Mobilisation The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the
Munich Crisis, with units manning their emergency positions within 24 hours, even though many did not yet have their full complement of men or equipment. The emergency lasted three weeks, and they were stood down on 13 October. In February 1939 the existing AA defences came under the control of a new
Anti-Aircraft Command. In June, as the international situation worsened, a partial mobilisation of the TA was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA gun and searchlight positions. 356th AA Company was at
Snaith in
East Yorkshire when orders for full mobilisation were issued, and the company returned to Salford. It immediately manned two sections of four lights around
Widnes and
Knutsford, while the rest of the company manned
Lewis gun positions at Latchford, Barton and Irwell Locks on the
Manchester Ship Canal and at
Barton Power Station. This deployment to guard Vital Points (VP) continued through the period known as the '
Phoney War' until the company was fully equipped with searchlights. On 1 August 1940 the AA battalions of the RE were transferred to the
Royal Artillery (RA), the 39th being designated
39th (The Lancashire Fusiliers) Searchlight Regiment, RA, and the Companies became Batteries. The day of the formal transfer happened to be
Minden Day, celebrated in all battalions of the
Lancashire Fusiliers by wearing red roses. 356 Battery held a parade at Salford. Despite transfer to the RE and then the RA, the regiment and its batteries continued to wear their Lancashire Fusiliers' cap badges and buttons.
Home Defence Shortly afterwards, 355 and 356 Batteries went to
Orkney, where they formed part of Orkney and Shetland Defences (OSDEF) guarding the vital
Scapa Flow naval base against occasional
Luftwaffe nuisance raids and reconnaissance aircraft. They were later joined by Regimental HQ. 39th Searchlight Regiment returned to England in April 1941, sailing from
Kirkwall to
Aberdeen, and then entraining for
Liverpool, where it arrived just in time for a series of heavy night air raids that devastated the city of Liverpool ('the
May Blitz'). The newly arrived searchlight crews were continuously in action, some stationed in the docks area that was a particular target of these raids. In mid-November 1941 the regiment was redeployed, with 356 Bty moving to east
Preston. By January 1943, 356 Bty had completed mobile and battle training, and was temporarily attached to 59th S/L Rgt manning sites near Edinburgh. It became an independent battery on 20 February 1943. In April and May 1943 the battery underwent mobile training at
Kinloss in
Scotland and at
Thurstaston on the
Wirral, then in June it moved to
Margate in
Kent to begin training in cooperation with heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) guns under
74th AA Brigade, one of the formations preparing for
Operation Overlord, the planned Allied invasion of Normandy. In the autumn it moved to
Northampton and later
Warwick, using
Air Defence of Great Britain searchlight positions for training in cooperation with
Royal Air Force night fighters and providing 'Canopy' coverage over VPs such as airfields. In February 1944, 356 S/L Bty came under the command of
105th AA Brigade (another Overlord formation). In April the battery painted white Allied stars on its vehicles and moved to
Southend-on-Sea for final preparations for the invasion; meanwhile its S/L crews were deployed to provide 'Canopy' coverage at
RAF Twinwood Farm and
RAF Coltishall. Late in the month, the whole battery moved into sealed camps in the invasion force's concentration area.
Normandy Battery HQ and advanced parties of the S/L Troops embarked on
LSTs at
Southampton between 31 May and 4 June, and began landing on the King Beach sector of
Gold Beach late on
D-Day (6 June), although they were unable get any searchlights ashore before darkness fell. A Troop had seven lights (out of a planned 16) in operation by 20.30 on D + 1, in time for an air raid at 23.30. The first light exposed, A3, 'went straight up on a
Ju 88'. The following night, with 15 lights in action, B6 caught a
Heinkel He 111 and passed it to a succession of S/Ls while all the AA guns on land and sea fired, bringing it down in flames. The battery was operating under
76th AA Brigade, responsible for the AA defence of the Gold beachhead, the
Mulberry harbour under construction at
Arromanches, and the oil terminal at
Port-en-Bessin. C Troop and the remainder of the frontline elements of the battery arrived on Motor Transports from Southend on 9 June (D + 3), but the vehicles could not be landed until the next day. (The
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers workshop,
Royal Corps of Signals section and rear echelon vehicles did not arrive until some weeks later.) Over succeeding nights the S/Ls were in use against nuisance raids over the beachhead, with some casualties suffered from the bombing. The lights forced the Luftwaffe to attack from greater height. From 14 June the battery also operated one S/L as an 'Orbit' beacon for RAF night fighters. After the test carried out by 356 and 474 Btys, the newly arrived
344th (Ind) S/L Bty used the technique operationally for the first time to assist the assembly of
