The formation was raised as 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Group on 1 November 1936 at Sunderland forming part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. Its initial order of battle was as follows:[1][2]
In 1938 the RA replaced its traditional unit designation 'Brigade' by the modern 'Regiment', which allowed the 'AA Groups' to take the more usual formation title of 'Brigades'. Brig F.C. Chaytor, OBE, MC, was appointed brigade commander on 1 November 1938.[4]Anti-Aircraft Command was formed in April 1939 to control all the TA's AA units and formations. 30th AA Brigade transferred to the new 7th AA Division when that was formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in June 1939.[5][6] As AA Command continued to expand, 62nd AA Regiment and 47th Searchlight Battalion moved to other brigades in 7 AA Division and were replaced by newly formed units.
Second World Waredit
Mobilisationedit
On the outbreak of war 30th AA Brigade was mobilised to defend its home area of Tyneside and Sunderland, with the following order of battle:[7][8]
63rd (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery – as above
64th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery – as above
In 1940, RA regiments equipped with 3-inch, 3.7-inch or 4.5-inch AA guns were designated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) to distinguish them from the new Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) regiments, and RE AA battalions were transferred to the RA and designated Searchlight regiments.
The Blitzedit
Order of Battle 1940–41edit
During The Blitz, 30th Anti-Aircraft Brigade comprised both HAA and LAA artillery while the searchlight units in the area were controlled by 57th Anti-Aircraft Brigade:[5][11][12][13][14]
30 AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Sub-Section (part of No 1 Company, 7 AA Division Mixed Signal Unit, Royal Corps of Signals)
Reorganisationedit
On 30 September 1942 the AA Divisions and Corps were dissolved and 30th Anti-Aircraft Brigade came under a new 6 AA Group covering Scotland and North East England and aligned with No. 13 Group RAF.[5][32][33][34]
Order of Battle 1942–44edit
Under the new command structure, 30 AA Bde had the following composition:[35][36][37]
122nd HAA Rgt – from Orkney and Shetland Defences (OSDEF) February 1944
397, 400, 401, 455 HAA Btys
130th (M) HAA Rgt – from 42 AA Bde Summer 1943
442, 443, 448, 449 (M) HAA Btys
135th (M) HAA Rgt – left Summer 1943
466, 467, 473, 494 HAA Btys
547 HAA Bty – joined November 1942
149th (M) HAA Rgt – from 4 AA Group Summer 1943
506, 507, 512, 581 (M) HAA Btys
153rd (M) HAA Rgt
509, 521 (M) HAA Btys
513, 544 (M) HAA Btys – joined December 1942
170th (M) HAA Rgt – from 42 AA Bde April 1943; left Summer 1943
528, 554 567, 568 (M) HAA Btys
124th LAA Rgt – to 2 AA Group by March 1943
53rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) S/L Rgt
408, 409, 410, 565 S/L Btys
21st (M) AA 'Z' Rgt – new unit formed December 1942,[18] joined April 1943
109, 110, 213 (M) Z Btys
Later waredit
In March 1944, 30 AA Bde HQ was transferred to 2 AA Group in South East England. Here it had just two units under its command:[37]
However, in April 1944 the brigade's reporting line changed again and it became part of 5 AA Group covering the East Coast and East Midlands. A number of its former units returned to its command, and over succeeding months it exchanged units with other brigades in 2 and 5 AA Groups.[38]
122nd HAA Rgt – to 3 AA Group May 1944
397, 400, 401 HAA Btys
129th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – from 43 AA Bde July, returned August 1944
444, 445, 454, 455 (M) HAA Btys
130th (M) HAA Rgt – to 43 AA Bde September 1944
442, 443, 448, 449 (M) HAA Btys
149th (M) HAA Rgt
506, 507, 512 (M) HAA Btys
151st (Mixed) HAA Rgt – from 41 AA Bde August 1944
510, 511, 514, 516 (M) HAA Btys
158th (Mixed) HAA Rgt
540, 541, 572 (M) HAA Btys
548 (M) HAA Bty – disbanded December 1944
183rd (Mixed) HAA Rgt – from 71 AA Bde November 1944
564, 591, 608, 640 (M) HAA Btys
187th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – from 57 AA Bde October 1944
By October 1944, the brigade's HQ establishment was 9 officers, 8 male other ranks and 25 members of the ATS, together with a small number of attached drivers, cooks and mess orderlies (male and female). In addition, the brigade had a Mixed Signal Office Section of 1 officer, 5 male other ranks and 19 ATS, which was formally part of the Group signal unit.[39]
War's endedit
By the end of 1944, 21st Army Group was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry, and AA Command was forced to disband several regiments and batteries, and release their personnel. At the same time the German Luftwaffe was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious air attacks on the United Kingdom could be discounted, so the War Office began to convert surplus AA regiments into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service.[33][40][41] Being stationed in Eastern England, still threatened by V-1 flying bombs air-launched from the North Sea, 30 AA Brigade was less affected by these changes. Nevertheless, in January 1945, 128th LAA Rgt was converted into 628th Infantry Rgt, RA,[18][42] and went to Europe, while 183rd (M) HAA Rgt was sent to Antwerp to defend that city against bombardment by V-1s.[43][44][45]
Order of Battle 1945edit
From mid-February 1945 until the end of the war, 30 AA Bde had the following composition:[38][46]
When the TA was reformed in 1947, 30th Anti-Aircraft Brigade's Regular Army units reformed 8 AA Bde at Newcastle, while the TA portion was renumbered a 56th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade,[a] with its HQ at Washington, Co Durham, and the following order of battle:[1][48][49]
The brigade was part of 3rd Anti-Aircraft Group with its headquarters in Edinburgh.
654 LAA Regt was placed in suspended animation in May 1949, and 325 LAA Regt merged into another unit in January 1954. Then on 1 March 1954, 56th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade HQ was disbanded at Seaburn, Sunderland.[3][48]
^ abOrder of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 212/79.
^ ab"10 AA Division 1940 at British Military History" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
^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 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 the Field Force in the United Kingdom, Part 3: Royal Artillery (Non-Divisional units), 2 April 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/515.
^564–591 Regts at British Army units 1945 on. Archived 2016-01-10 at the Wayback Machine
^"Anti-Aircraft Brigades 30-66". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
Referencesedit
Basil Collier, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Defence of the United Kingdom, London: HM Stationery Office, 1957.
Major 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.
Hewitson, T L (2006). Weekend Warriors. From Tyne to Tweed (1 ed.). Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-3756-9.
Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
Norman E.H. Litchfield, The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges), Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, ISBN 0-9508205-2-0.
Robert Palmer, 'AA Command History and Personnel' at British Military History.[permanent dead link]
Sir Frederick Pile's despatch: "The Anti-Aircraft Defence of the United Kingdom from 28th July, 1939, to 15th April, 1945" London Gazette 18 December 1947.
Brig N.W. Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55, London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, ISBN 978-1-85753-099-5.