97th (The London Scottish) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed during the period of international tension leading up to the outbreak of World War II. It was raised as a duplicate battalion by the famous London Scottish Regiment. The unit defended London during The Blitz and then served in Sicily and Italy, both in the anti-aircraft (AA) and medium artillery roles. The regiment continued in the postwar TA until it was amalgamated in 1955.
Origin
When the TA was doubled in size after the Munich Crisis, the London Scottish gained enough recruits to form not one but two additional battalions; the extra battalion was formed as an AA unit. It was organised on 1 April 1939 at the London Scottish Drill Hall at 59 Buckingham Gate, Westminster, with the provisional title of 3rd Battalion, The London Scottish (97th Anti-Aircraft Regiment) and like its parent was a TA unit of the Gordon Highlanders. It consisted of Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) and 298 and 299 AA Batteries.Frederick, pp. 152, 756–60, 779.Litchfield, p. 167.
World War II Mobilisation and Phoney War
In June 1939, as the international situation worsened, a partial mobilisation of Anti-Aircraft Command's TA units 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 positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations.Routledge, pp. 65–6, 371. The new regiment mobilised as part of 48 AA Brigade in 1st AA Division defending London.AA Command 3 September 1939 at Patriot Files.Routledge, Table LX, p. 378. The regiment was embodied in the Royal Artillery (RA) as 97th (The London Scottish) AA Regiment, RA.
As the Phoney War continued into 1940, there was little action; however, AA Command's units trained hard while reinforcements and new equipment came in. 97th HAA Regiment formed a new 319 AA Bty within the regiment on 1 April 1940. On 1 June, AA units equipped with 3-inch or heavier guns, including 97th, were designated Heavy AA (HAA) regiments to distinguish them from the new Light AA (LAA) units being formed. By September 1940, 48 AA Bde controlled 28 gunsites (five still unoccupied) to the south and south-east of London as part of the London Inner Artillery Zone (IAZ). Its regiments manned a mixture of static and mobile 3.7-inch and static 4.5-inch guns, but only half the sites yet had GL Mk I gunlaying radar.Routledge, p. 388.
Battle of Britain and Blitz
While the Luftwaffe concentrated on Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields and radar stations in south east England during the Battle of Britain, 48 AA Bde was hardly involved; however, on 1 September, RAF Kenley and RAF Biggin Hill on the outskirts of London were heavily bombed and next day a raid up the Thames Estuary reached the edge of the London IAZ: on both days the raids were engaged by the guns. The docks were again bombed on 7 September, one bomber stream coming in over Surrey and being engaged by 48 AA Bde. This marked a change in tactics by the Luftwaffe and from now on London became the main target, by day and night. On 9 September, an afternoon raid coming in over the South Coast was heavily attacked by the RAF, but some bombers came over Surrey to London to be engaged by 48 AA Bde. By now, the number of HAA guns available in the IAZ had doubled to almost 200. Between 11 and 15 September, massed daylight aids approached London, but running battles with RAF fighters broke up most of the raids before they reached the IAZ. The Battle of Britain had been won, but from now on London would be bombed continuously by night in what became known as The Blitz.Routledge, pp. 383–6.Collier, Chapter XIII.Collier, Appendix XIV.Collier, Appendix XXII.Collier, Chapter XV.Collier, Appendix XXIV.Routledge, Table LXII, p. 379–80.
Manning AA positions during the Blitz was dangerous and arduous work. The HAA guns were in action night after night and often during the day as well, as the Luftwaffe directed 71 major raids against London between September 1940 and May 1941.Routledge, pp. 387–95.Collier, Appendix XXVI.Collier, Appendix XXXI. 97th HAA Regiment remained with 48 AA Bde throughout this period, and was strengthened when 376 HAA Bty was formed within the regiment on 15 October 1940.Farndale, Annex D.Routledge, Table LXV, p. 396.Order 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.
Mid-war
The Blitz ended in mid-May 1941 when Luftwaffe units were transferred for the German invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa), but AA Command continued to expand. 97th HAA Regiment supplied a cadre of experienced officers and other ranks to 209th HAA Training Rgt at Blandford Camp to form a new 471 HAA Bty on 7 August 1941, but this battery was disbanded before being assigned to a regiment. The regiment provided another cadre to form 514 (Mixed) HAA Bty at 207th HAA Training Rgt at Devizes on 26 January 1942; this battery later joined 151st (Mixed) HAA Rgt. ('Mixed' units were those into which women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated.)
By December 1941, the regiment had transferred from 48 AA Bde to the neighbouring 49 AA Bde, responsible for west and south-west London, including a number of aircraft factories. In March 1942, the regiment moved again, to 35 AA Bde covering Portsmouth in 5th AA Division. In June, it switched to 5 AA Bde, which had been brought in to reinforce 5th AA Division against Luftwaffe hit-and-run attacks along the South Coast of England.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.Routledge, pp. 401–2.
