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Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery


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On the subject of Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery

can anyone help please.

My Father (deceased) was a gunner 1940 - 46 on the heavy AA GUNS.

Don't know much about his war only the following.

London Blizt Gun position on clapham common

Prior to this I think he was at southampton.

 

Went to north Africa and then onto the landings in italy.

Only story from the war and that was told to my elder brother, was the time they got beaten up by a ME109 he returned fire on double mounted brens.

No mention of battery nor Div

Not much else really so be good to fill in some gaps 1940-46

Thanks

Edited by Chin Strap
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It appears that there aren’t even any grass marks left at Clapham Common but the site is visible on the 1945 view. Cannot see the gun pits, maybe netted over, but in 45 I wouldn’t have thought it necessary(?) but the Nissen huts for the personnel are very obvious.

 

 

 

Regarding Southampton, it could all depend upon whether your old fella was at Southampton – ‘specific’, or whether he was just somewhere in the wider geographical area. A check of the sites on Google Earth seems to show none in Southampton ‘specfic’ having survived (image 1), just one a little down the coast having some traces of the gun pads visible with all the surrounding magazines etc levelled. (image 2). If you spread the search a bit wider then there are two sites on Hayling Island with the one at Sinah looking much better preserved and accessible. If you go for the wider Southampton/ Portsmouth as the area to which he was he was posted then there is a good survivor over there, but I would guess it is not immediately open to the public. (image 3)

 

 

 

 

 

Abroad, except for where there was an established British base e.g. Gibraltar then I would not have thought there would have been any permanent placements made (?). More likely sandbag arrangements that were dismantled and moved forward as the advance progressed, if indeed HAA was used in that manner. Maybe attached to airfields or other sites of importance as they were brought in to Allied control. Needles in haystacks are probably easier to trace ! J

clapham common.jpg

Clpham Common '45.jpg

soton general.jpg

soton site1.jpg

soton site2a.JPG

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Thanks for that brother would be chuffed to find clapham site as he was once based at Balham.

If I was to find DAD's army number might that help. Intresting to see that positions were that dedicated.

As his mention of the desert war was it was very fluid. I did see somewhere that the guns should have been used as per the german 88 in the Anti tank role, but did not want to lose the asset. May be looking at the bigger picture of the move to italy.

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Maybe the lack of activity is due to the move to the coast re the V1 threat.

As just a point of intrest be intresting to see the bigger picture of london defences Barrage Ballon sights and search light locations, was there an interlocking plan to draw aircraft into a killing area or was it just put the stuff up and hope someone runs into it. Lots of accounts of RAF crew and flak, just how effective was our stuff.

DAD & MUM (then courting) recounted times to me and my brother that during the BLITZ red hot metal would rain down on them during a raid. TIN HATS very much the dress code.

 

Thanks for the promotion Guys

See you in the Mess

Edited by Chin Strap
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Between 1990 and 1996 I lived in Bishopton in Renfrewhire ..During the War the Village had been the site of a huge munitions factory with a large holding yard but as production of Munitions continued the Munitions family was never shown on a Map ..

 

During the war the site appeared to have Barrage balloons and a heavy AA gun Battery ..

 

The battery was located Due east of the Village and consisted of 3 Concrete hexagonal Gun Pits a central control Bunker and a variety of concrete bunkers for personnel ...I was shown the Site by a local historian who had collected shell cases from the site after the war ..The Local farmer had recovered the land surrounding the battery but unable to convert the area back to farming had used the site for dumping and in the early 90s most buildings were half buried ..I have looked at recent aerial photos and the site is no longer visible so i think the farmer won and buried the entire site

 

 

Still its probably 90% intact and will make a great time team dig in 2044 ......

 

 

Jenkinov

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I concluded typing my story of the Buried heavy AA Gun Battery in Bishopton Renfrewshire and then thought of the size of the place and doubted the farmers ability to bury the site so hunted again on Google Maps ,,

 

Much to my pleasure and....... embarrasment I re found the site 4 not 3 Gun batteries ...On Battery Lane to the East of Bishopton ..

 

If I can figure out how tp take a screen shot from Google I will post it ,,

 

Jenkinov

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