3rd Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom)


The 3rd Anti-Aircraft Division was an air defence formation of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, created in the period of tension before the outbreak of World War II. It defended Scotland and Northern Ireland during the early part of the war.

Origin

Large numbers of Territorial Army units were converted to anti-aircraft and searchlight roles in the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers during the 1930s, and higher formations were required to control them. The 3rd AA Division was the first division-level headquarters created de novo. It was formed at Edinburgh on 1 September 1938 within Scottish Command, transferring to Anti-Aircraft Command when that formation was created on 1 April 1939. It was responsible for the AA defences of Scotland, including Northern Ireland and the Orkney and Shetland Defences. It operated with No 13 Group of RAF Fighter Command, covering Scotland and the North of England.

Order of battle

The composition of the 3rd AA Division on the outbreak of war was as follows:
Mobilisation in the last week of August 1939 was difficult for the 3rd AA Division, which had the task of moving troops, guns and stores by road and by sea to remote and inaccessible sites in Orkney to defend the fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow, which had high priority.
At this point the division had a strength of 111 HAA guns, while in the LAA role there were 18 3-inch, 5 2-pounder 'pom-pom' and 40 mm Bofors guns, and 340 light machine guns, together with 159 searchlights. The HAA guns were deployed in the defended areas as follows:
Shortly afterwards, Tyneside and Teesside became the responsibility of a new the 7th AA Division, and the 3rd AA Division was able to concentrate on defending Scotland.

Phoney War

Unlike most of Britain's defence forces, the 3rd AA Division was frequently in action during the so-called Phoney War that lasted from September 1939 to May 1940. The first action occurred unexpectedly on 16 October 1939, when nine enemy aircraft suddenly appeared out of cloud and dived on warships off Rosyth Dockyard, close to the Forth Bridge. No warning had been given, but gun positions of the 71st HAA Rgt hastily loaded for a 'crash' action under individual gun control, normal prediction being impossible against diving and turning targets. A total of 104 rounds were fired and one aircraft had its tail shot off. HMS Southampton was damaged. The following day, 14 hostile aircraft in three waves attacked warships lying in Scapa Flow. The 226th Battery of the 101st HAA Rgt was able to engage and claimed one shot down. Among the vessels damaged in this raid was the Jutland veteran HMS Iron Duke, acting as a base ship and floating AA battery.
These attacks led to calls for strengthened AA defence for the naval bases at Scapa Flow, Invergordon, Rosyth and the Clyde anchorage, and the 3rd AA Division was given priority for new guns. Starting in January 1940, the division was to receive 64 3.7-inch and 32 4.5-inch HAA guns and an increase to 100 searchlights, but only 10 Bofors and some Naval 2-pounders were available for LAA defence. The 3rd AA Division had many problems at Scapa, where a chain of rugged islands enclose an extensive area of water, which stretched beyond the reach of HAA fire from the islands. Installing gun positions on the islands required an immense amount of labour. A new Luftwaffe attack on 16 March 1940 caught the defences half-prepared: only 52 out of 64 HAA guns were fit for action, and 30 out of 108 SLs. About 15 Junkers Ju 88s approached at low level in the dusk: half dived on the warships and the rest attacked the airfield. 44 HAA guns of 42 AA Brigade engaged, but their predictors were defeated by erratic courses and low height. 17 LAA guns also engaged, but the Gun layers were blinded by gun-flashes in the half light. No enemy aircraft were brought down. A subsequent inquiry concluded that the low level attack had evaded radar, the gun lay-out still left gaps in the perimeter, and guns were out of action awaiting spare parts.
There were three more attacks on Scapa Flow the following month. On 4 April, a formation estimated at 12 Ju 88s carried out a series of medium- and low-level runs, dropping bombs and machine-gunning AA positions, and escaped without loss. Four days later, 12 Heinkel He 111s spent 2 hours over the anchorage carrying out individual attacks, but four were shot down. On 10 April about 20 hostile aircraft made a night raid; some were successfully illuminated and three shot down. The Scapa defences were clearly improved, and close concentrations of fire over warships, supplemented by naval AA fire, could now hold off dive-bombing attacks. The Luftwaffe now turned its attention to the campaigns in Norway and France and the Low Countries
In November 1939, the 3rd AA Brigade HQ and some of its units were sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force, defending the lines of communication. The 3rd AA Brigade HQ returned to Northern Ireland after the Dunkirk evacuation.

Battle of Britain

On 11 July 1940, at the start of the Battle of Britain, the guns of the 3rd AA Division under the command of Maj-Gen Leslie Hill were deployed as follows:
The 3rd AA Division was now cooperating with Fighter Command's No 14 Group, recently reformed to cover Scotland.
In 1940, the Royal Artillery's AA regiments were designated 'Heavy AA' to distinguish them from the newer Light AA units. Also during 1940, all the searchlight units, whether AA battalions of the RE or still forming part of their parent infantry regiments, were transferred to the RA. The units of the 52nd AA Brigade were therefore redesignated as follows:
In September 1940, the 3rd AA Division formed the 3rd AA Z Regiment, equipped with Z Battery rocket projectiles.
In November 1940, at the height of The Blitz, a new 12th AA Division was formed to take over responsibility for western Scotland and Northern Ireland, while the 3rd AA Division retained responsibility for eastern Scotland. The 3rd and 42nd AA Brigades were transferred from the 3rd AA Division to the new formation, and 12 AA Divisional Signals was formed by expanding the Glasgow company of 3 AA Divisional Signals. Both 3 and 12 AA Divisions, together with OSDEF and the 7th AA Division covering northern England, formed part of a newly created II AA Corps, and the 3rd AA Division's commander, Maj-Gen Hugh Martin, was promoted to command the new higher formation.

Blitz

From November 1940 and during The Blitz, the 3rd AA Division's order of battle was therefore as follows:
After December 1941 the division's order of battle was as follows:
36th AA Brigade
51st AA Brigade
52nd AA Brigade
'Mixed' indicates that women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated into the unit.
The increased sophistication of Operations Rooms and communications was reflected in the growth in support units, which attained the following organisation by May 1942:
The RAOC companies became part of the new Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during 1942.

Disbandment

In August 1942 the Divisional HQ moved south to join I AA Corps and assist in controlling the large number of AA units brought in to defend against Luftwaffe 'hit and run' attacks on the South Coast of England. It was given control of the 27th, 47th and 64th AA Brigades, but this lasted only for a short time, because AA Command underwent a major reorganisation at the end of September 1942, resulting in the disbandment of all the AA Divisional HQs. In October 1942, the 3rd and th12 AA Divisional Signals re-merged to form the 6th AA Group Signals.

General Officers Commanding

The commanders of the 3rd AA Division were as follows: