Phoney War The prewar planning for the BEF had envisaged two AA brigades, one for forward defence and one guarding the bases and lines of communication, but this was quickly expanded, new headquarters (HQs) were created and the Regular Army AA units were supplemented by part-time units of the
Territorial Army (TA) that had been mobilised for war service under
Anti-Aircraft Command. The order to mobilise was received by 2 AA Bde HQ on 1 September and the advance party disembarked at
Nantes on 5 September, followed by the main body aboard
SS Manxman on 11 September. 1st and 2nd AA Regiments crossed to France the following day. 2 AA Bde HQ remained at Nantes throughout September organising disembarkation of searchlight units and awaiting the arrival of its signals, workshop and transport companies. 1st AA Regiment moved up to the forward area on 8 October, where it joined another brigade, as did 2nd AA Rgt. By November, 2 AA Bde HQ was established at
Beauval, Somme, with the following units under command: •
60th (City of London) AA Rgt (TA) – 24 x
3-inch guns • 210 Bty of
73rd AA Rgt (TA) – 8 x semi-mobile 3-inch guns •
51st (Devon) LAA Rgt (TA) – 12 x
Bofors 40 mm guns, 48 x
Light machine guns (LMGs) •
1st Searchlight Battalion,
Royal Engineers (Regular) – 96 x searchlights (S/Ls) • 2 AA Bde Signals,
Royal Corps of Signals (RCS) • 2 AA Bde Workshop,
Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) • 2 AA Bde Company,
Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) A new
5 S/L Bde took over responsibility for all the BEF's searchlights in February 1940, and there were several changes in 2 AA Bde's composition and locations. Its HQ moved to
Villers-Bretonneux in April, by which time its responsibilities were to defend
Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields of the BEF's Air Component, together with certain French power stations. • 2nd AA Rgt • 6, 21 AA Btys – 16 x 3.7-inch defending
Arras airfield • 60th (City of London) AA Rgt • 168 AA Bty – 4 x 3-inch at each of
Abbeville and
Poix airfields • 169 AA Bty – 4 x 3-inch at each of
Vitry and
Seclin airfields • 194 AA Bty – 4 x 3-inch at each of
Amiens–Glisy and
Rosieres-en-Santerre airfields • 210/73 AA Bty – 6 x 3-inch at
Mons-en-Chaussee, 2 x 3-inch at
Péronne Civil Airport • 51st (Devon) LAA Rgt • 151 LAA Bty – 4 x Bofors at each of Abbeville, Poix and Amiens Glisy • 152 LAA Bty – 4 x Bofors at Mons-en-Chaussee, 8 x AA LMGs at each of Rosieres and Vitry • 153 LAA Bty – 4 x Bofors at Vitry, 4 x Bofors and 8 x AA LMGs at Seclin • 58th (
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) LAA Rgt • 172 LAA Bty – 4 x
Vickers Mk VIII 2-pounders at each of
Pont-à-Vendin,
Lomme and
Comines • 173 LAA Bty – 4 x 2-pounders at each of
Douai and
Dechy The gunsites of 2nd and 60th AA Rgts and 51st LAA Rgt were each supported by a S/L Troop or half-Troop from 5 S/L Bde. Guns of 2 AA Bde were in action from the beginning: 151 LAA Bty at Abbeville airfield claimed a number of hits and suffered a few casualties as the first air raids began on 10 May. As the campaign developed, the BEF followed the pre-arranged
Plan D and advanced into Belgium to take up defences along the
Dyle. 2 AA Brigade's role was to defend the Air Component's airfields in its rear. Brigade HQ had moved up to
Anzin-Saint-Aubin near
Arras by 14 May, and GHQ gave it an AA Operations Room (AAOR) to control AA engagements. Arras was badly bombed on the night of 14/15 May. Afterwards, three
