Anti-Aircraft Command
| Anti-Aircraft Command | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939-1955 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Bentley Priory |
Anti-Aircraft Command was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the British Isles.
Contents
Origin
The formation of a body of anti-aircraft guns had been announced in 1938, but Anti-Aircraft Command was not formed until 1 April 1939 under General Sir Alan Brooke, who then passed control to Sir Frederick Pile, another British Army officer. Pile would remain in command until the end of the war.
It was under the operational direction of RAF Fighter Command and occupied a headquarters known as Glenthorn in the grounds of Bentley Priory, home of Fighter Command.[1]
The majority of the AAC guns were operated by regular British Army and Territorial Army units. Later, as the war progressed, these were freed up by the use of men of the Home Guard (loading and firing the guns) and women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (handling ammunition and operating gun directors).
Divisional organisation
Divisions under the command were:[2][3][4]
- 1st Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at start of the war, headquartered in Uxbridge.
- 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at the start of the war, headquartered at RAF Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.
- 3rd Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at the start of the war, headquartered in Edinburgh.
- 4th Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at the start of the war, headquartered in Chester.
- 5th Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at the start of the war, headquartered in Reading.
- 6th Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at the start of the war, headquartered in Uxbridge.
- 7th Anti-Aircraft Division - Existing division at the start of the war, headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne.
- 8th Anti-Aircraft Division - Formed October 1940 in South Wales and western England.
- 9th Anti-Aircraft Division - Formed October 1940.
- 10th Anti-Aircraft Division - Formed November 1940 in Yorkshire.
- 11th Anti-Aircraft Division - Formed November 1940 in the West and Central Midlands.
- 12th Anti-Aircraft Division - Formed November 1940 in southwestern Scotland.
AA Command was also responsible for the Orkney and Shetland Defences (OSDEF).
Corps organisation
At the end of 1940, the Command created three Corps to supervise this expanding organisation:[2][4]
- 1 AA Corps in the South (1, 5, 6, 8 and 9 AA Divisions) corresponding with No 10 and No 11 Groups RAF[5]
- 2 AA Corps in the Midlands (2, 4, 10 and 11 AA Divisions) corresponding with No 9 and No 12 Groups RAF[6]
- 3 AA Corps in the North (3, 7 and 12 AA Divisions, and OSDEF) corresponding with No 13 and No 14 Groups RAF[7]
Group organisation
In October 1942, the corps and divisions were abolished and replaced by seven flexible AA Groups:[2]
- 1st Anti-Aircraft Group covering London
- 2nd Anti-Aircraft Group covering the Solent, South-East England and southern East Anglia
(1st and 2nd AA Groups coincided with No. 11 Group RAF)
- 3rd Anti-Aircraft Group covering South-West England and South Wales (coinciding with No. 10 Group RAF)
- 4th Anti-Aircraft Group covering North Wales and North-West England (coinciding with No. 9 Group RAF)
- 5th Anti-Aircraft Group covering northern East Anglia and the East Coast as far as Scarborough, North Yorkshire (coinciding with No. 12 Group RAF)
- 6th Anti-Aircraft Group covering North-East England and Scotland (coinciding with No. 13 Group RAF (except Northern Ireland) and No. 14 Group RAF)
- 7th Anti-Aircraft Group covering Northern Ireland
- OSDEF remained separate
Later events
Later, 6th AA Group took over the Solent area to cover the preparations for Operation Overlord and was replaced in NE England by a new 8th Anti-Aircraft Group.
A new 9th Anti-Aircraft Group was formed to cover southern East Anglia during the flying bomb offensive (Operation Diver).
On 1 April 1943, AA Command took over control of smoke screens from the Ministry of Home Security. These installations were manned by the Pioneer Corps.
On 1 December 1954, it was announced that AA Command would be disbanded with effect from 10 March 1955.[8]
General Officers Commanding-in-Chief
General Officers Commanding-in-Chief have included:[9][10][11]
- April 1939 - July 1939 General Sir Alan Brooke
- 1939 - 1945 Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Pile
- 1945 - 1946 Lieutenant General Sir William Green
- 1946 - 1948 Lieutenant General Sir Otto Lund
- 1948 - 1950 General Sir Ivor Thomas
- 1950 - 1953 Lieutenant General Charles Loewen
- 1953 - 1955 Lieutenant General Maurice Chilton
Notes
- ↑ Peter Wykeham, Fighter Command: A Study of Air Defence, 1914-1960, accessed 30 May 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 London Gazette
- ↑ Orbat 3 September 1939
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Beckett, Territorials: A Century of Service, TA100, 2008, 178.
- ↑ Whitaker's Almanacks 1939 - 1955
- ↑ Anti-Aircraft Command at Regiments.org
- ↑ Army Commands
References
- The Anti-Aircraft Defence Of The United Kingdom From 28 July 1939, To 15 April 1945 London Gazette
- British Anti-Aircraft Command, TA on 3 September 1939 at Patriot Files
- Royal Artillery 1939–1945
- Regiments.org Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
