Type Anti-Aircraft Brigade | Branch Territorial Army Role Air Defence | |
Active 1 September 1939–9 September 1948 Part of 4th AA Division11th AA Division4th AA Group | ||
The 54th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed just before the outbreak of World War II. It was engaged in defending the West Midlands of England during the war.
Contents
Mobilisation
As tensions rose at the time of the Munich Crisis, Britain's AA defences were strengthened and 4th AA Division was formed in 1938 within Western Command. In 1939 all TA AA formations, comprising units of the Royal Artillery (RA) and Royal Engineers (RE), were brought under a new Anti-Aircraft Command covering the whole country. On the outbreak of war a new 54th AA Brigade was being formed in 4 AA Division to provide searchlight cover straddling the South Midlands Area of Southern Command and the West Lancashire Area of Western Command. The brigade was formally raised on 1 September 1939 at Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham. Its units had already mobilised on 22 August.
Order of Battle
On formation it had the following composition:
On 1 August 1940 the AA battalions of the RE were transferred to the RA, in which they were designated 'Searchlight Regiments'.
In the reorganisation of AA Command in November 1940, 54 AA Bde assumed responsibility for searchlight provision for the Gun Defence Areas of the West Midlands under a new 11th AA Division. At this time it only had two regiments under command:
In October 1942 AA Command reorganised its structure, replacing the AA Divisions with AA Groups coinciding with RAF Fighter Command's Groups. 54 AA Bde came under 4 AA Group covering North-West England and North Wales.
Postwar: change of designation
When the TA was reformed in 1947, the former 28th (Thames and Medway) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was renumbered as 54th Anti-Aircraft Brigade.
The previous 54th Brigade at Sutton Coldfield was redesignated 80th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (TA), which had no connection with the wartime 80th AA Bde. The brigade came under 4 AA Group with the following composition:
However, the brigade was disbanded on 9 September 1948.