33rd (Western) Anti-Aircraft Brigade

The 33rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, formed shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. It defended Merseyside and West Lancashire during The Blitz.

Origin

The 33rd Anti-Aircraft Group was formed on 1 November 1936 at the Drill Hall, Chester, as part of 2nd AA Division, with the following AA units of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers under command:

65th (The Manchester Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Brigade RA (TA) – Heavy Anti-Aircraft unit formed at Hulme in 1936 by conversion of 6th/7th Battalion Manchester Regiment
* 181, 182, 183, 196 AA Batteries
38th (The King's Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – Searchlight unit formed at Liverpool in 1936 by conversion of 6th (Rifles) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool)
* 350, 351, 352, 353 AA Companies
39th (The Lancashire Fusiliers) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – S/L unit formed at Salford in 1936 by conversion of 7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
* 354, 355, 356, 357 AA Companies
41st (The North Staffordshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, RE (TA) – S/L unit formed at Stoke-on-Trent in 1936 by conversion of 5th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
* 362, 363, 364, 365 AA Companies
62nd (4th Bn The Loyal (North Lancashire) Regiment) Searchlight Regiment – S/L unit formed at Preston in 1938 by conversion of 4th Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
* 435, 436, 437, S/L Batteries

The 33rd AA Brigade was reassigned to 4th AA Division when that formation was created in Western Command on 1 September 1938. AA Command took over all TA air defences in 1939. From its formation, 33 AA Bde was commanded by Brigadier R.S. Ellis. By early 1939 its headquarters was at 'Crossacres', Woolton, Liverpool.

Second World War

Mobilisation

AA Command mobilised in August 1939, and its units were already at their war stations on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939. 33rd AA Brigade was responsible for the air defence of Liverpool and West Lancashire, controlling the following units:

70th (3rd West Lancashire) AA Regiment, RA – HAA unit formed in 1937 by conversion of 89th (3rd West Lancashire) Field Brigade, RA
* HQ at Tramway Road, Aigburth, Liverpool
* 211 AA Battery at Aigburth
* 212 AA Battery at Aigburth
* 216 AA Battery at Widnes
* 309 AA Battery at Bootle, Liverpool
81st AA Regiment, RA – HAA unit formed in 1938 by conversion of 60th (6th Cheshire & Shropshire) Medium Brigade, RA
* HQ, 253, 254 AA Batteries at Stockport
* 255 AA Battery at Stalybridge
93rd AA Regiment, RA – New HAA unit raised in 1939
* HQ, 288, 289 AA Batteries at Oxton, Birkenhead
* 267 AA Battery at West Birkenhead – from 70th AA Rgt
* 290 AA Battery at Chester
38th AA Battalion, RE – As above
* HQ, 350, 351, 352, 353 AA Companies at Liverpool
62nd Searchlight Regiment – As above
* HQ, 435, 436, 437 S/L Batteries at Preston
33rd AA Brigade Company, Royal Army Service Corps

Phoney War and Battle of Britain

During the early part of the war the brigade's searchlight regiments were transferred to other formations and were replaced by new HAA and Light Anti-Aircraft regiments. By the end of the Battle of Britain 33 AA Bde had the following units under command:

103 HAA Regiment – formed May 1940
106 HAA Regiment – formed August 1940
33 LAA Regiment – from Western Command at Liverpool
42 LAA Regiment – formed September 1939 from batteries of 17 and 36 LAA Regts
Part of 65 LAA Regiment – ''formed November 1940''

The Blitz

While the Battle of Britain raged over the skies of Southern England by day, there were also night raids on industrial cities, and Liverpool was heavily attacked for four nights in a row from 28 August. The night raids continued into the following Spring, during which period the city and its docks along the Mersey became the most heavily bombed area of Britain outside London. The campaign became known as the Liverpool Blitz, with particularly heavy attacks at Christmas 1940, in April 1941, and again in May.