GL Mk I gun-laying radar stations were moved to 2 AA Rgt there and the S/L allocation was increased to introduce a S/L Illuminated Zone round the town and airfield. However, the German Army's rapid breakthrough in the
Ardennes soon threatened the BEF's flank. On 17 May, as the situation worsened, 2 AA Bde's forward units were ordered to withdraw, while others prepared for ground defence of their airfields and established roadblocks on the main roads. 210 AA Battery and its accompanying S/L Trps were re-positioned at
Conteville and
Crécy airfields as
Péronne fell on 18 May. By the night of 18/19 May enemy columns were approaching Arras. 60th AA Regiment was sent to
Béthune, while the rest of the brigade was initially ordered cooperate in the defence of Arras. The CO of 60th AA Rgt was ordered to assume command if 2 AA Bde HQ was cut off, and the brigade's staff captain was sent away with the main body of the HQ. Later the brigade was ordered to withdraw towards
Hazebrouck. Its RASC lorries took as many rations as possible from the abandoned stores, but came under fire from
Panzers as they withdrew. Clearly, the enemy had almost surrounded Arras, and on 21 May as the brigade continued its retreat, the BEF counter-attacked in the
Battle of Arras. Brigade HQ was re-established at
Renescure, outside
Saint-Omer. Meanwhile, 2nd AA Rgt and 58th LAA Rgt had been redeployed to defend Hazebrouck and the Channel ports of
Boulogne,
Calais and
Dunkirk, while 60th AA Rgt, and 51 LAA Rgt were disposed around Saint-Omer and
Merville, inland of Dunkirk; most of these units had S/L detachments with them. As well as AA defence, the brigade had to organise its troops to defend the
Canal de l'Aa. The RAF's fighter squadrons were withdrawing from France, and 2 AA Bde was allowed to withdraw all its units from Abbeville, Conteville and Crécy airfields along with the RAF ground crews. The static 2-pounders had to be abandoned and there was a shortage of towing vehicles for the semi-mobile 3-inch guns, so 60th AA Rgt and
2nd S/L Rgt lent their lorries. 210 AA Battery and its accompanying S/L Trps were ordered west to
Rouen to join
3 AA Bde, but they found that
2nd Panzer Division was already in Abbeville, and they had to disable their guns and fight a rearguard action to get back to Boulogne and then to Dunkirk.
Order of Battle 22 May 1940 On 22 May the brigade reorganised into
ad hoc groups under regimental commanders: As the German net round Dunkirk tightened, the AA units moved back towards the port. On 24 May Brig Chadwick and 2 AA Bde HQ was given control of all AA gun defences in Dunkirk, and two days later the decision was made to evacuate the isolated BEF through that port (
Operation Dynamo). The brigade still had 60th AA Rgt and 51st LAA Rgt under its command, and was joined by
85th (Tees) AA Rgt, which had been withdrawn from Belgium with two batteries of 3.7-inch guns. 85th AA Rgt took the eastern sector, with 174 Bty at
Téteghem and 175 Bty at
Leffrinckoucke, while the 3-inch guns of 60th AA Rgt were disposed in a dual AA/Anti-tank role at the bridges across the
Colme Canal south of Dunkirk. 51st LAA Regiment deployed its Bofors guns to cover the road, rail and canal entrances to
Bergues. Brigade HQ was near
Rosendaël in the suburbs. Dunkirk was heavily bombed and machine-gunned from 24 May onwards, but only 28 rounds of 3.7-inch ammunition were available until more arrived by sea on 26 May and again on 31 May. The AA guns were ordered to remain in action while the BEF passed through them, until forced to withdraw themselves after direct contact with enemy ground forces. From 26 May non-essential AA personnel were sent off for embarkation, and heavy equipment such as transport and the secret GL radar sets was destroyed. Casualties among the AA gunners increased as the
