12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (12 AA Bde) was an air defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War. It specialised in providing anti-aircraft (AA) protection for forward airfields, for the Advanced Air Striking Force in the Battle of France and the Desert Air Force in the North African Campaign. It landed at Salerno in 1943 and fought through the Italian Campaign, its guns often engaging ground targets as well as aircraft. It was reformed postwar and continued for a few years in Anti-Aircraft Command.
Origin On 9 October 1939 the War Office ordered the formation of a brigade headquarters (HQ) to be responsible for defending the airfields of the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) then being assembled in France by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Brigadier W.T.O Crewdson, at that time commanding the Territorial Army's 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade in the London area, was appointed to form the new HQ, which became 12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade. Crewdson and his immediate staff left for France on 11 October while the rest of the HQ assembled at the Duke of York's Headquarters, Chelsea, (HQ of 38 LAA Bde) and landed at Cherbourg on 18 October. By 23 October Brigade HQ was established at Chateau Polignac near the AASF's HQ at Reims. A brigade workshop section of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was set up at Épernay and a brigade transport section of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was at Reims. The brigade had no signal section yet, its communications being handled by 2nd Air Formation Signals of the Royal Corps of Signals attached to AASF HQ. The first two units to come under 12 AA Bde's command were the 53rd (City of London) and 73rd Anti-Aircraft Regiments of the Royal Artillery, TA units recruited from London and Birmingham respectively. Both units were equipped with semi-mobile 3-inch guns of 1918 pattern and were deployed to defend the initial five airfields round Reims from which Bristol Blenheims of the AASF began reconnoitring and raiding over Germany.'The History of HQ 12 AA Brigade 1939–1945', The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 204/7254.Frederick, p. 1048.Farndale, Annex J.Monthly Army List, May 1939.Crewdson at General of World War IIRoutledge, pp. 114–6.
Phoney War There was no action while the British forces in France (the British Expeditionary Force, with its Air Component, and the independent AASF) were building up through the winter of 1939–40. Crewdson deployed 53rd AA Rgt to protect the AASF's northern airfields while 73rd took the southern group. Early in 1940 12 AA Bde was reinforced by 5 AA Battery from 2nd AA Regiment with the new 3.7-inch heavy AA (HAA) guns, and 162 Bty from 54th (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Light AA Regiment with the new Bofors 40 mm light AA (LAA) guns. A battery of searchlights (S/Ls) was distributed across the airfields. The first four GL Mk. I gunlaying radar sets also arrived amidst much secrecy.Farndale, pp. 19–20.Routledge, Table XVII, p. 125.
The first intimation that the Phoney War was about to end came in late April when a lone Junkers Ju 88 bombed a hospital next to Reims Cathedral; it was engaged by British and French AA guns but escaped. From then on bombing raids were frequent. The joint AASF/12 AA Bde HQ received some damage, and 5 AA Bty was deployed to defend AASF HQ.
Order of Battle May 1940 12 AA Brigade had the following dispositions when the Battle of France began in May 1940:Ellis, Appendix I.Farndale, Annex A.AASF at RA 39–45.Routledge, Table XVIII, p. 126.
53rd (City of London) AA Regiment RHQ – Reims 157 Bty – 6 x 3-inch at Auberive and Vraux 158 Bty – 8 x 3-inch at Juvincourt, La Malmaison and Berry-au-Bac 159 Battery – 10 x 3-inch at Bétheniville, La Neuvillette (Reims) and Hauviné 73rd AA Regiment RHQ – Chouilly 209 Battery – 8 x 3-inch at Écury and Athis 311 Battery – 8 x 3-inch at Matougues, Saint-Mard-lès-Rouffy and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 210 Bty – detached to 2 AA Bde with the BEF, covering airfields north of the River Somme 5 (Independent) AA Bty – 8 x 3.7-inch at Sogny-aux-Moulins and Moutire 162/54 LAA Bty – 12 x 40 mm at Rouvres and Vassincourt 7 S/L Bty – from 2nd S/L Regiment Workshop Section, RAOC – Épernay Transport Section, RASC – at Reims
Battle of France When the German offensive in the west opened on 10 May, 12 AA Bde was not involved in the BEFs advance into Belgium and subsequent retreat after the German Army broke through the Ardennes. However, the AASF flew many missions and took heavy casualties against the Ardennes breakthrough, while its airfields were subjected to dive-bombing and low-level attacks with which the old 3-inch guns and their Vickers Predictor No 1 and height-finders could not cope. At Condé Vraux the Luftwaffe destroyed six of 114 Squadron's Blenheims and damaged the remaining 12, as well as the airfield and petrol dump, putting the whole squadron and airfield out of service at the beginning of the battle, although the ground defences accounted for over half the attacking aircraft.Ellis, Chapter III. By late May the BEF was cut off and was being evacuated from Dunkirk, while the AASF's airfields were being rolled up by German Army Group A as it advanced to the Somme. The AASF then became a mobile force, moving south to Troyes to continue supporting the French, followed by a further move back to the Blois area. 12 AA Brigade redeployed to defend these new airfields.Routledge, p. 118.
Even after the Dunkirk evacuation ended a number of fighting formations and a large number of rear echelon units were still in France south of the Somme, and fresh British forces were being landed at France's western ports, covered by 3 AA Bde. The AASF's remaining bombers flew back to the UK, while its fighters moved to Nantes to cover this new concentration. 12 AA Brigade set off towards Nantes, its regiments 'trundling their old 3-inch guns at their maximum speed of 10 to 12 mph, though Vendôme, Le Mans and Rennes on the long haul westwards'. Sections of 53rd and 73rd AA Rgts provided temporary cover along the line of retreat.Ellis, Chapter XXI.Routledge, p. 123. On arrival at Nantes 157 and 159 Btys, each with seven guns, and 7 S/L Bty (without searchlights), occupied positions on either side of the River Loire.53 HAA Regt War Diary 1939–40, TNA file WO 167/617.
