43rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade

43rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). Formed in 1938, it was responsible for protecting Teesside in North East England during the early part of the Second World War, and later defended South East England from V-1 flying bombs. It was reformed postwar and survived under different titles until 1961.

Mobilisation With the expansion of Britain's Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences in the late 1930s, new formations were created to command the growing number of Royal Artillery (RA) and Royal Engineers (RE) AA gun and searchlight units 43rd AA Brigade was raised on 1 October 1938 at West Hartlepool and comprised part-time TA units from Teesside and County Durham. Initially, it formed part of 3rd AA Division, which had responsibility for defending Scotland, Northern Ireland and North East England. The first brigade commander was Brigadier K.D. Yearsley, MC.Frederick, pp. 1050–1.Monthly Army List, May 1939.

At the time the brigade was formed, the TA's AA units were in a state of mobilisation because of the Munich crisis, although they were soon stood down. In February 1939 the TA's AA defences came under the control of a new Anti-Aircraft Command. In June a partial mobilisation of AA Command was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA gun and searchlight positions. That summer, 43rd AA Bde came under the command of the newly formed 7th AA Division, which was created to cover North East England, Yorkshire and Humberside. Its exact responsibilities were still being worked out when war broke out. AA Command mobilised fully on 24 August, ahead of the official declaration of war on 3 September.Routledge, pp. 65–6 & 371; Table LVIII, p. 376.

Order of Battle 1939 The composition of the brigade upon mobilisation in August 1939 was as follows:Routledge, Table LX, p. 378.AA Command 3 September 1939 at Patriot Files. 85th (Tees) AA Regiment, RA – new Heavy AA unit formed in 1938Litchfield, p. 253.85 HAA Rgt at RA 39–45. HQ at Middlesbrough 174th (1st North Riding) AA Battery – transferred from 62nd (Northumbrian) AA Regiment at MiddlesbroughLitchfield, p. 193. 175th (2nd North Riding) AA Battery – transferred from 62nd AA Regiment at Middlesbrough 220th (County Durham) AA Battery – transferred from 63rd (Northumbrian) AA Regiment at West HartlepoolLitchfield, p. 55. 47th (The Durham Light Infantry) AA Battalion, RE – Searchlight unit converted from 7th Battalion, Durham Light InfantryLitchfield, p. 56.47 S/L Rgt at RA 39–45. HQ, 386th–388th AA Companies at Sunderland 389th AA Company at South Shields 1/5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (54th Searchlight Regiment) – Searchlight unit converted from 5th Battalion, Durham Light InfantryLitchfield, p. 57.54 S/L Rgt at RA 39–45. HQ, 411th–413th Searchlight Batteries at Stockton-on-Tees 2/5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (55th Searchlight Regiment) – duplicate unit formed in April 1939Litchfield, pp. 57–8.55 S/L Rgt at RA 39–45. HQ, 414th–416th Searchlight Batteries at West Hartlepool 43rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade Company, Royal Army Service Corps

Phoney War Equipment was critically short at the outbreak of war. In August 1939, 7 AA Division only had 14 3-inch or 3.7-inch Heavy AA guns deployed on Teesside.Routledge, p. 372. Luckily, the months of the Phoney War that followed mobilisation allowed AA Command to address its equipment shortages and a Gun Defence Area (GDA) was established around Teesside including Middlesbrough and Billingham. Vital Points (VPs) such as RAF Fighter Command airfields and factories began to receive a few Bofors LAA guns.Routledge, p. 373.

85th AA Regiment left the brigade in November 1939 to mobilise for overseas service; in April 1940 it joined the British Expeditionary Force in France.Routledge, p. 116.Farndale, p. 13.Joslen, p. 462. Later, 54th S/L Regiment transferred to 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade covering West Yorkshire.Routledge, Table LXV, p. 396.Farndale, Annex D.

Battle of Britain After the Fall of France and the BEF's evacuation from Dunkirk, returning AA units were re-equipped and re-integrated into AA Command as quickly as possible.Farndale, p. 98. By the summer of 1940, all TA searchlight regiments had been transferred to the Royal Artillery (RA), and AA regiments had been redesignated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) to distinguish them from the new Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) regiments being formed.Farndale, Annex M.

Teesside and Wearside were important strategic targets because of their concentrations of heavy industry and ports. During the early part of the Battle of Britain, German day and night air raids and mine laying began along the East Coast of England, intensifying through June 1940. Thereafter the Luftwaffe concentrated on Royal Air Force sites in the South of England, with occasional raids on the North East, such as the period 12–15 August.Routledge, Table LXII, pp. 379–80.

On 15 August, in the belief that the defences of NE England had been denuded, Luftflotte 5 attacked across the North Sea from 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 7 fighters for no loss to the RAF, in 'one of the most successful air actions of the war'.Basil Collier pp. 191–4, Map 16.Richard Collier, Eagle Day, pp. 86–8.

The Blitz After the defeat of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe switched to night raids over Britain's cities (The Blitz) during the winter of 1940–41. By 21 August, the Teesside GDA contained 30 HAA guns,Basil Collier, Appendix XXII. and as more LAA units became available they were distributed to defend VPs. AA 'Z' Regiments were also formed, equipped with Z Battery rocket projectiles.Pile's despatch.Routledge, pp. 388-9.