Luftwaffe bombed the town constantly. By 28 May Bde HQ and most of its units were on the beaches. The brigade was ordered to destroy its remaining guns and instruments and prepare for evacuation, which was carried out gradually by thinning out the gun crews. 51st and 53rd LAA Regiments remained in action until near the end, eventually embarking on 1 June. • 250 and 251 Btys of
80th (Berkshire) AA Rgt – 3.7-inch guns at
Portsmouth • 235 Bty of
89th (Cinque Ports) AA Rgt – 3.7-inch guns at
Allhallows, Kent • 284 Bty of
90th AA Rgt – 3-inch guns at
Littlehampton • 31 LAA Bty of
11th (City of London Yeomanry) LAA Rgt AA Command had decided that the AA brigade HQs returned from the BEF with their experience of mobile warfare should take over these mobile forces. Although 2 AA Bde was attached to
6 AA Division of AA Command, it would operate under
Eastern Command. Brigade HQ was established at
Pembury outside Tunbridge Wells and began reconnoitring possible AA positions in Kent and
Sussex in a scheme codenamed '
Bovril'. These covered
Ashford,
Canterbury,
Edenbridge,
Sevenoaks and
Tenterden, while the
Battle of Britain raged overhead. For some time the brigade only had 260 HAA Bty of
84th (Middlesex, London Transport) HAA Rgt under its command. (AA units equipped with 3-inch, 3.7-inch or larger guns were redesignated 'Heavy AA' (HAA) in the summer of 1940 to distinguish them from LAA units with Bofors or LMGs.) In mid-July Bde HQ was joined in these reconnaissances by RHQ of
6th AA Rgt, also returned from Dunkirk, together with 181 HAA Bty from
65th (Manchester Regiment) HAA Rgt and 251/80 HAA Bty. The brigade was joined by 3 AA Bde Signals (3 AA Bde having reverted to AA Command) which was redesignated '2 AA Bde Signals'.
Order of Battle, August 1940 At the end of August the brigade's composition was as follows:
Egypt On 5 October 1940 the brigade was warned that it was earmarked for overseas service in tropical kit and was ordered to mobilise by 5 November. Brigade HQ accompanied by its RAOC Workshop moved to
Paignton and Brigadier Edward Wilson, MC, from
37 AA Bde took over command on 11 November. On 15 November Bde HQ entrained for
Liverpool and sailed on 17 November. After travelling via
Freetown and
Durban it arrived at
Suez and detrained at
Giza on 31 December. On 1 January it set up office in the
Semiramis Hotel in
Cairo and on 8 January
9th (Londonderry) and
74th (City of Glasgow) HAA Rgts came under command. The brigade's task was to build up the permanent defences at the harbours of
Alexandria,
Port Said and Suez, along the Suez Canal, and to defend the landing grounds and supply dumps formed in the desert to support
Western Desert Force (soon to become
XIII Corps). The intention was to have an integrated joint-service control and reporting system on the
Air Defence of Great Britain model that had proved successful during the Battle of Britain. Together with early warning radar and an RAF sector operations room, the AA Defence Commander (AADC) in each major defended area would have a Gun Operations Room (GOR). Unfortunately, little of the necessary equipment was available. AA gun positions were still without gun-laying radar and there was an acute shortage of
Bofors guns, so that even the most important vital points (VPs) were allocated no more than two or three each.
