Mobilisation AA Command mobilised in August 1939, and its units were already at their war stations on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939. 33rd AA Brigade was responsible for the air defence of
Liverpool and West
Lancashire, controlling the following units: in foreground, the burned-out shell of the
Custom House in middle distance •
70th (3rd West Lancashire) AA Regiment, RA –
HAA unit formed in 1937 by conversion of 89th (3rd West Lancashire) Field Brigade, RA • HQ at Tramway Road,
Aigburth, Liverpool •
103 HAA Regiment –
formed May 1940 •
106 HAA Regiment –
formed August 1940 •
33 LAA Regiment (132 LAA Battery) –
from Western Command at Liverpool •
42 LAA Regiment –
formed September 1939 from batteries of 17 and 36 LAA Regts • Part of
65 LAA Regiment –
formed November 1940 The Blitz While the Battle of Britain raged over the skies of Southern England by day, there were also night raids on industrial cities, and Liverpool was heavily attacked for four nights in a row from 28 August. The night raids continued into the following Spring, during which period the city and its docks along the
Mersey became the most heavily bombed area of Britain outside London. The campaign became known as the
Liverpool Blitz, with particularly heavy attacks at Christmas 1940 (the
Christmas Blitz), in April 1941, and again in May (the
May Blitz).
Order of Battle 1940–41 By the end of the Blitz the brigade had the following units under command: •
1st HAA Rgt –
Regular Army mobile regiment, transferred from 1st AA Bde at Crewe; part of War Office Reserve • 1, 2, 17 HAA Btys • 1 HAA Rgt Signals Section,
Royal Corps of Signals (RCS) • 1 HAA Rgt Section, RASC • 1 HAA Rgt Workshop,
Royal Army Ordnance Corps • 93rd HAA Rgt • 267, 288, 289, 290 HAA Btys • 103rd HAA Rgt • 322, 323, 324 HAA Btys • 420 Bty (joined between 27 June and 11 July 1941) •
107th HAA Rgt –
new unit formed September 1940, partly from 103rd HAA Rgt Newly formed units joining AA Command were increasingly 'mixed' ones into which women of the
Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated. Some of these were armed with
Z Battery rocket projectiles that were partly manned by members of the
Home Guard. At the same time, experienced units were posted away for service overseas. This continual turnover of units accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for
Operation Torch and the need to relocate guns to counter the
Baedeker Blitz and the
Luftwaffes hit-and-run attacks against South Coast towns.
Order of Battle 1941–42 During this period the division was composed as follows (temporary detachments omitted): • 1st HAA Rgt –
as above; to Northern Ireland July 1941 • 93rd HAA Rgt –
as above; to 44 AA Bde June 1942 • 267, 288, 289 HAA Btys •
95th HAA Rgt –
joined September 1942; left for India October 1942 • 204, 293, 240 HAA Btys • 103rd HAA Rgt –
as above; left for mobile training May 1942 • 322, 323, 324 HAA Btys • 420 HAA Bty –
joined July 1941; left April 1942 • 107th HAA Rgt –
as above; left December 1941 •
117th HAA Rgt –
joined autumn, to 70 AA Bde December 1941, returned May, left for Orkney and Shetland Defences (OSDEF) late August 1942 • 370, 371 HAA Btys • 358 Bty –
joined May, left July 1942 • 369, 392 HAA Btys –
left early August 1942 •
137th (Mixed) HAA Rgt –
new unit formed November, joined December 1941, to 1 AA Group October 1942 Order of Battle 1942–44 By this time the brigade was composed solely of HAA regiments following the redeployment of LAA guns to the South Coast. It was only in early 1943 that the brigade was reinforced: • 93rd HAA Rgt –
returned by October 1942; left for Middle East Forces (MEF) by mid-March 1943 • 267, 288, 289, 290 HAA Btys • 149th (M) HAA Rgt –
to 53 AA Bde May 1943 • 506, 507, 512, 587 (M) HAA Btys • 154th (M) HAA Rgt –
to 2 AA Group October 1943 • 522, 526, 590 (M) HAA Btys • 550 (M) HAA Bty –
left December 1942 • 552 (M) HAA Bty –
joined January 1943 •
157th (M) HAA Rgt –
from 2 AA Group October 1943 • 505, 539, 550, 551 (M) HAA Btys •
179th (M) HAA Rgt –
from 2 AA Group October 1943 • 584, 606, 607, 641 (M) HAA Btys •
184th (M) HAA Rgt –
new unit formed November 1942, joined April 1943; to 44 AA Bde by August 1943 • 157th (M) HAA Rgt –
as above •
159th (M) HAA Rgt –
joined March, to 6 AA Group August 1944 • 542, 543, 563, 614 (M) HAA Btys •
167th (M) HAA Rgt –
joined March 1944; to 1 AA Group May 1944 • 464, 562, 610 (M) HAA Btys • 179th (M) HAA Rgt –
as above; to 2 AA Group May 1944 • 190th (M) HAA Rgt –
as above; to 61 AA Bde May 1944 •
196th HAA Rgt –
from OSDEF June 1944; disbanded July 1944 War's end As the war neared its end there was a continued run-down of AA Command: 4 AA Group was disbanded in mid-March 1945, and 33 AA Bde transferred to the command of
5 AA Group. By this time, the brigade consisted solely of the rocket batteries of the three AA Area Mixed Rgts, and as these were disbanded in April. were disbanded during March and April, the brigade HQ soon had nothing to command. • 2nd HAA Rgt –
returned from MEF • 16, 20, 28 HAA Btys • 4th HAA Rgt –
returned from MEF • 5, 6, 258 HAA Btys •
7th HAA Rgt –
returned from Siege of Malta • 10, 13, 27 HAA Btys • 130th HAA Rgt • 442, 443, 448 HAA Btys • 69th (3rd City of London) S/L Rgt • 354, 456, 457 S/L Btys ==Postwar==