26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade

26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade
Active 1922–1948
Country  United Kingdom
Branch Territorial Army
Type Anti-Aircraft Brigade
Role Air Defence
Part of 1st AA Division
Garrison/HQ Duke of York's Headquarters
Engagements The Blitz

26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade (26 AA Bde) was an Air Defence formation of the British Army during World War II. It defended London during the Blitz.

Origin

The Duke of York's Headquarters

German air raids by Zeppelin airships and Gotha bombers on London and other British cities during World War I had shown the need for strong anti-aircraft (AA) defences in any future war. When the Territorial Army (TA) was reformed in 1922 it included a number of dedicated AA units of the Royal Artillery (RA) and Royal Engineers (RE). Two formations were organised in London District to command these units, provisionally known as the 2nd and 3rd London Air Defence Brigades, but soon numbered 26th and 27th. Both were based at the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, and they had the following composition:.[1][2][3][4]

26th (London) Air Defence Brigade

27th (London) Air Defence Brigade

1935 Reorganisation

As Britain's AA defences expanded during the 1930s, higher formations became necessary. 1st AA Division was formed in 1935 at RAF Uxbridge to command the growing number of Territorial Army (TA) anti-aircraft gun and searchlight units covering London and the Home Counties. The 26th AD Bde was reorganised on 16 December 1935 as 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Group, commanding all the gun and searchlight units of the two former brigades, while the 27th was reformed as 27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Group at RAF Kenley, to command new AA units in the South London suburbs.[5][6][7]

The AA Groups took the more usual formation title of Brigades in 1938 after the Royal Artillery replaced its traditional unit designation 'Brigade' by the modern 'Regiment'.[8]

Mobilisation

The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis. The call-out of key parties by telephone and telegram went well, and they assembled at their drill halls within a few hours. Because the units possessed only a small scale of transport, elaborate plans had been made to requisition civilian vehicles, ranging from heavy lorries to buses and private cars. Equipment was drawn from mobilisation stores, and the detachments ferried out to their war stations. Despite some failures and problems, the emergency positions covering London were manned and most of the equipment was in place within 24 hours. The emergency mobilisation lasted nearly three weeks before the TA units were released on 14 October.[9]

During this period of tension the Territorial Army grew enormously, and existing TA infantry battalions continued to be converted to AA regiments. The number of divisions and brigades was expanded, and the whole AA defence of the United Kingdom was taken over by Anti-Aircraft Command on 1 April 1939. A new 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade was formed on 28 September 1938 by duplicating 26 AA Brigade HQ at the Duke of York's Headquarters. The new brigade took responsibility for searchlight units in the London area, leaving 26 AA Bde as a Heavy AA formation.[10]

The further deterioration in international relations during 1939 led to a partial mobilisation in June, and a proportion of TA AA units manned their war stations under a rotation system known as 'Couverture'. Full mobilisation of AA Command came in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939.[11]

206 Brompton Road, the former Brompton Road tube station closed in 1934, used as the headquarters of the London Inner Artillery Zone anti-aircraft defences during World War II

Just before the outbreak of war, 26 AA Bde moved its headquarters to Brompton Road in South Kensington, where a Piccadilly line underground railway station had been disused since 1934. 1st AA Division established a control centre at Brompton Road, where the tunnels, subways and lift-shafts were adapted to provide bomb-proof accommodation for a Central Operation Room reporting direct to HQ No. 11 Group RAF at Uxbridge, and four Gun Operations Rooms (GORs) subdividing the London Inner Artillery Zone (IAZ). An elaborate network of dedicated telephone lines was laid by the General Post Office and Royal Corps of Signals, linking the AA sites, including many isolated searchlight positions.[11][12][13][14][15] (The building remained a TA centre after the war, later being known as the Signals Drill Hall. It was sold by the Ministry of Defence in 2014.)[16]

It had been intended that 26th AA Brigade would control the whole London IAZ, but it proved too complex for one HQ, and in September 1939 it was divided among three: 26th, 48th and 49th AA Bdes. 26th AA Brigade still had the heaviest concentration of guns, with 34 sites disposed to north and east of London, mainly equipped with static 3.7 and 4.5-inch guns. Its sites were in the process of being increased from four to eight guns each.[12]

Outbreak of war

When the UK declared war on 3 September 1939, 26 AA Bde had the following composition:[10][13][17]

During 1940 the AA Regiments of the RA were redesignated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) regiments to distinguish them from the existing Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) regiments.[8]

Battle of Britain

While the Luftwaffe attacked RAF airfields in south east England during the Battle of Britain, 26 AA Bde was hardly involved, but on 2 September 1940 a raid up the Thames Estuary reached the edge of the London IAZ and was engaged by guns of the brigade. Between 11 and 15 September, massed raids approached London, but running battles with RAF fighters broke up most of the raids before they reached the IAZ.[18]

The Blitz

By late 1940, at the height of The Blitz, 26 AA Bde was still serving in 1 AA Division covering London, but had the following composition:[19][20]

Manning AA positions during the Blitz was dangerous and arduous work. A Parachute mine fell on one HAA position of 26 AA Bde in central London, killing three men and wounding 15, yet the position remained in action.[26]

Postwar

When the TA was reformed on 1 January 1947, the brigade was renumbered as 52 (London) AA Brigade, based at Chingford, Essex, in 1 AA Group. The brigade had the following organisation:[27]

However, the brigade was disbanded in September 1948.

Notes

References

External sources

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