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 positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations. 72nd (Hampshire) AA Regiment mobilised in
35th AA Brigade under
5th AA Division. 35 AA Brigade was responsible for the Gun Defence Area (GDA) protecting the city and naval base of
Portsmouth. In September 1939, the brigade had 29 heavy AA guns round the city. On 1 June 1940 the AA regiments of the RA equipped with
3-inch or larger guns were designated Heavy AA (HAA) to distinguish them from the newer Light AA (LAA) units being formed.
Battle of Britain and Blitz The regiment was heavily engaged throughout the Battle of Britain. A few bombers got through to Portsmouth on 10 July, and the Portsmouth and Southampton AA guns were in action on 15 August, claiming one 'kill'. Again, on 18 August, German air raids crossed Southern England and attacked RAF airfields in the afternoon. The guns of 35 AA Bde and its neighbours were in action and accounted for 23 enemy aircraft. On 24 August a raid eluded
RAF Fighter Command's fighters and bombed Portsmouth city and dockyard badly, killing over 100 people despite the efforts of the AA guns, although another raid two days later was driven off by fighters and AA fire, and only dropped a few bombs on the outskirts of the city. This was the start of the
Portsmouth Blitz. After 15 September, the intensity of
Luftwaffe daylight attacks fell, and the emphasis switched to night bombing of industrial towns (
The Blitz). Portsmouth was a major target: during a succession of attacks, two bombs fell on a gun position of 35 AA Bde, killing an officer and 10 men, wrecking the command post and one gun. Two of the remaining guns continued to fire by improvised methods. The city was badly bombed on the nights of 5 December 1940, 10 January, 10 March, 17 and 27 April 1941. The regiment sent a
cadre to 205th Training Regiment at
Aborfield to provide the basis for a new 393 HAA Bty; this was formed on 12 December 1940 and joined the regiment on 25 February 1941. Later the regiment sent another cadre to 205th Training Regiment for a new 438 HAA Bty; this was formed on 12 June 1941 and joined the regiment on 4 September 1941 to replace 310 HAA Bty, which left to provide an experienced cadre for the newly raised
131st HAA Rgt, a 'Mixed' unit including women of the
Auxiliary Territorial Service that was forming in 35 AA Bde. Meanwhile, 217 HAA Bty was attached to
27 (Home Counties) AA Bde, which controlled the searchlight array around Portsmouth. 72nd (Hampshire) HAA Rgt remained with 35 AA Bde throughout this period.
Mobile training In January 1942, 72nd (Hampshire) HAA Rgt left AA Command and joined the War Office Reserve with 217, 218 and 393 HAA Btys. This was usually a precursor to mobile training for service overseas. In between training, these units were lent back to AA Command, and by May the regiment was with
28 (Thames & Medway) AA Bde in
6 AA Division protecting the approaches to London, then in June moved to newly formed
71 AA Bde in 6 AA Division. In July 1942 it became an unbrigaded regiment, leaving AA Command entirely by mid-August when it came under direct War Office control. artillery tractor towing a 3.7-inch HAA gun on a training exercise in the UK. In the autumn of 1942 the regiment, equipped with 24
3.7-inch guns, was joined by its own HAA Signal Section of the
Royal Corps of Signals (RCS) and by November it was fully organised for mobile operations with the following composition: • 217 HAA Bty • 218 HAA Bty • 393 HAA Bty • 72 HAA Rgt Signal Section, RCS • 72 HAA Workshop,
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers • 72 HAA Rgt Platoon,
Royal Army Service Corps North Africa 72nd (Hampshire) HAA Rgt sailed from the
River Clyde in late October as part of
52 AA Bde in
First Army for
Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. AA units trained in amphibious operations were to land in the assault phase of the operation, followed by the mobile units of 52 AA Bde. After covering the landing beaches, ports and airfields, the brigade would then follow First Army's advance eastwards, leaving other AA formations to cover the bases in the rear. The invasion force began landing on 8 November 1942, with
V Corps of First Army landing round
Algiers. After the initial landings were complete, V Corps sent a series of infantry and commando groups eastwards on 9 November and 52 AA Bde HQ landed. is sunk off
Bougie, 12 November 1942. Leaving some batteries to unload and set up an 'Inner Artillery Zone' (IAZ) around Algiers, 52 AA Bde began a long march eastwards. The need to get AA units forward quickly to protect the vital airfields had been foreseen, and one of 72nd HAA Rgt's batteries went on by sea direct to
Bougie. The
Axis air forces reacted quickly and 72nd HAA Rgt suffered equipment losses when the liner