Order of Battle, January 1941 The brigade HQ took control of all AA and coast defence artillery units in No 1 Line of Communication District in the
Nile Delta under
British Troops in Egypt (BTE), but a number of sub-units were detached elsewhere. At the end of January the AA troops in the Delta were as follows: • 9th (Londonderry) HAA Rgt • 24, 26 HAA Btys, 5 LAA Bty at Alexandria • 25 HAA Bty at
Port Sudan • 28 HAA Bty at
Haifa • 74th (City of Glasgow) HAA Rgt on the Canal and at Suez • 230, 231, 232 HAA Btys, 6 LAA Bty •
15th (Isle of Man) LAA Rgt • 41 LAA Bty in the Sudan • 42 LAA Bty • 129 LAA Bty in Crete • 5 LAA Bty
Royal Malta Artillery • S/L Dets of 37 & 38 LAA Btys of
13th LAA Rgt However, during the Spring, AA troops were drawn away to the campaigns in
Greece and
Crete and to the defence of
Tobruk, and 2nd AA Bde was left with just five batteries of 9th and 74th HAA Rgts, three independent LAA batteries (one of them Palestinian), and S/L detachments manned by a squadron of the
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry. 2 AA Brigade's attention now switched to defending the Suez Canal and the harbours of Port Said and Suez at either end, which were vital to the flow of supplies and reinforcements to the Western Desert. Apart from bombing the ports,
Axis aircraft could interdict the canal by dropping
Parachute mines. Defending against this was an obvious role for S/Ls and LAA guns, but the numbers required for complete coverage were excessive. The compromise plan involved siting single S/Ls on either side of the canal at intervals, with additional rows on the flanks spaced at 5-6000-yard intervals. Thus illumination was restricted to a belt along the length of the canal. Fighter aircraft were to provide the main defence, but the problem of intercepting low-level raids led to the deployment of single Bofors guns spaced at intervals of about yards on the banks of the narrow stretches of the canal. By October 1941, the Suez Canal defences had absorbed 72 HAA and 96 LAA guns, and 66 S/Ls. • Brigade HQ: Moascar • Alexandria • HQ AA Defences, Alexandria • GOR Alexandria • GOR
Aboukir • 9th HAA Rgt, less 1 Bty – 16 x 3.7-inch • 277/68 HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 283/88 HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 5 Royal Marine (RM) HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 38/13 LAA Bty, less 1 Trp – 8 x Bofors • 22 RM LAA Bty – 12 x Bofrs • Trp 155/52 LAA Bty – 4 x Bofors • Trp 390/27 S/L Bty – 8 x 150 cm • Port Said and
Port Fuad • AA Sector Operations Room, Port Said • AA Sector Operations Room,
Fayid • 74th HAA Rgt – 24 x 3.7-inch • *305/27 S/L Rgt – 24 x S/L • Suez and Shallufa •
88th HAA Rgt – 24 x 3.7-inch • 205/89 HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 5 Australian HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 100/52 LAA Bty – 12 x Bofors • 9 Australian LAA Bty – 12 x Bofors • 81/25 LAA Bty – 12 x Boforsm • Trps of 1, 38/13, 41/15 LAA Btys – 12 x Bofors • 390/27 S/L Bty less 1 Trp – 18 x S/L • Suez Canal • 200/
69 HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 37/13 LAA Bty – 12 x Bofors • 42/15 LAA Bty – 12 x Bofors • 41/15 LAA Bty less 1 Trp – 8 x Bofors • 155/52 LAA Bty less 1 Trp – 8 x Bofors • Trp 23 RM LAA Bty - 4 x Bofors • 1 (Ind) LAA Bty less 1 Trp – 8 x Bofors • 304/27 S/L Bty – 24 x S/L
Alamein The AA defences of Egypt remained relatively static for the next year while the great battles of the
Western Desert Campaign were fought –
Operation Crusader (November–December 1941),
Gazala (May–June 1942),
First Alamein (July 1942) and
Alam el Halfa (August–September 1942). After Eighth Army had stabilised the El Alamein line and prepared to go over to the offensive, it organised its AA forces into two brigades, with 2 AA Bde to advance directly under Army HQ for line of communication protection while
12 AA Bde was assigned to advance with the
Desert Air Force. Other AA Bde HQs would come into play as the Army advanced.
Order of Battle, October 1942 For this new mobile role, 2 AA Bde had the following organisation: • 69th HAA Rgt • 61, 199 HAA Btys – 16 x 3.7-inch •
2nd LAA Rgt • 6, 155 LAA Btys – 48 x Bofors • 21 AA Bde Co, RASC • 2 AA Bde Workshop,
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) • 2 LAA Regt Workshop Sec, REME • 101 AA Defence HQ (AADC Railways) – remaining btys The
Second Battle of El Alamein opened on 23 October 1942 and went on for 11 days before the final breakthrough (
Operation Supercharge). 2 AA Brigade then followed the pursuit, leap-frogging forward to Tobruk,
Benghazi and later
Tripoli. • 9th HAA Rgt • 24, 25, 26 HAA Btys – 24 x 3.7 •
94th HAA Rgt • 261, 291, 292 HAA Btys – 24 x 3.7 •
40th LAA Rgt – on loan from
51st (Highland) Division • 105, 140, 268 LAA Btys – 35 x Bofors • 53rd LAA Rgt • 157, 158, 159 LAA Btys – 36 x Bofors • 166/
56, 167/56 LAA Btys – detached from
8th Armoured Division • 274/52 LAA Bty – 12 x Bofors • 306/27 S/L Bty – 24 x S/Ls • 2 AA Bde Signals –
joined Tripoli Signals raid during Eighth Army's advance to Tripoli, 29 January 1943.
