The 34th (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade (34 AA Bde) was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command in the British Territorial Army formed shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. It defended the West Midlands of England during The Blitz.
Origin 34th (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft (AA) Brigade was formed on 1 April 1938 at Coventry, and was assigned to 4th AA Division when that formation was created in Western Command on 1 September that year. They were transferred to the new AA Command in 1939, with 34 AA Bde responsible for the air defence of Coventry and Birmingham. Brigadier Sidney Archibald, MC, was appointed to command the brigade on 27 April 1938. In 1940 he became Brigadier, Royal Artillery, at Eastern Command and then Major-General, Royal Artillery, at GHQ Home Forces.Frederick, p. 1049. Monthly Army List, May 1939.Farndale, Annex J.Archibald at Generals of WWII.
Order of Battle 1939 On the outbreak of war the brigade controlled the following units of the Royal Artillery:AA Command 3 September 1939 at Patriot FilesRoutledge, Table LVIII, p. 376; Routledge, Table LX, p. 378.
69th (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA – Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) regiment formed in 1936 by conversion of 6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire RegimentLitchfield, pp. 241–2. Regimental Headquarters (RHQ), 192 and 199 AA Batteries at Kings Heath, Birmingham 190 and 191 AA Batteries at Alum Rock, Birmingham 73rd Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA – raised in 1937 from batteries drawn from 62nd Field Brigade and 51st (Midland) Medium Brigade, RALitchfield, p. 211. RHQ and 209 (Wolverhampton) AA Battery at Wolverhampton 222 (West Bromwich) AA Battery at West Bromwich 311 AA Battery at Brierley Hill 95th (Birmingham) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA – newly raised in April 1939, with 204 Bty from 73 AA Regiment RHQ and 293 AA Battery at Washwood Heath 204 (Warwickshire) AA Battery at Saltley 34th AA Brigade Company Royal Army Service Corps
Mobilisation The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis, 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.Routledge, pp. 62–3. 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. The HAA guns of 34 AA Bde were concentrated in the Gun Defence Areas (GDAs) at Birmingham (24 guns) and Coventry (12 guns).Routledge, pp. 65–6, 371, Table LIX, p. 377.
Phoney War and Battle of Britain 73rd AA Regiment left the brigade in November 1939 to join the Advanced Air Striking Force in France. After the Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940, some AA units that had served in France with the British Expeditionary Force were sent to the West Midlands to refit and joined the brigade. In the summer of 1940 the AA regiments of the RA were redesignated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) to distinguish them from the new Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) units being formed.
Although most of the Luftwaffe air raids during the Battle of Britain and the early part of The Blitz concentrated on London and the South and East Coasts, the West Midlands also suffered badly, with Birmingham and Coventry experiencing heavy raids in August and October.Collier, Chapter 13.Collier, Chapter 16.
The Blitz
In November 1940 the brigade came under the command of the newly formed 11 AA Division based at Birmingham. It was commanded by Maj-Gen Archibald, formerly commander of 34 AA Bde.Robert Palmer, 'AA Command History and Personnel' at British Military History. In the autumn the brigade was joined by 60th (City of London) HAA Rgt, re-equipped after its return from Dunkirk.Farndale, Annex D, pp. 257–9.Farndale, p. 98.Litchfield, p. 165.
Coventry Blitz The new division was still being formed when the Luftwaffe launched a series of devastating raids, beginning with the notorious Coventry Blitz on 14/15 November.Collier, Chapter 17. The Coventry raid was preceded by a dozen pathfinder aircraft of Kampfgeschwader 100 riding an X-Gerät beam to drop flares and incendiary bombs on the target. The huge fires that broke out in the congested city centre then attracted successive 40-strong waves of bombers flying at heights between 12,000 and 20,000 feet to saturate the defences. The AA Defence Commander (AADC) of 95th HAA Rgt had prepared a series of concentrations to be fired using sound-locators and GL Mk. I gun-laying radar, and 128 concentrations were fired before the bombing severed all lines of communication and the noise drowned out sound-location. Some gun positions were able to fire at searchlight beam intersections, glimpsed through the smoke and guessing the range. Although the Coventry guns fired 10 rounds a minute for the whole 10-hour raid, only three aircraft were shot down over the UK that night, and the city centre was gutted. The Coventry raid was followed by three consecutive nights (19–22 November) of attacks on Birmingham and other Black Country industrial towns including West Bromwich, Dudley and Tipton.Routledge, p. 391.Walker, p. 72.
The change in enemy tactics led to HAA guns being moved from London to the West Midlands.Pile's despatch. 6th HAA Regt, a Regular regiment that had seen action in France and been evacuated from Dunkirk, received orders on 23 November to move RHQ with 3 and 12 HAA Btys (16 x mobile 3.7-inch guns, 2 x GL sets) from the London Inner Artillery Zone to the Kidderminster/Wolverhampton area. Each battery required a convoy of 65 vehicles for this move. They were ready for action in their new positions by dusk on 24 November, with 3 HAA Bty occupying an 8-gun position (H49) at Upper Penn, south-west of Wolverhampton, Right Troop of 12 HAA Bty at Wergs (H51) and Left Trp at Bushbury (H51), both north-west of Wolverhampton. Sections of 38th (The King's Regiment) Searchlight Rgt were also present at these sites. 15 HAA Battery rejoined 6 HAA Rgt from London by train on 11 December and occupied two sites in the Castle Bromwich area, though no guns were available until 17 January 1941, when two of the older 3-inch mobile guns were installed at each site. Meanwhile, 15 HAA Bty provided anti-paratroop fighting patrols to defend 34 AA Bde HQ and the GDA Gun Operations Room (GOR) in case of invasion.Walker, pp. 73–81.