On 6 June the brigade was ordered to detach part of 53rd AA Rgt to southern France for an unspecified task. Together with a Troop of 162/54 LAA Bty, 157 and 159 Btys moved to Marseille where they joined 'Haddock Force', manning airfields to launch bombing raids by RAF Wellingtons against Italian targets. However, the surrender of France meant that Haddock Force was evacuated from Marseille to Gibraltar aboard a merchant ship with the remaining Bofors guns mounted on its decks.Ellis, Chapter XX.
The situation in France was now beyond remedy, and the British government decided to evacuate its remaining troops from the Atlantic ports between 15 and 17 June (Operation Aerial). Detachments of 73rd AA Rgt maintained temporary cover for 72 hours along the route of the evacuation, and two of its precious GL radar sets were got away from Saint-Nazaire by 79th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) AA Rgt of 3 AA Bde, but the rest of the equipment had to be destroyed on the dockside. Half of 12 AA Bde HQ embarked at Nantes, the remainder went to La Rochelle where the last vehicles and two GL sets were destroyed.Sainsbury, pp. 67–9.
Personnel embarked under air attack and the RMS Lancastria, with thousands of servicemen and civilians aboard, including half of 12 AA Bde HQ and parties of 53rd and 73rd AA Rgts, was sunk off Saint-Nazaire with heavy loss of life. Three of brigade HQ's men were killed while 15 were pulled from the water, several of them wounded.
Home Defence The surviving personnel of 12 AA Bde HQ landed at Plymouth and Swansea. Crewdson was ordered to reassemble the HQ at Towyn in North Wales; then moved to Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, where it joined the brigade signal section that had been formed too late for service in France. At Tadcaster the brigade was under Northern Command, which gave it responsibility for some anti-invasion defence measures in Lincolnshire between the Humber and the Wash.
In October 1940 12 AA Bde HQ was ordered to proceed to Paignton and re-mobilise for overseas service. However, embarkation was postponed, and the HQ was instead sent to Coventry to reorganise the AA defences after the devastating air raid of 14/15 November. Embarkation orders were finally received on 1 February 1941 and the headquarters, including the signal section and RASC company, embarked at Gourock, without Brig Crewdson, who had been injured in an accident.
Western Desert
12 AA Brigade HQ arrived at Suez on 23 April and moved up to the Nile Delta. On 5 May Brig B.E. Floyd arrived from Malta, where he had been Brigadier, AA (BAA), to take command. The plan had been for the brigade to go to Greece, but the troops there had already been evacuated, and instead it was given the task of administering the AA personnel returning from Greece and Crete. Finally, on 16 July, 12 AA Bde moved up to join the Western Desert Force (WDF). Floyd was appointed BAA of the WDF, and his brigade was given responsibility for AA defence of the port of Mersa Matruh and several airfields. Air raids took place almost nightly, and the AA defences available were wholly inadequate:Floyd at Generals of World War II.Routledge, pp. 135–6. 23 AA Bty, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery (HKSRA) 63 HAA Bty, RA One S/L Bty It was later joined by 94th HAA Rgt.
In September 1941 the WDF made a small advance to Halfaya Pass and 12 AA Bde moved up to Sidi Barrani to protect nearby landing grounds (LGs), with 2nd LAA Rgt coming under its command. Eighth Army was now formed to take over from the WDF, and 12 AA Bde became directly responsible to Army HQ. Shortly afterwards the newly formed Desert Air Force took over the air units. In October 12 AA Bde HQ moved to Sanyat Amad Ali, where it was also given responsibility for protecting the railway that was being extended across the desert. 88th HAA and 27th LAA Rgts came under its command, while Axis aircraft continued to raid. Brigadier Floyd was evacuated sick and replaced by Brig E.G. Campbell.Campbell at Generals of World War II.
Operation Crusader
Eighth Army's new offensive into Libya (Operation Crusader) began on 18 November. 12 AA Brigade HQ moved up to Fort Maddelena on the Libyan–Egyptian frontier, and Troops of 2nd LAA Rgt took up positions on new LGs occupied west of the frontier while 27th LAA Rgt covered the Desert Rail Head. General Erwin Rommel's counter-attack caused confusion, with retreating units driving through the LGs and both Eighth Army and 12 AA Bde's HQs. The LGs were evacuated, one Troop of 2nd LAA driving in convoy with advancing German troops, thinking them to be Afrikaans-speaking South Africans. The front was re-established while brigade HQ's clerks manned Boys anti-tank rifles for local defence and Brig J.N. Slater, BAA of Eighth Army, organised a temporary mobile column of LAA guns and light trucks (known as 'Slatforce') to operate behind enemy lines and cause disruption.27th LAA Rgt War Diary, August–December 1941, TNA file WO 169/1637.
Eighth Army attacked again, capturing Sidi Rezegh and the LGs around Gambut on 23 November. 12 AA Brigade set up at Sidi Rezegh, with HQ personnel assisting in burying the dead. During the move the brigade HQ pennant was lost, so a pair of PT shorts was flown as a marker flag. The garrison of Tobruk, including 4 AA Bde, was relieved a few days later. 12 AA Brigade HQ moved up to an abandoned German camp (nicknamed 'Sidi Loot') on the coast about 20 miles from Tobruk, and its defence platoon combed the coast for stray Germans.