Order of Battle 1940–41

By the end of the Blitz the brigade had the following units under command:

1st HAA Rgt – Regular Army mobile regiment, transferred from 1st AA Bde at Crewe; part of War Office Reserve
* 1, 2, 17 HAA Btys
* 1 HAA Rgt Signals Section, Royal Corps of Signals
* 1 HAA Rgt Section, RASC
* 1 HAA Rgt Workshop, Royal Army Ordnance Corps
93rd HAA Rgt
* 267, 288, 289, 290 HAA Btys
103rd HAA Rgt
* 322, 323, 324 HAA Btys
* 420 Bty
107th HAA Rgt – new unit formed September 1940, partly from 103rd HAA Rgt
* 334, 335, 337, 390 HAA Btys
33rd LAA Rgt
* 67, 68, 132 LAA Btys
4th AA 'Z' Rgt – new unit equipped with Z Battery rocket projectors, formed in 4 AA Division September 1940
* 104, 108, 122, 132, 139 Z Btys

Mid-War

The Blitz ended in May 1941, but occasional raids continued. Newly formed units joining AA Command were increasingly 'mixed' ones into which women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated. Some of these were armed with Z Battery rocket projectiles that were partly manned by members of the Home Guard. At the same time, experienced units were posted away for service overseas. This continual turnover of units accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for Operation Torch and the need to relocate guns to counter the Baedeker Blitz and the Luftwaffes hit-and-run attacks against South Coast towns.

Order of Battle 1941–42

During this period the division was composed as follows :

1st HAA Rgt – as above; to Northern Ireland July 1941
93rd HAA Rgt – as above; to 44 AA Bde June 1942
* 267, 288, 289 HAA Btys
95th HAA Rgt – joined September 1942; left for India October 1942
* 204, 293, 240 HAA Btys
103rd HAA Rgt – as above; left for mobile training May 1942
* 322, 323, 324 HAA Btys
* 420 HAA Bty – joined July 1941; left April 1942
107th HAA Rgt – as above; left December 1941
117th HAA Rgt – joined autumn, to 70 AA Bde December 1941, returned May, left for Orkney and Shetland Defences late August 1942
* 370, 371 HAA Btys
* 358 Bty – joined May, left July 1942
* 369, 392 HAA Btys – left early August 1942
137th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – new unit formed November, joined December 1941, to 1 AA Group October 1942
* 476, 481 HA Btys
* 477 HAA Bty – to 142nd (Mixed) HAA Rgt January 1942
* 487 HAA Bty – from 142nd HAA Rgt January 1942
149th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – new unit formed February, joined April 1942
* 506, 507, 512 HAA Btys
154th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – new unit formed March, joined May 1942
* 522, 526 HAA Btys
* 560 HAA Bty – joined June 1942
* 550 HAA Bty – joined August 1942
29th LAA Rgt – joined autumn 1941, to 10 AA Division February 1942
* 108, 121, 237 LAA Btys
33rd LAA Rgt – as above; to 2 AA Division autumn 1941
63rd LAA Rgt – from 70 AA Bde August 1942
* 188, 189, 190, 457 LAA Btys
98th LAA Rgt – new unit formed December 1941, joined February, to 5 AA Division May 1942
* 304, 305, 306, 481 LAA Btys
134th LAA Rgt – new unit formed February, joined June, to 57 AA Bde August 1942
* 192, 275, 287 LAA Btys
* 230 LAA Bty – left July 1942
* 475 LAA Bty – joined July 1942
4th AA 'Z' Rgt – as above; to 70 AA Bde summer, rejoined autumn 1941, to 57 AA Bde August 1942
* 194, 132, 139, 172 Z Btys
33 AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Sub-Section

Later war

A reorganisation of AA Command in October 1942 saw the AA divisions disbanded and replaced by a smaller number of AA Groups more closely aligned with the organisation of RAF Fighter Command. 33 AA Brigade came under a new 4 AA Group covering North West England and the West Midlands.

Order of Battle 1942–44

By this time the brigade was composed solely of HAA regiments following the redeployment of LAA guns to the South Coast. It was only in early 1943 that the brigade was reinforced:

93rd HAA Rgt – returned by October 1942; left for Middle East Forces by mid-March 1943
* 267, 288, 289, 290 HAA Btys
149th HAA Rgt – to 53 AA Bde May 1943
* 506, 507, 512, 587 HAA Btys
154th HAA Rgt – to 2 AA Group October 1943
522, 526, 590 HAA Btys
550 HAA Bty – left December 1942
552 HAA Bty – joined January 1943
157th (M) HAA Rgt – from 2 AA Group October 1943
* 505, 539, 550, 551 HAA Btys
179th (M) HAA Rgt – from 2 AA Group October 1943
* 584, 606, 607, 641 HAA Btys
184th (M) HAA Rgt – new unit formed November 1942, joined April 1943; to 44 AA Bde by August 1943
* 616, 617, 625, 627 HAA Btys
190th (M) HAA Rgt – new unit formed January 1943, joined May 1943
* 642, 664, 665, 667 HAA Btys
4th AA 'Z' Rgt – returned May 1943
* 104, 132, 214 Z Btys
* 230 Z Bty – left end 1943
14th AA 'Z' Rgt – from 1 AA Group May 1943
* 108, 172, 201, 202, 226 Z Btys