6th HAA Regiment was still regarded as a mobile unit, and in February 1941 it was warned to prepare for a mobilisation exercise. This exercise (Operation Chestnut) was carried out in Oxfordshire in March and April, though the gunsites in 34 AA Bde area remained manned. The regiment became part of the War Office (WO) Reserve, while retaining its responsibilities under AA Command.Walker, pp. 83–6, 91.Order of Battle of the Field Force in the United Kingdom, Part 3: Royal Artillery (Non-Divisional Units), 25 March 1941, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, files WO 212/5 and WO 33/2323.
By March 1941, a new 67 AA Bde had been created in 11 AA Division by splitting 34 AA Bde: 95th HAA Rgt and 22nd Light AA (LAA) Rgt22 LAA Rgt at RA 39–45. transferred to the new formation, while 12 HAA Bty of 6th HAA Rgt moved to Kenilworth and came under its operational control.Walker, pp. 86–8.Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/79.
Birmingham Blitz
Birmingham was bombed again during December (3, 4, 11) and on 11 March 1941, but the full Birmingham Blitz came in April 1941, with heavy raids on the nights of 9/10 and 10/11 of the month, causing extensive damage and casualties.Collier, Appendix XXX.Walker, p. 90.
The Blitz is generally held to have ended on 16 May 1941 with another attack on Birmingham. By now the HAA sites had the advantage of GL Mk I* radar with an elevation finding (E/F or 'Effie') attachment, and several attackers were turned away by accurate fire and their bombs scattered widely, some on nearby Nuneaton.Walker, pp. 77, 92–3.Routledge, pp. 98–9, 393. The city was attacked again in July, but the Luftwaffe bombing offensive was effectively over.Collier, Chapter 19. The West Midlands had been the hardest hit area of the UK after London and Merseyside.Collier, Appendix XXXI.
Order of Battle 1940–41 The brigade's composition during the Blitz was as follows:11 AA Division 1940 at RA 39–45.Routledge, Table LXV, p. 396.
6th HAA Rgt – from 1 AA Division 24 November 1940 3, 15 HAA Btys 12 HAA Bty – attached to 67 AA Bde until May 1941 60th (City of London) HAA Rgt 168, 169 HAA Btys 95th (Birmingham) HAA Rgt – to 67 AA Bde 204, 293, 340 HAA Btys 110th HAA Rgt – new regiment raised in October 1940Farndale, Annex M. 345, 346, 348, 354 HAA Btys 112th HAA Rgt – new regiment raised in October 1940; to 8 AA Division by May 1941 351, 352, 353 HAA Btys 122nd HAA Rgt – new regiment raised in February 1941 397 HAA Bty 400 HAA Bty – attached to 4 AA Division 401 HAA Bty – attached to 67 AA Bde 22nd LAA Rgt – to 67 AA Bde 70, 72, 141 Btys 42nd LAA Rgt42 LAA Rgt at RA 39–45. 48, 145, 150, 231 Btys 10th AA 'Z' Rgt – new regiment equipped with Z Battery rocket launchers raised in January 194110 AA 'Z' Rgt at RA 39–45. 116, 133, 137 Z Btys 138 Z Bty – attached to 1 AA Bde in 11 AA Division
Mid-War Newly formed AA units joined the brigade, the HAA units increasingly being 'mixed' ones into which women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated. At the same time, experienced units were posted away for service overseas. 6th HAA Regiment was relieved by 71st (Forth) HAA Rgt and left in September 1941 for Middle East Forces (MEF); en route it was diverted to the Far East and its batteries were captured at the Fall of Singapore in February 1942 and Java in March 1942.Walker., pp. 97–170.Joslen, p. 557.
This continual turnover of units accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for Operation Torch and the need to relocate guns to counter the Baedeker Blitz and the Luftwaffes hit-and-run attacks against South Coast towns.Routledge, pp. 399–404.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.
Order of Battle 1941–42 During this period 34 AA Bde was composed as follows:Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 2 December 1941, TNA file WO 212/80.Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 14 May 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/81.Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 1 October 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/82. 6th HAA Rgt – left for overseas service September 1941 55th (Kent) HAA RgtLitchfield, p. 112. – from 6 AA Division by December 1941; to WO control December 1941, left February 1942 for Persia and Iraq Command (PAIFORCE)Order of Battle of the Field Force in the United Kingdom, Part 3: Royal Artillery (Non-Divisional units), 2 April 1942, TNA files WO 212/515.Joslen, p. 488. 163, 166, 307 HAA Btys 57th (Wessex) HAA RgtLitchfield, p. 91. – from 1 AA Division March 1942; to 9 AA Division May 1942 213, 214, 215 HAA Btys 60th HAA Rgt – to 68 AA Bde, 11 AA Division, Summer 1941 168, 169 HAA Btys 206 HAA Bty – from 58th (Kent) HAA Rgt, 6 AA Division, June 1941 65th (Manchester Regiment) HAA RgtLitchfield, p. 131. – from Orkney and Shetland Defences (OSDEF) May 1941; left AA Command by May 1942, later MEFJoslen, p. 484.Routledge, Table XXV, p. 164. 181, 182, 196 Btys 183 Bty – left Summer 1941 432 Bty – joined Summer 1941