Order of Battle, May 1943 When the
North African Campaign ended in May 1943, 2 AA Bde was responsible for AA Defence Area Tripolitania with the following composition: • 9th HAA Rgt • 69th HAA Rgt •
93rd HAA Rgt • 2nd LAA Rgt •
30th LAA Rgt •
38th LAA Rgt • 83/25 LAA Bty • 274/52 LAA Bty • 306/27 S/L Bty • Two AAORs
Sicily For the following
Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), AA batteries were included in the assault waves to defend the landing points. Although the plan was successful in getting guns ashore, coordination and communication was poor, there being no overall AA commander on the spot. Brigadier McIntyre landed with 2 AA Brigade's Tactical HQ at
Syracuse on 13 July, three days after the initial landings, together with RHQ and one battery of
73rd HAA Rgt (the other two batteries having been among the beach groups) and
66th LAA Rgt. Together with the lightly-equipped assault batteries, the brigade took up defence of Syracuse harbour and the captured airfields at
Pachino and
Cassibile, which suffered numerous dive-bombing and strafing attacks, and high level bombing by night and day. After the landings, Eighth Army made rapid progress up the east coast of Sicily and the follow-up AA forces began to land.
62 AA Bde HQ arrived in Syracuse on 17 July, taking over responsibility for the harbour and airfield defence while 2 AA Bde moved on to
Augusta, which was also heavily attacked. By early August, 2 AA Bde had moved up with Eighth Army to
Catania with
51st (London) HAA Rgt and 40th and
74th LAA Rgts under command.
Italy After the remaining Axis forces evacuated Sicily, Eighth Army regrouped to invade mainland Italy. The opening phase was
Operation Baytown, an assault crossing of the
Strait of Messina by XIII Corps supported by 2 AA Bde. Brigade HQ began reconnoitring sites to cover the operation on 18 August, the day after
Messina fell, and sent forward two batteries of 51st HAA and two of 74th LAA Rgts for the first deployment. 298 HAA Battery of
97th (London Scottish) HAA Rgt also went forward to support XIII Corps in the medium artillery role. The crossing was to be made with a variety of landing craft and these required AA protection as did the assembly and embarkation points and supply dumps. 2 AA Brigade left 298/97 HAA Bty and two LAA batteries, 13/40 and one from 2nd Canadian LAA Rgt, to defend these areas, and embarked with 51st and the rest of 97th HAA Rgts, 53rd and 74th LAA Rgts to deploy on the Italian side.
