40th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery: Difference between revisions

| dates = 27 September 1939–1939 – 30 September 1950

The '''40th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery''', (40th LAA Rgt) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] air defence unit of Britain's [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] (TA) during [[World War II]]. After serving with [[Anti-Aircraft Command]] in the defence of the UK, it joined [[51st (Highland) Infantry Division]] and served with it at [[Second Battle of Alamein|Alamein]], in [[Tunisian Campaign|Tunisia]] and [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Sicily]]. It landed in Normandy on D + 1 and fought through the [[Western_Front_Western Front (World_War_IIWorld War II)#1944–1945:_The_Second_Front The Second Front|campaign in North West Europe]], including the [[Operation Plunder|crossing of the Rhine]], until [[VE Day]]. The regiment was reformed in the postwar TA but was amalgamated with other Scottish anti-aircraft units in 1950.

At the start of the war most LAA units were armed with [[Light machine gun]]s (AALMGs), but the new [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm gun]] was on order. The units were deployed to defend vulnerable points (VPs) such as bridges, factories or airfields against low-flying or dive-bombing daylight raids, but could do little against high-flying or night raiders, such as the heavy night raid on Aberdeen on 12 July at the start of the [[Battle of Britain]].<ref>Routledge, pp. 52–5.</ref><ref>Collier, p. 163; Appendix IX.</ref>

The Blitz is considered to have ended in May 1941. 177 LAA Battery transferred to the newly- formed [[84th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery|84th LAA Rgt]] at [[Glasgow]] on 23 August 1941 and was replaced on 4 September by 268 LAA Bty. This battery had been formed by 234th LAA Training Rgt at [[Carlisle]] on 12 June, based on a [[Cadre (military)|cadre]] of experienced officers and other ranks supplied by 40th LAA Rgt.<ref name = Frederick801/><ref>Frederick, p. 834.</ref> 40th LAA Regiment remained in 51st AA Bde to the end of 1941.<ref name = Orbat80>Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 2 December 1941, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/80.</ref>

The division landed in [[Sultanate of Egypt|Egypt]] on 12 August, just after Gen [[Erwin Rommel]]'s advance on Egypt had been halted at the [[First Battle of El Alamein]]. Although its arrival had been eagerly anticipated, the division was not yet desert-ready and was not immediately thrown into action: while the [[Battle of Alam el Halfa]] was fought parts of the division were guarding landing grounds in the rear areas. It joined [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] on 10 September.<ref name = Joslen/><ref>Playfair, Vol III, pp. 363, 365, 387.</ref><ref name="Routledge, Table XXIII, p. 161">Routledge, Table XXIII, p. 161.</ref> At this point the regiment was equipped with 48 Bofors guns.<ref name="Joslen, p. 572">Joslen, p. 572.</ref>

51st (H) Division's assault on 23 October ran into several centres of resistance and failed to take all its objectives. Over the following days the division worked to clear a way through the defences and [[Land mine|minefields]]. On 2 November the division's renewed attack took its objectives and broke through. By late November Eighth Army was pursuing the beaten [[Axis powers|Axis]] forces to [[El Agheila]].<ref>Playfair & Molony, Vol IV, pp. 38, 44–5, 48, 52, 70, 72, 74, 107, 221.</ref><ref> name="Joslen, p. 572.<"/ref><ref> name="Routledge, Table XXIII, p. 161.<"/ref>

On 23 January 1941 troops of 51st HD were among the first into [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]].<ref>Playfair & Molony, Vol IV, p. 236.</ref> The division remained outside the city while Eighth Army probed forward to [[Tunisia]]; 40th LAA Rgt with 35 Bofors was loaned to [[2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom)|2 AA Bde]] in Tripoli for [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX Corps]] defence tasks.<ref>Routledge, Table XXIV, p. 162.</ref>

51st (H) Division was designated for the assault landing in Sicily ([[Allied invasion of Sicily|Operation Husky]]) on 10 July 1943. 40th LAA Regiment's sea crossing was disrupted when the ships were attacked by [[U-boat]]s and aircraft. Once ashore the divisional LAA regiments were assigned to beach defence, though they were hampered by the lack of a workable early-warning system. LAA batteries were reduced to firing prepared concentrations, either directional ('Curtains') or overhead ('Umbrellas'), which were ineffective and wasted scarce ammunition. However, the landings made good progress against negligible opposition, and 51st HD was well forward by nightfall. It was then directed to capture [[Palazzolo Acreide]], which it achieved by the end of 12 July. The LAA unit handed over beach defence as the AA brigades began landing. 51st HD took [[Vizzini]] on the night of 14/15 July, and was then redirected towards the north east in a high-speed move to [[Paternò]]. However, resistance had stiffened, the division was unable to cross the [[Simeto|River Simeto]], and it had to fight hard to capture [[Gerbini Airfield]]. The division went onto the defensive on 21 July. <ref>Molony, Vol V, pp. 26, 61, 78, 82, 93, 106, 115–7.</ref><ref>Routledge, pp. 259–63.</ref>

