mobile HAA gun. On 23 May 1943, 175th HAA Rgt, with 375, 386 and 441 HAA Btys, arrived in Gibraltar from the United Kingdom to relieve
82nd (Essex) HAA Rgt. It came under the command of
15 AA Bde, and
228 (Edinburgh) HAA Bty from the recently disbanded
13th HAA Rgt was attached to it from 27 May, as was the Gibraltar Defence Force H.A.A. Bty. On 25 August 228 HAA Bty left Gibraltar and was relieved by 596 HAA Bty transferred from
177th HAA Rgt in the UK. The vital
naval base and
airfield on Gibraltar had been overflown and sometimes attacked by
Vichy French,
Italian and
German aircraft during 1940–42, and the AA defences had reached peak strength in early 1943. Ironically, after 175th HAA Rgt arrived there were only two or three reconnaissance overflights during 1943. By the end of the year, with Italy out of the war and the German forces in Italy in retreat, it was clear that the
Axis powers could no longer mount an effective air strike against Gibraltar. A reduction in the AA defences began in order to release men urgently needed elsewhere. long range bomber used by the Italian
Regia Aeronautica to bomb Gibraltar In February 1944 the rundown started with the disbandment of 15 AA Bde HQ, overall command of the AA defences passing to the fortress's HQ
Royal Artillery. On 7 March RHQ of 175th HAA Rgt took over operational control of 451 LAA Bty from
141st Light AA Rgt which was being withdrawn, together with 1 RDF Bty (radar), 1 AA 'Z' Troop (
Z Battery rocket launchers) and 142 Gun Operations Room. Then on 20 August 596 HAA Bty and 1 AA 'Z' Trp left Gibraltar. By September there were only 16 operational HAA guns in the fortress, the remainder being in a state of care and maintenance only. Finally, on 26 October, 441 HAA and 451 LAA Btys were disbanded as the men were sent back to the UK, and 1 Radar Bty became independent; there were no other changes to the end of the war. ==Postwar==