Unlike most of Britain's defence forces, the 3rd AA Division was frequently in action during the so-called
Phoney War that lasted from September 1939 to May 1940. The first action occurred unexpectedly on 16 October 1939, when nine enemy aircraft suddenly appeared out of cloud and dived on warships off
Rosyth Dockyard, close to the
Forth Bridge. No warning had been given, but gun positions of the 71st HAA Rgt hastily loaded for a 'crash' action under individual gun control, normal prediction being impossible against diving and turning targets. A total of 104 rounds were fired and one aircraft had its tail shot off (fighters accounted for another two).
HMS Southampton was damaged. The following day, 14 hostile aircraft in three waves attacked warships lying in Scapa Flow. The 226th Battery of the 101st HAA Rgt was able to engage and claimed one shot down. Among the vessels damaged in this raid was the
Jutland veteran
HMS Iron Duke, acting as a base ship and floating AA battery. These attacks led to calls for strengthened AA defence for the naval bases at Scapa Flow, Invergordon, Rosyth and the Clyde anchorage, and the 3rd AA Division was given priority for new guns. Starting in January 1940, the division was to receive 64
3.7-inch and 32
4.5-inch HAA guns and an increase to 100 searchlights, but only 10 Bofors and some Naval 2-pounders were available for LAA defence. The 3rd AA Division had many problems at Scapa, where a chain of rugged islands enclose an extensive area of water, which stretched beyond the reach of HAA fire from the islands. Installing gun positions on the islands required an immense amount of labour. A new
Luftwaffe attack on 16 March 1940 caught the defences half-prepared: only 52 out of 64 HAA guns were fit for action, and 30 out of 108 SLs. About 15
Junkers Ju 88s approached at low level in the dusk: half dived on the warships and the rest attacked the airfield. 44 HAA guns of 42 AA Brigade engaged, but their predictors were defeated by erratic courses and low height. 17 LAA guns also engaged, but the
Gun layers were blinded by gun-flashes in the half light. No enemy aircraft were brought down. A subsequent inquiry concluded that the low level attack had evaded radar, the gun lay-out still left gaps in the perimeter, and guns were out of action awaiting spare parts. There were three more attacks on Scapa Flow the following month. On 4 April, a formation estimated at 12 Ju 88s carried out a series of medium- and low-level runs, dropping bombs and machine-gunning AA positions, and escaped without loss. Four days later, 12
Heinkel He 111s spent 2 hours over the anchorage carrying out individual attacks, but four were shot down. On 10 April about 20 hostile aircraft made a night raid; some were successfully illuminated and three shot down. The Scapa defences were clearly improved, and close concentrations of fire over warships, supplemented by naval AA fire, could now hold off dive-bombing attacks. The
Luftwaffe now turned its attention to the campaigns in
Norway and
France and the Low Countries In November 1939, the 3rd AA Brigade HQ and some of its units were sent to France with the
British Expeditionary Force, defending the lines of communication. The 3rd AA Brigade HQ returned to Northern Ireland after the
Dunkirk evacuation. ==Battle of Britain==