103 Coast Observer R.A (Ouistreham, Normandy)

The navy did station minesweepers in the swept channels to observe and mark the fall of mines. Perhaps shore radar assisted but I have not seen any mention of it in either naval or Beach Sub Area documents. Using radar to spot the fall of mines was known elsewhere so it is possible that it was used here.

It is possible that 103 detachment was trained in the mine spotting work in the UK but this lies outside my area of study.


Brigadier Routledge, a WW2 vintage AA officer in his official history of AA Artillery 1914-55 writes that the mine-laying radar reporting was carried out on an improvised AA reporting net and passed to Naval Port HQ - so by-passing naval or beach sub area channels. The technique and the detachments were an improvisation, and it is unlikely there can have been UK training in this technique before D Day.

 

I suggest looking at the WDs for 80 AA Bde and 103 HAA Regt.

 

Scott.

I am stuck for the time being as far as tracing the unit is concerned. However I am attaching some snippets on the defence of Ouistreham and Sword Beach which will give you some background information.


View attachment Ouistreham.docx

I will try to post a map and air photograph of the area but I am not good at this technical stuff. I can send them by email.

Mike

 

Scott.

I am stuck for the time being as far as tracing the unit is concerned. However I am attaching some snippets on the defence of Ouistreham and Sword Beach which will give you some background information.


View attachment 101614

I will try to post a map and air photograph of the area but I am not good at this technical stuff. I can send them by email.

Mike

Trux, That is an interesting stuff. I have more on what was supposed to happen and what did happen re AA defences. What are your sources for the information in the Oustrehm document?

 

Sheldrake,

As I say I have posted only snippets. The sources are many and various but are all contemporary, or near so, orders, reports, diaries, landing tables etc. I can put together a list of those of which I have copies.

I have not yet obtained the war diaries for the AA units involved, having concentrated on the Beach Groups and Beach Sub Areas (many thousands of pages).

Mike

 

Some sources.

CAB account. D Day 1 Corps.
RN Battle Summary 39. Operation Neptune.
Combined Operations Staff Notebook.
CARL. Report of Combined Operations Training Centre Largs.
Report of Military Landing Officer 101 Beach Sub Area.
Report of 101 Beach Sub Area.
War Diaries for 101 Beach Sub Area and forty one sub units.
Landing Tables for D and D+1 for Sword Juno and Gold.
Battlefield Tour 50 Division June 1944.
3 Division Operational orders.
56 Brigade Administrative orders.
30 Corps Transportation Instructions.
Report of 104 Beach Sub Area.
Plus assorted bits and pieces.

Some are available as reprints, some are online and some were sent to me by fellow enthusiasts.

My particular interest in the small and unregarded units which lurk in the byways and back waters of military history. I would very much like to find more about the mysterious unit which is the subject of this thread.

Mike

 

Found it, with more than a little help from my friends.

It was planned that the following would land on Sword and Nan beaches for deployment at Riva Bella, Ouistreham.

'B' Troop, 322 Battery, 103 HAA Regiment. Land on Tide 2. Deploy 4 X 3.7" guns at map reference 419196. To be available for Coast Artillery role.
'C' Troop, 474 Searchlight Battery. To land on Tide 2 with 8 X 90mm projectors. Two sections may be called on to co operate with above.
16 Fire Control Post to deploy at map reference 419196 to control 'B' Troop in co operation with Naval Officer in Charge.
103 Coast Observer Detachment to deploy at map reference 419196. Early warning of enemy seaborne attacks in co operation with above units.
All the above on the sea front at Riva Bella.

A similar team of 13 Fire Control Post and 30 Coast Observer Detachment was still training in the UK and is known to have radar CA No1, MkIV*

I hope to post more about these units on the Sword Beach thread.

Mike.

 

That is very detailed information and a bit of a surprise to hear these featured in the plan as part of in the loading tables. The official story in Pemberton's 1951 Restricted history and in Routledge's blue book volume is that these were improvisations in response to German tactics. Evidence that the HAA coast artillery and early warning radar role was pre-planned is something new and says somehtign new abotu the Gunners. What is your source for the information you are posting here and on the Sword beach thread?