On 14 March 1944 40th LAA Rgt's three batteries (105, 140 and 268) were augmented to a strength of four troops each when 51, 52 and 53 Trps joined from 235 LAA Bty of [[62nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery|62nd LAA Rgt]], which had been broken up. This brought the establishment of Bofors guns up to 72, but before D-Day some LAA regiments began exchanging a proportion of their Bofors for multiple-barrelled 20 &nbsp;mm guns (usually [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikons]] or [[20 mm Polsten|Polstens]]).<ref name = Frederick801/><ref>Frederick, p. 830.</ref><ref>Routledge, pp. 78, 306.</ref>

51st (H) Division was a follow-up formation for Overlord, landing on [[Juno Beach]] on 7 June (D + 1). It did not complete its assembly until 10 June, but then moved into the bridgehead across the [[River Orne]] in preparation for an advance southwards. This bridgehead was under heavy air attack, and the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' had developed a pattern of daylight attacks by fighters and fighter-bombers, flying low and using cloud and terrain for cover, before making diving attacks out of the sun. The 20 &nbsp;mm and 40 &nbsp;mm Troops of 40th LAA Rgt, together with [[92nd (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery|92nd (Loyals)]] and 4th Canadian LAA Rgts, were in constant daily action in the bridgehead, shooting down 17 enemy aircraft between them and driving off many other attacks.<ref name = Joslen/><ref>Ellis, ''Normandy'', pp. 79, 173, 247.</ref><ref>Routledge, pp. 313–4.</ref>

As the campaign in Normandy developed the Allies achieved air superiority over the beachhead, so there was little call for AA defence and AA units became increasingly used to supplement the divisional artillery to support ground operations. LAA units fired tracer to guide night attacks onto their objectives, and the Bofors guns were much in demand for infantry support. They could give useful close-range fire to help infantry working from cover to cover in the bocage; its rapid fire was good for suppressing enemy heavy weapons, the 40 &nbsp;mm round's sensitive [[Artillery_fuzeArtillery fuze#Percussion_fuzesPercussion fuzes|percussion fuze]] providing an [[Air burst|airburst]] effect among trees. It was also used for 'bunker-busting', though the lack of protection made the gun detachment vulnerable to return fire. LAA units also provided 'refuge strips' for [[Airair Observationobservation Postpost]] aircraft spotting for the field guns: a Bofors troop deployed with local warning radar and ground observers could alert the pilot to the presence of enemy aircraft and provide protection for him.<ref>Routledge, pp. 314, 317.</ref>

The division next made a long move to the Antwerp area at the end of September, then spent three weeks in the line at [[Sint-Oedenrode]].<ref>Lindsay, pp. 89–95.</ref> 51st (H) Division was brought back into the line in October for the operations towards [['s-Hertogenbosch]] to clear the Antwerp area. By the end of the month, after tough fighting, the division had pushed forwards to the [[River Maas]].<ref>Buckley, pp. 239–40, 245.</ref><ref>Ellis, ''Germany'', pp. 123–7.</ref><ref>Lindsay, pp. 95–110, 116–23.</ref> The division was then moved to hold 'The Island', the wet low-lying country between [[Nijmegen]] and [[Arnhem]], until in mid-December the division was pulled out of the line for rest.<ref>Ellis, ''Germany'', p. 237.</ref><ref>Lindsay, pp. 124–37.</ref> In December the division was suddenly moved south as part of the response to the German breakthrough in the [[Ardennes]] (the [[Battle of the Bulge]]), and 51st HD fought its way into the flank of the 'Bulge' in winter conditions.<ref>Horrocks, pp. 238–41.</ref><ref>Lindsay, pp. 138, 141, 150–64.</ref> When the ''Luftwaffe'' launched its [[Operation Bodenplatte|Operation ''Bodenplatte'']] against Allied airfields on 1 January 1945, GHQ AA Troops for 21st Army Group reported that '40 &nbsp;mm LAA had the time of its life' shooting down large numbers of raiders.<ref>Routledge, pp. 346–7.</ref>