15th (Scottish) Division for
Operation Greenline on the night of 14/15 July. Meanwhile, S/L positions were in action nightly, and during the day were frequently subject to ground attack, to which they responded with
Light machine guns. S/L detachments were routinely equipped with
Bren guns for close AA defence, but in July they began to receive
20 mm Polsten guns. On 26 July the eight S/Ls of B Troop were sent to operate round the recently captured town of
Caen under command of
100th AA Brigade. The bridges over the
Caen Canal were under regular night air attack, causing casualties among the S/L crews, and the S/L positions were also under shellfire. B Troop was relieved by
557 (Ind) S/L Bty at the end of July. 356 S/L Bty was withdrawn from the Dunkirk siege lines on 1 November, and on 10 November a troop of the battery joined 74th AA Bde guarding
Grave bridge. On 4 November C Troop was detached to
51st (Highland) Division for its first experience with artificial moonlight. This was for an assault crossing of the Afwateringkanal and
River Maas and subsequent bridgelaying. The troop stayed on to illuminate repairs to the bridge on the second night. After a difficult move, with several vehicles ditched, the troop was repositioned to join 474 S/L Bty in supporting a night move by 154 Bde into
Nederweert on 9 November, during which the troop suffered minor damage from enemy shellfire. After a few nights providing movement light over canal and river bridges,
XXX Corps sent C Troop to assist
84th US Division in its attack on
Geilenkirchen as part of
Operation Clipper. During the preparation period the S/Ls were exposed each night 'to fox the Boche' with 'stooge' beams in different directions. The attack went in at 04.00 on 18 November and the troop provided artificial moonlight until 07.00 to help the
Flail tanks and engineers to breach the defences. The following night the troop assisted
43rd (Wessex) Division in the continuing attacks on the Geilenkirchen salient, receiving a retaliatory air raid that caused no damage. Heavy rain fell from 20 November onwards, and finding suitable S/L positions in the mud and minefields was difficult. Eventually the Troop deployed on a
Hitler Youth campsite and at the railway station. As 84th Division's operation continued with the capture of Tripsrath, the lights attracted increasing amounts of enemy shellfire, causing minor casualties and damage. On 23 November the S/Ls were doused for a while to allow stretcher bearers to bring in the wounded. On 24 November a US S/L unit arrived to be briefed on the artificial moonlight technique, and the following day C Troop left 84th US Division and rejoined 43rd (Wessex) to resume routine movement light duties.
Moonlight Battery At the beginning of January 1945, 356 Bty moved to
Namur to join 106th AA Bde supporting XXX Corps for the forthcoming
Operation Veritable. A Troop provided artificial moonlight to assist bridgebuilding by the sappers of
6th Airborne Division and the battery provided low-intensity movement light for the Corps assembly areas. When Veritable opened on 9 February, 356 Bty also had 557 Bty under its command, with one troop supporting
3rd Canadian Division and the other two providing movement light on the roads. For the attacks on the
Siegfried line (Westwall) bunkers, which took place on the night of D/D +1, part of the
Klever Reichswald was floodlit, and some S/L positions were sited with the intention of dazzling the defenders while lighting up the obstacles. After their success in Veritable, 356 and the other S/L batteries providing movement light were redesignated 'Moonlight' batteries and assigned to corps.
356th Moonlight Battery continued with XXX Corps, whose commander, Lt-Gen
Brian Horrocks, had highly commended the battery. However, in mid-March, while the battery was preparing for the
Rhine crossing (
Operation Plunder), it was ordered to revert to AA duties and transfer to 107 AA Bde under
First Canadian Army. The whole battery, together with Horrocks and his Corps Commander Royal Artillery, resisted the transfer, and the battery continued planning for Plunder 'as if nothing had happened', while taking the precaution of refitting its lights with AA radar. Members of the battery were given permission to wear the XXX Corps wild boar (or 'Old Pig') shoulder flash for the Rhine crossing. A, B and C Troops were assigned to go forward with 43rd (Wessex) Division,
Guards Armoured Division and 51st (Highland) Division respectively, while
582 M/L Bty, under operational command of 356 Bty, was with XXX Corps HQ. H-Hour for Plunder was 21.00 on 23 March, and at first only C Troop supporting 51st (Highland) Division was committed, with its radio communications assisted by reconnaissance cars of the
Derbyshire Yeomanry. The assault waves of amphibious
Buffaloes and
DD Shermans began moving down to their crossing points under the movement light. By 27 March, after the success of the crossings, A and C Troops were operating on the east side of the river. The battery was thereafter engaged in occupation duties in Germany. The War Diary reports on 1 August 1945 that 'Minden Day was celebrated as well as it was possible to do so with the Bty so widely deployed'. It was disbanded on 31 May 1946. ==Notes==