The S/L layouts had been based on a spacing of , but due to equipment shortages this had been extended to . The S/L layout was changed in November to clusters of three lights to improve illumination, but this meant that the clusters had to be spaced apart. The cluster system was an attempt to improve the chances of picking up enemy bombers and keeping them illuminated for engagement by AA guns or RAF Night fighters. Eventually, one light in each cluster was to be equipped with searchlight control (SLC or 'Elsie') radar and act as 'master light', but the radar equipment was still in short supply. The number of raiders shot down steadily increased until mid-May 1941, when the Luftwaffe scaled down its attacks.Collier, Chapter XVI.Collier, Chapter XVII.Routledge, p. 393.

Order of Battle 1940–41

By now AA Command had been greatly expanded and reorganised. The order of battle of 43 AA Bde was now as follows (temporary attachments omitted):Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, with amendments, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 212/79.

8th (Belfast) HAA Rgt – returned from Dunkirk and re-equipped 21, 22, 23, 414 HAA Btys 59th (Essex Regiment) HAA Rgt – from 6 AA Division Summer 1941 164, 167, 265, 429 HAA Btys 73rd HAA Rgt – returned from Dunkirk and re-equipped; to 12 AA Division May 1941 209, 210, 311 HAA Btys 126th HAA Rgt – new regiment formed July 1941 423, 425, 426 HAA Btys 50th LAA Rgt – new unit raised in July 1940 from a battery of 14th (West Lothian, Royal Scots) LAA Rgt plus recruits 58, 93 LAA Btys 178 LAA Bty – left July 1941 72nd LAA Rgt – new LAA unit raised in January 1941; to 3 AA Division Summer 1941 212, 213, 217 LAA Btys 47th (Durham Light Infantry) S/L Rgt 386, 387, 388, 389 S/L Btys 55th (Durham Light Infantry) S/L Rgt 414, 415, 416, 530 S/L Btys 3 AA 'Z' Rgt – from 3 AA Division Summer 1941 103, 107, 115, 118 Z Btys 11 AA 'Z' Rgt – from 12 AA Division Summer 1941 134, 147, 148 Z Btys

Mid-war During 1942 the Luftwaffe switched to 'hit and run' attacks against coastal targets. One notable example was the bombing of Middlesbrough railway station by a lone Dornier bomber on August Bank Holiday (3 August).Routledge, pp. 410–4.Youtube documentary on bombing of Middlesbrough Railway Station 3 August 1942.

As the war progressed, AA units began to be sent to overseas theatres. 8th (Belfast) HAA Rgt was posted to GHQ Reserve in November 1941 preparatory to embarking for India.Order of Battle of the Field Force in the United Kingdom, Part 3: Royal Artillery (Non-Divisional units), 22 October 1941, with amendments, TNA files WO 212/6 and WO 33/1883.Joslen, p, 519. In January 1942, 47th and 55th (DLI) S/L Rgts were converted to the LAA role and became 112th and 113th (DLI) LAA Rgts respectively. Both regiments later served under 21st Army Group in North West Europe. 73rd HAA Rgt was sent to Middle East Forces (MEF) by April 1942.Joslen, p. 485. and 72nd LAA Rgt was in Tunisia by July 1943.Joslen, p. 465.

This continual turnover of units accelerated with the need to transfer LAA units to counter the hit-and-run attacks and preparations for the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch) in late 1942. However, newly formed units continued to join AA Command, the HAA and support units increasingly becoming 'Mixed' units, indicating that women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) were fully integrated into them.Routledge, pp. 398–404.Collier, Chapter XX.

At the end of 1941 this turnover meant that 43 AA Bde consisted only of one new HAA regiment (123rd), one new LAA regiment (41st), and one S/L regiment (53rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers)).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 the brigade had the following composition (temporary attachments omitted):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. 123rd HAA Rgt 402, 404, 414, 417 HAA Btys 126th HAA Rgt – returned August 1942 423, 425, 426, 431 HAA Btys 145th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – new unit raised in January, joined April 1942 500, 501, 502 (M) HAA Btys 572 (M) HAA Bty – joined June 1942; to 158th (Mixed) HAA Rgt summer 1942 31st LAA Rgt – from Orkney and Shetland Defences (OSDEF) June 1942; left for 6th AA Division June 1942 61, 101, 224, 447 LAA Btys

41st LAA Rgt – to War Office Control April 1942 preparatory to embarking for MEFOrder 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.Routledge, Table XXIV, p. 162. 133, 134, 143 LAA Btys 68th LAA Rgt – from 30 AA Bde by May 1942; unbrigaded from June 1942; later joined 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry DivisionJoslen, p. 93. 203, 204, 278, 461 LAA Btys 136th LAA Rgt – new unit raised in February 1942; joined June 1942 386, 453, 474, 482 LAA Btys 53rd (RNF) S/L Rgt – to 30 AA Bde August 1942 408, 409, 410, 565 S/L Btys 7 AA 'Z' Rgt – from 30 AA Bde by May 1942 106, 109, 110, 117 Z Btys 43 AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Subsection – part of 2 Company, 7 AA Division Mixed Signal Unit, Royal Corps of Signals (RCS)

Later war In October 1942 AA Command reorganised its structure, replacing the AA Divisions with AA Groups coinciding with RAF Fighter Command's Groups. 43 AA Bde came under 6 AA Group, covering Scotland and North-East England.Routledge, pp. 399–400; Map 36.