trust/Hart Books, 2003, .


External sources


British Military History

British Army units from 1945 on

Imperial War Museum



Sir Frederick Pile, "The Anti-Aircraft Defence Of The United Kingdom From 28th July, 1939, to 15th April, 1945"
''London Gazette'' 16 October 1947.
Orders of Battle

Patriot Files


* ttps://ra39-45.co.uk Royal Artillery 1939–1945 {{British anti-aircraft brigades of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1935 Air defence brigades of the British Army Anti-Aircraft brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1948