Second Army then made preparations to cross the [[Rhine]] in [[Operation Plunder]]. 51st (H) Division was tasked with making the initial assault crossing on XXX Corps' front (Operation Turnscrew). The vast build-up of forces, ammunition and supply dumps was a major AA defence task. Defending the bridgeheads after the crossing was another vital task, so getting AA units across early would be crucial. When the operation was launched on the night of 23/24 March, 40th LAA Rgt took part in the corps 'Pepperpot', its Bofors firing 11 serials, each lasting two minutes, in bursts of 10 rounds at 'automatic'. It also fired low-angle tracer lines to guide the amphibious [[Landing Vehicle Tracked|Buffaloes]] crossing the river in darkness, and then engaged ground targets in support of the assault. By dawn the regiment's ammunition expenditure was 19,000 rounds, or over 500 rounds per gun. The division's infantry began fighting their way into [[Rees, Germany|Rees]] while the [[Sapper]]s began rafting across equipment and began building their bridges. It was not until after dark on 24 March that small numbers of ''Luftwaffe'' aircraft appeared, making dive-bombing attacks from medium and low altitude, which were countered by searchlights and LAA guns. During the third night, 25/26 March, the ''Luftwaffe'' made further attemptedattempts to disrupt the bridgebuilding, this time from greater height. The first bridges in XXX Corps sector were operational on the morning of D + 2 (26 March) and the first 40 &nbsp;mm guns across were 105 LAA Bty of 40th LAA Rgt to catch up with 51st HD's advance and give some protection to its field gun positions. The pace of the advance increased on 27 and 28 March and the ''Luftwaffe'' switched its attention from the bridges to the columns advancing across North Germany.<ref name = Joslen/><ref>Buckley, pp. 283–4.</ref><ref>Ellis, Vol II, pp. 289–93.</ref><ref>Horrocks, pp. 257–60.</ref><ref>Lindsay, p. 218.</ref><ref>Routledge, pp. 351–60.</ref><ref>Saunders, ''Plunder'', pp. 61–102.</ref>

By this stage of the war divisional LAA regiments were receiving quadruple [[M2 Browning|0.5-inch Browning machine guns]] on self-propelled (SP) mountings (the [[M45_QuadmountM45 Quadmount#Mountings|M51 Quadmount]]) in place of a proportion of their Bofors guns, to improve their capability against 'snap' attacks by the new German jet fighter-bombers. Under this arrangement a troop comprised four SP or towed Bofors and two quadruple SP Brownings. However, 40th LAA Rgt only received its Brownings when 'Plunder' was nearly over.<ref>Routledge, pp. 349–51.</ref>

However, on 30 September 1950 the regiment was amalgamated with [[532nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (1947–50)|532 LAA Rgt]] at [[Falkirk]] and [[Lovat_ScoutsLovat Scouts#Post-War|677 (Lovat Scouts) Mountain Rgt]] at Inverness to form [[Lovat_ScoutsLovat Scouts#Post-War|532 (Lovat Scouts) LAA Rgt]] (which adopted the number 540 in 1954).<ref name = Litchfield/><ref name = Frederick1021/><ref name = 45on/><ref>Frederick, p. 1030.</ref>

{{reflist|3}}

* John Buckley, ''Monty's Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe'', London: Yale University Press, 2013, {{ISBN |978-0-300-13449-0}}.

* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-Defence-UK/index.html Basil Collier, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Defence of the United Kingdom'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1957/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004,] ISBN 978-1-84574-055-9.]

* Maj [[Lionel Ellis|L.F. Ellis]], ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol I: ''The Battle of Normandy'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1962/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, {{ISBN |1-845740-58-0}}.

* Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol II: ''The Defeat of Germany'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, {{ISBN |1-845740-59-9}}.

* Gen Sir [[Martin Farndale]], ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, {{ISBN |1-85753-080-2}}.

* J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, {{ISBN |1-85117-009-X}}.

* Lt-Col [[Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet|Martin Lindsay]], ''So Few Got Through'', London: Collins, 1946/Arrow Books (pbk; nd)/Leo Cooper, 2000, {{ISBN |0850527546}}.

* Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, {{ISBN |0-9508205-2-0}}.

* Brig C.J.C. Molony,''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol V: ''The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and the Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1973/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, {{ISBN |1-845740-69-6}}.

* Maj-Gen [[I.S.O. Playfair]], ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol III: ''(September 1941 to September 1942) British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960 /Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, {{ISBN |1-845740-67-X}}

* Maj-Gen I.S.O. Playfair & Brig C.J.C. Molony, "''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol IV: ''The Destruction of the Axis forces in Africa'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1966/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, {{ISBN |1-845740-68-8}}.

* Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, {{ISBN |1-85753-099-3}}.

* Tim Saunders, ''Battleground Europe: Operation Plunder: The British and Canadian Rhine Crossing'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2006, {{ISBN |1-84415-221-9}}.