SS Cathay was sunk off Bougie. However, by 12 November V Corps' leading troops had covered and
Bône had been secured by a parachute drop. Bône now came under intense air attack. At first it was only protected by LAA guns, but a battery of 72nd HAA Rgt came up, even though it had lost its
gun-laying (GL) radar set in a torpedoed ship. On 21 November the AA gunners at Bône fought raids by
Junkers Ju 88 bombers that set buildings and stores ablaze, and destroyed the AA gunners' small stock of vehicles. As the
Tunisian Campaign developed, forward movement was slowed by terrain and shortages: most units in 'Torch' had only 50 per cent of their vehicle establishment, and AA units frequently had to lend theirs to other units for urgent transport tasks. By the end of November, the AA deployment had reached planned levels, but V Corps' advance had been held by the rapid arrival of German forces. As the Allies built up strength for a renewed advance, the emphasis for the AA units turned to defence for the ports and airfields against heavy attacks by the
Luftwaffe. By January the arrival of reinforcements allowed 52 AA Bde to concentrate on providing front line support for V Corps. The brigade was prepared to follow up any breakthrough towards
Tunis. During January 1943, batteries of 72nd HAA Rgt were variously deployed: •
Constantine airfield •
Philippeville port and airfield: (with a Troop of
71st (Forth) HAA Rgt) •
Youks-les-Bains Airfield •
Thelepte Airfield By mid-March 1943, the regiment's deployments included: •
Tebessa Airfield: 1 Btys (with a Bty of
63rd LAA Rgt) •
Constantine: 1 Trp As the fighting continued into April, the HAA guns in forward positions were increasingly used to fire on ground targets to supplement the medium artillery. When
IX Corps came into the line for the 'dogfight' to penetrate the mountain passes near Fondouk, 72nd HAA Rgt was assigned to it and was heavily engaged in both the AA and ground roles. In one week, 20–27 April, the regiment shot down seven enemy aircraft for the expenditure of 1022 rounds, but fired many more low-angle rounds at ground targets, which damaged the elevating and balancing gear of the 3.7-inch guns. By the beginning of May, First Army was ready for its final assault on Tunis,
Operation Vulcan. The AA plan for 'Vulcan' was straightforward: 52 AA Bde held a number of AA units including 72nd HAA Rgt on their wheels and ready to move into Tunis immediately behind the leading battle groups. Delayed by a German counter-attack, the assault went in on 6 May and covered on the first day. The leading British armoured units entered Tunis on the afternoon of 7 May. After a series of conflicting reports from the city, 52 AA Bde was called forward and 72nd HAA Rgt immediately deployed in the city. In fact, Tunis was not yet clear of the enemy and some AA advance parties had to flush out resistance. The German forces surrendered on 12 May. The role of the AA units turned to protecting the North African embarkation ports for the forthcoming
Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky).
Italy 72nd (Hampshire) HAA Regiment was not employed in 'Husky', nor in the assault phase of the subsequent Allied invasion of the Italian mainland, but it formed part of
22 AA Bde, which landed and took over the air defence of
Naples in late October 1943. Naples was a difficult city to defend against air attack, with a large anchorage, port facilities and airfields such as
Bagnoli, all overlooked by mountains, but 22 AA Bde established a fully integrated layout of HAA and LAA guns with early warning and gun-laying radar, and involving
US Army and
Italian Co-belligerent Army units. This was necessitated by the scale of the
Luftwaffes attempts to disrupt the flow of supplies through the port. On 5 November alone, more than 100 aircraft raided the port and four were brought down by AA fire. On 9 November two out of 30 were shot down, and on 26 November, in conjunction with fighter aircraft, nine hostiles were destroyed. The port was damaged but continued working. The AA strength around Naples reached its peak in November 1943. The
Luftwaffe began a new series of raids against Naples in March 1944, but after May the AA strength there could be reduced, and the AA gunners settled to a regular programme of routine manning and training, interspersed with garrison duties such as transporting stores from the docks. The last spasmodic raids occurred in July and August. 72nd HAA Rgt remained in 22 AA Bde in the Naples area until October 1944, but by then the threat from the
Luftwaffe was diminishing and there was an urgent need for manpower in other areas. A number of AA units including 72nd HAA Rgt began to be disbanded in the latter part of 1944, and the regiment passed into suspended animation 30 January 1945. ==Postwar==