However, by now, 97th HAA Rgt had been earmarked for service overseas. This process began when 376 HAA Bty transferred to 131st HAA Rgt on 10 July 1942, reducing the regiment to the three-battery establishment for overseas service. It left 5 AA Bde in August, and left AA Command altogether in November, coming under War Office control with the following organisation:Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 1 October 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/82.Order of Battle of the Field Force in the United Kingdom, Part 3: Royal Artillery (Non-Divisional Units), 22 November 1942, TNA file WO 212/8. RHQ 298, 299, 319 HAA Btys 97 HAA Workshop Section, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME)
In early 1943, the regiment left for the North African theatre where it joined Eighth Army for the Allied invasion of Sicily.Joslen, pp. 466–7, 484–5.
Sicily 97th HAA Regiment was not in the assault waves for the landings on Sicily (Operation Husky) on 10 July, but came ashore soon afterwards to reinforce 2 AA Bde in the south-east of the island, where Syracuse harbour and the captured airfields at Pachino and Cassibile were suffering dive-bombing and strafing attacks by day, and high level bombing by night and day. After the landings, Eighth Army made rapid progress up the east coast of Sicily and the follow-up AA forces began to land. 73 AA Bde HQ arrived in Augusta on 19 July, taking over responsibility for the harbour, which was also heavily attacked, while 2 AA Bde moved up the coast. 97th HAA Regiment remained with 73 AA Bde at Augusta, claiming four Category 1 'kills' and two 'probables' for 3164 rounds fired. On another occasion a Troop shot down a hostile aircraft at with 20 rounds. The regiment returned to 2 AA Bde at the end of the campaign in Sicily.Routledge, pp. 262–5; Table XLII, p. 267.
Italy After the remaining Axis forces evacuated Sicily, Eighth Army regrouped to invade mainland Italy. The opening phase was Operation Baytown, an assault crossing of the Strait of Messina by XIII Corps supported by 2 AA Bde. Brigade HQ began reconnoitring sites to cover the operation on 18 August, the day after Messina fell, and sent forward 298 HAA Bty of 97th HAA Rgt to support XIII Corps, firing across the straits with its 3.7-inch guns in the medium artillery role. The crossing was to be made with a variety of landing craft and these required AA protection as did the assembly and embarkation points and supply dumps. 2 AA Brigade left 298/97 HAA Bty and two LAA batteries to defend these areas, while it embarked with the rest of 97th HAA Rgt and a number of other units for the landing.Routledge, pp. 269–70.
Three Beach groups or 'bricks' (Nos 32–34) were allocated to control the landings, and 2 AA Bde allotted one troop (4 x 3.7-inch guns) of 97th HAA Rgt to each brick. After an extensive bombardment, XIII Corps began landing during the night of 2/3 September. There was little serious ground resistance, but enemy aircraft were active and the beaches were dive-bombed. The landing programme went smoothly, the AA batteries reached the town of Reggio Calabria on 4 September and by 5 September the brigade was fully deployed with 299/97 and 319/97 HAA Btys defending the beaches. There was only one raid of importance on Reggio, when four Focke-Wulf Fw 190s bombed the harbour and attacked the AA positions: 319/97 HAA Bty had a command post destroyed, suffering nine dead and eight wounded. XIII Corps worked cautiously and methodically through Calabria, 2 AA Bde following up to cover the small harbours and airfields, and being rejoined by 298/97 HAA Bty from Messina. In late September, the brigade was warned to concentrate for a long move across Italy to defend the captured Foggia Airfield Complex.
2 AA Brigade reached Foggia and the port of Bari by 30 September, where it was reinforced. 62 AA Brigade HQ arrived on 2 October and took over responsibility for Bari, including 97th HAA Rgt, when 2 AA Bde moved on. Bari was an important supply port for Eighth Army and was targeted by the Luftwaffe. It was allocated 32 x 3.7-inch guns of 97th and 76th (Gloucestershire) HAA Rgts as well as LAA guns and searchlights, supplemented by Italian guns and searchlights. On the night of 2/3 December, there was an Air raid on Bari by 88 bombers covered by clouds of 'Window' (known as Düppel to the Luftwaffe). Not only were the RAF and Royal Artillery radar stations blinded, but communications broke down between the two services and defensive fire only began as the first bombs fell. The guns claimed two or three bombers shot down. The bombers had been aided by the port working under full lighting, and the damage to shipping and stores was increased by the explosion of an ammunition vessel. Further attacks on 13/14 December and 31 December/1 January were less successful and the raiders' casualties from AA fire were heavier (2 out of 21 and 4 out of 17 respectively).Molony, Vol V, pp. 413–4, 561.Routledge, pp. 274–5, 281.