Mobilisation and Phoney War . 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, a partial mobilisation of TA units 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 and searchlight positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations. As war broke out, 30th AA Brigade on Tyneside was transferring to
7th Anti-Aircraft Division, which was being formed to cover North East England. In September 1939, the Tyne Gun Defence Area (GDA) only had 34
3-inch or
3.7-inch guns in the Heavy AA (HAA) role. Luckily, the months of the
Phoney War that followed mobilisation allowed AA Command to address its equipment shortages. 64th (Northumbrian), in common with other AA units manning 3-inch guns or larger, was redesignated HAA on 1 June 1940 to distinguish them from the new Light AA (LAA) units entering the order of battle. On 15 August, in the belief that the defences of NE England had been denuded,
Luftflotte 5 attacked across the
North Sea from bases in
Occupied Norway. Some 65
Heinkel He 111 bombers of
Kampfgeschwader 26 escorted by 35
Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörer fighters of
Zerstörergeschwader 76 were picked up on radar and ambushed by fighters of
No. 13 Group RAF before they reached the coast. Those bombers that succeeded in breaking through then split into two groups, one being engaged by the guns of the Tyne GDA the other by the Tees GDA. Bombs were widely scattered and only at
Sunderland was any major damage inflicted. KG 26 lost 8 bombers and ZG 76 lost 7 fighters, for no loss to the RAF, in 'one of the most successful air actions of the war'. By 21 August, the Tyne GDA had 50 HAA guns in position.
Blitz The Battle of Britain was followed by the
Luftwaffe 's night
Blitz on London and other industrial cities during the winter of 1940–41. Again, NE England escaped the worst of this, but hundreds of people died during the
Newcastle Blitz and there were other notable air raids on Tyneside on 9 April and Sunderland on 25 April. AA Command was now reaching its peak strength: the regiment provided the
cadre for a new 404 HAA Bty formed on 12 December 1940 at 211th HAA Training Rgt,
Oswestry, which joined
123rd HAA Rgt. 427 HAA Battery, formed at 211th HAA Training Rgt on 24 April 1941 from a cadre supplied by
54th (City of London) HAA Rgt, then joined 64th (Northumbrian) on 22 July. Meanwhile, the regiment had also supplied the cadre for 431 HAA Bty, which was formed on 8 May 1941 at 210th HAA Training Rgt, Oswestry. This battery joined 64 HAA Rgt on 6 August to replace 427, which had been transferred on to
101st HAA Rgt. Mid-War The main Blitz ended in May 1941, but occasional raids continued. 64th HAA Regiment remained in 30 AA Bde for the rest of the year. As newly formed units joined AA Command, experienced ones began to be posted away for service overseas. This accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for the Allied invasion of North Africa (
Operation Torch). On 12 January 1942, 431 HAA Bty transferred to
102nd HAA Rgt and was temporarily replaced by 414 HAA Bty from 123rd HAA Rgt. But 414 Bty moved within 30 AA Bde to
146th HAA Rgt on 1 February, leaving 64th HAA Rgt with just its three most experienced batteries: 179, 180 and 268; the war establishment for overseas service being a three-battery organisation. It left 30 AA Bde in April, and in June left AA Command altogether. The regiment now came under
War Office control preparatory to going overseas. As was normal practice, after training it was lent back to AA Command until it was required, coming first under
72 AA Bde, then from October under
5 AA Bde both in
2 AA Group, which was dealing with 'hit and run' raids by the
Luftwaffe along the South Coast of England.
North Africa 'Operation Torch' began in November 1942, but, by February 1943, the regiment was still in the UK as part of GHQ Reserve with the following organisation as a mobile unit: • 179, 180, 268 HAA Btys • 1504 HAA Rgt Platoon,
Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) • 64 HAA Rgt Workshop Section,
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) 64th HAA Regiment sailed in March 1943, and when the
Tunisian Campaign ended with the
fall of Tunis in May it was still
en route to join
18th Army Group at
Bougie. In July 1943, it was with
Allied Force Headquarters and was assigned to
Eighth Army for the Allied invasion of mainland Italy in September.
Italy The armies in Italy called in AA units progressively from North Africa as their defensive commitments grew. 64th (Northumbrian) HAA Rgt landed with
25 AA Bde in late December 1943. Two of its batteries (16 x 3.7-inch guns) were sent to
Bari, where the air defences were being strengthened after the disastrous
Air raid on Bari of 2 December, while 268 HAA Bty (8 x 3.7-inch) went to
Barletta. Bari continued to attract
Luftwaffe attention, particularly night raids accompanied by '
Window' to jam radar. The HAA batteries'
GL Mk II gunlaying radar was least affected, and their sets were used to direct searchlights as well. 25 AA Brigade also set up a decoy site outside Bari and stationed some of its guns there to attract bombers away from the vital port.
Yugoslavia In March 1944, the British sent forces to garrison the island of
Vis off the
Croatian coast, which was the headquarters of the
Yugoslav Partisans and the base for
Royal Navy and
Royal Marines raiding parties. AA defences were required for the airfield through which aid for the Partisans was channelled. 64th HAA Regiment was sent to provide the HAA component of this force, and it took over command of 24 x
Bofors 40 mm guns of
31st LAA Rgt that were already deployed there. The
Luftwaffe was weak in the
Adriatic but by September both 64th HAA and 31st LAA had batteries in the Partisan front lines in Yugoslavia providing ground support fire.
Germany In early 1945, the deployment to VIs ended, 25 AA Bde was disbanded, and 64th HAA Rgt became non-operational. But, unlike many other AA regiments in Italy that were being disbanded to provide infantry manpower, 64th HAA Rgt was transferred to the North West Europe theatre as a complete unit. By February 1945, it was serving in
Second Army in its advance across Germany. In April 1945, it was under
31 AA Bde, which commanded the occupation troops and coast defences of the
Friesland area. The AA gunners were by now operating as infantry. After
VE Day, the regiment continued occupation duties in
British Army of the Rhine until it was placed in suspended animation on 21 February 1946. ==Postwar==