Order of Battle, September 1943 • Reggio • 242/51 HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • 186/74 and Canadian LAA Bty – 16 x Bofors • Beaches • 299/97 and 319/97 HAA Btys – 16 x 3.7-inch • 53rd LAA Rgt – 54 x Bofors • Airfield • 152/51 and 153/51 HAA Btys – 16 x 3.7-inch • 225/74 LAA Bty – 18 x Bofors • 150 AAOR, 6 x GL radar, 1 x Local Warning radar • Smoke units • Messina • 298/97 HAA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch • Canadian LAA Bty – 18 x Bofors There was only one raid of importance on Reggio, when four
Focke-Wulf Fw 190s bombed the harbour and attacked the AA positions: 319/97 HAA Bty had a command post destroyed, suffering nine dead and eight wounded. XIII Corps worked cautiously and methodically through
Calabria, 2 AA Bde following up to cover the small harbours and airfields, and being rejoined by 298/97 HAA Bty from Messina. In late September the brigade was warned to concentrate for a long move across Italy to defend the captured
Foggia Airfield Complex. 2 AA Brigade reached Foggia and the port of
Bari by 30 September, where it was joined by
88th HAA Rgt,
47th and
117th LAA Rgts. 62 AA Brigade HQ arrived on 2 October and took over responsibility for Bari, but 2 AA Bde remained at Foggia for another two weeks, with 1st Airlanding LAA Rgt from
1st Airborne Division temporarily under command to boost the low-level defences. On 27 October the brigade moved forward to a fresh set of landing-grounds and a railhead in support of
1st Canadian Division. Brigadier McIntyre was an enthusiast for using the versatile 3.7-inch HAA guns for ground support tasks, and two batteries of 51st HAA Rgt were allotted to the Canadians in this role while the rest of the brigade was split up into small packets at airfields and on Corps tasks. The crossing of the
Sangro and
Biferno rivers involved long artillery fire programmes at the end of November, for which 51st HAA was assigned to
6th Army Group Royal Artillery (6th AGRA), after which it switched to protecting the assembly and bridgehead areas for the actual assault. During the winter of 1943–44, when Eighth Army faced the German
Winter Line, McIntyre disposed two-thirds of his HAA guns in the forward area, the rest at landing grounds as far back as Foggia, and he rotated batteries between the tasks. For 'Operation Kishan', carried out by
10th Infantry Brigade in May 1944, 84th and 88th HAA Rgts deployed 44 guns and fired 9881 rounds in bombardment and harassing fire in one week. In one occasion, three Troops (12 guns) of 84th HAA broke up a concentration of 300 German troops forming up for an attack. When the Adriatic coast campaign began moving again in May 1944, 2 AA Bde moved up with
V Corps and in July it reached
Ancona. After a short period of refitting and re-training at
Anzio in August, 2 AA Bde's units returned to the line between
Arezzo and
Florence in September, a journey across mountains that was unusually carried out as a single road convoy. Between September and December, as the Allied armies closed up to the
Gothic Line, its units were widely distributed, some supporting XIII Corps with
Fifth US Army, others with
X Corps and
II Polish Corps under Eighth Army. In late 1944 the
Luftwaffe was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious air attacks were rare. At the same time the British Army was suffering a severe manpower shortage. The result was that a number of AA units were deemed surplus and were disbanded to provide reinforcements to other arms of service. 84th HAA Regiment was the unit selected from 2 AA Bde, and it was broken up in October and formally placed in 'suspended animation' in November 1944, with its drivers converted into 84th General Transport Company. Some units such as 51st HAA Rgt had already been 'diluted' (as it was termed at the time) by soldiers of the African Pioneer Corps to be trained as gunners to release British other ranks for other duties. Other units now retrained as infantry or in the case of LAA units re-equipped some of their Bofors batteries with
3-inch or
4.2-inch mortars for infantry support. For the first part of this period, the brigade held a section of the line as an independent formation, with two of its LAA regiments deployed as infantry. Its HAA regiments were now entirely committed to ground targets and during the battle of the Gothic Line two regiments fired over 22,000 rounds in ground support. These tasks included
counter-battery (CB), defensive fire (DF) and harassing fire (HF) shoots, but also
air-burst shoots against entrenched positions, and destruction of hard targets such as buildings. The regiments suffered some casualties from retaliatory fire. Having spent December 1944 to March 1945 facing the German
Winter Line, dispersed from XIII Corps to the Adriatic coast, with occasional AA engagements, the brigade came back fully under Eighth Army command as it broke through into the
Po Plain. The brigade now had a medium artillery regiment and a composite heavy battery of
7.2-inch howitzers and
155 mm guns under its command, and was expanded with units from
10th Indian Division to form 'Macforce' (named after Brig McIntyre). Initially Macforce operated under 6th AGRA, then the brigade's AAOR began to operate as an AGRA in its own right and brigade signals took responsibility for a communication hub linking Fifth Army and
IV US Corps to X Corps and Macforce. In April Macforce drove down Route 9 in pursuit of the retreating Axis forces, firing in support of the
Friuli and
Folgore Combat Groups of the
Italian Co-belligerent Army. ==Commanders==