 

Sheldrake,

The source for the information in post 27 is an appendix to 73 LAA Regiment War Diary. This gives details of all the units landing as part of 'M' and 'N' AA Assault Groups from 80 AA Brigade.

There were many small sub units which do not get a mention.

As I say, more will follow on the Sword thread when I have had time to digest, correlate etc.

Mike.

 

Sheldrake,

The earliest mention I have found is 1 March when the outline plan shows that one fire control post and one coast observer detachment will land on Sword. These units are not named at this time so probably they were not actually yet in existence,

Mike

 

Just to liven this one up again, I am reading "Coast Artillery in Sicily and Italy" by Col Tomlin. This covers the role of 103 Fixed Defences in manning coast defences in various Italian ports following their capture from the Axis forces. Coast Observation Detachments are mentioned regularly, and appear to man radar sets, as a form of early warning. Detachments consisted of 12 men, one of whom was the NCO in charge.

That's all I have gleaned so far (I only got the book this morning, so give me a chance!)

Hope this is of some assistance.

Phil

 

I have just had a look through "Data Summary of Radar Equipments" a 1951 document covering war time & post war radars. It includes Coastal Artillery Radar(CA)and Coastal Defence Radar(CD), where CA is for range finding and "fall of shot" whereas CD is for "coast watching on ships & low flying aircraft".
There is no CA No1 Mk4* listed but there is a CD No1 Mk4* which is described as a mobile set utilising the AA No1 Mk 2 transmitter trailer. There was a CA No1 Mk4 [no star, also mobile] but this is noted "only six built" and it seems more appropriate that CD radar was utilised in this case.
There are some line drawings in the document [which is available from the Wireless set no19 website] but I have not been able to extract them from the pdf file yet.
Noel

 

Took some time and not very good images but here are some illustrations from ^Data summary of Radar Equipment^ {having to upload them one at a time because I seem to be having some IT problems}

CA No1 Mk4

 

Coastal Defence radar - CD No1 Mk4*

 

Finally the earlier but very similar looking CD No1 Mk4

 

I am reading various documents appended to 80 AA Brigade War Diary. One such document dated March 1944 gives details of some units, equipment etc that it is planned or hoped will be available.

It was planned that the Coast Observation Detachment of one radar trailer, one generator and twelve men would land with a Radar CD No1 MkVI, A note in brackets identifies this as being the naval Type 271. This takes me back to where I started as it is a three centimetre set with a horizontal aerial. In this role it is a target indication radar where I imagine the twin dishes of No1 MkIV are for ranging and fire control. This sounds much like the CA No1 MkIV. Could it be the same or similar?

The same document says it was hoped to land a SCR 545 for the use of the AA Operations Room. This was a US set roughly equivalent to the RAF Type 14. I think the AAOR actually used the Type 14 but who knows for certain.

More later. Still reading and thinking.

Mike

 

Yes, the 271 Naval radar is the same as the CA No 1 Mk IV.

 

Tricky things radars. They nearly all share the same basic working parts with various aerials and display units for different purposes.

CA No I Mk IV seems to have been a limited production set based on Type 271.
CD No I Mk IV seems to be based on the RAF AMES 2 (Chain Home Low) with separate transmitter and receiver dishes.

Just to confuse anyone who is not already confused enough
CA No1 Mk 3 was a naval Type 271 with CA display units and twin parabolic dishes.

SCR 545 was a limited production model as the all singing all dancing 584 was in production, although demand for the latter far exceeded supply. Anyway it does not seem to have been used by 80 AA Brigade who used the RAF Type 14 for search and warning. SCR 545 did combine its long wave search radar with a microwave tracking dish but AA units had plenty of reliable GL No1 Mk2 sets with automatic tracking.

Mike

Another interesting snippet. The 3.7" AA guns when used in a CA role did not aim at enemy ships but aimed to produce a barrage of air bursts over and around them. Presumably effective against small craft but not anything with armour.