Order of Battle 1944

In March 1944 the number of brigade HQs in 4 AA Group was reduced, and 33 AA Bde HQ was temporarily given additional responsibilities until these units were redistributed, mainly to the south of England to cover the embarkation ports for Operation Overlord:

157th HAA Rgt – as above
159th (M) HAA Rgt – joined March, to 6 AA Group August 1944
* 542, 543, 563, 614 HAA Btys
167th (M) HAA Rgt – joined March 1944; to 1 AA Group May 1944
* 464, 562, 610 HAA Btys
179th HAA Rgt – as above; to 2 AA Group May 1944
190th HAA Rgt – as above; to 61 AA Bde May 1944
196th HAA Rgt – from OSDEF June 1944; disbanded July 1944
* 351, 661, 662 HAA Btys
88th LAA Rgt – joined March, to 2 AA Group May 1944
* 178, 289, 293 LAA Btys
4th AA Area Mixed Rgt – redesignated 1944
13th AA Area Mixed Rgt – joined March 1944
* 122, 203, 204, 205, 216 Z Btys
14th AA Area Mixed Rgt – redesignated 1944

By October 1944, AA Command was being forced to release manpower to 21st Army Group fighting in North West Europe and 33 AA was reduced to one HAA regiment and its three AA Area Mixed regiments. At this date its own 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. In addition, the brigade had a Mixed Signal Office Section of 5 male other ranks and 19 ATS, which was formally part of the Group signal unit.

War's end

As the war neared its end there was a continued run-down of AA Command: 4 AA Group was disbanded in mid-March 1945, and 33 AA Bde transferred to the command of 5 AA Group. By this time, the brigade consisted solely of the rocket batteries of the three AA Area Mixed Rgts, and as these were disbanded in April. were disbanded during March and April, the brigade HQ soon had nothing to command. In May 1945, after the end of the war in Europe, it was given control of 12 Area AA Maintenance HQ to administer the demobilisation process, with 37th (Tyne Electrical Engineers) and 69th (3rd City of London) S/L Rgts added in June. By November it was commanding a number of returned Regular Army units, together with others awaiting demobilisation:

2nd HAA Rgt – returned from MEF
* 16, 20, 28 HAA Btys
4th HAA Rgt – returned from MEF
* 5, 6, 258 HAA Btys
7th HAA Rgt – returned from Siege of Malta
* 10, 13, 27 HAA Btys
130th HAA Rgt
* 442, 443, 448 HAA Btys
69th S/L Rgt
* 354, 456, 457 S/L Btys

Postwar

On 1 January 1947, 33 AA Bde's Regular Army units reformed 9 AA Bde in Wales, while the TA portion was renumbered as 59th Anti-Aircraft Brigade in the reformed TA, constituting part of 4 AA Group based at Warrington:

Brigade HQ at Woolton, Liverpool
360 HAA Regt – formerly 81 HAA Regt; see above
493 HAA Regt, Birkenhead – formerly 93 HAA Regt; see above
515 LAA Regt, Douglas –formerly 15 (Isle of Man) LAA Regt
521 LAA Regt, Chester – formerly 21 LAA Regt; merged into 349 Regt 30 September 1950
596 (South Lancashire) LAA Regt, St Helens – from 612 Infantry Regt RA, formerly 61 Searchlight Regt and originally 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment

AA Command was disbanded on 10 March 1955 and there was a series of reductions and mergers in the TA's AA units. 59 AA Brigade was itself placed in suspended animation on 31 October 1955 and formally disbanded on 31 December 1957.

A new brigade

A new 33rd AA Bde was formed on 1 November 1955 at Shepherd's Bush, London, by redesignation of X AA Bde. It had no links with Western Command or Merseyside. This brigade was reorganised on 1 May 1961, becoming 33 Artillery Brigade in 56th (London) Division.