18 LAA Regt RA - 5th Infantry Division "The Fighting Fifth"

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Kieron Hill, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    Got the breakthrough I needed today with regards my reseach
    into a set of photos that should arrive next week. I would
    like to say a big thanks to Bodston for getting me on the right tracks and the confirmation came today in way of an email from the gentlemans son. I can now confirm that he was in the 18th Light Anti Aircraft Regt Royal Artillery 99 battery attached to the 5th Infantry Division nicknamed the
    "The Fighting Fifth". Below is a link I have put to his
    service record.

    Royal Artillery/Field Regt/LAA Regt Italy ???

    What I am after now is any information or recomended sources of information regards this division especially the 18th LAA R.A. 99th
    battery.

    Regards
    Kieron
     
    Bodston likes this.
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    I'll have a look in the 5th Div history later.
    I thought their nickname was "The Globetrotters".
     
  3. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    They had three nicknames by all accounts The Globetrotters, The Gypsies
    and The Fighting Fifth, below is part of the history taken of the official
    MOD's 5th Division website:

    In World War Two, 5th Division was again part of the BEF, playing a vital role by delaying the 1940 Blitzkrieg just long enough for the Dunkirk evacuation to commence. Subsequent deployments were to Madagascar, India, Syria, Sicily, and Italy, before the Division found itself in Germany after the Rhine Crossing. The Division ended the conflict as the most travelled formation in the British Army during World War Two, earning such names as ’The Globetrotters’, ‘The Gypsies’ and ‘The Fighting Fifth’.
    5th Division was part of the British Army of the Rhine from 1958 to 1960, and was subsequently re-formed from Wales and Western District, formerly Western Command, in 1995.
     
  4. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Eigth Army only knew the 5th Inf.Div as the "Globetrotters" - the "Fighting Fifth" is all too remoniscent of the US army's talk
    Cheers
     
  5. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Ok, I'll give you that as page 263 of the history mentions it,

    May this account serve to keep alive the indomitable spirit of "The Globetrotters", of "The Fighting Fifth" , of the men of the "Fifth Division".

    But as Tom is a Veteran of 8th Army, if he says they didn't use that nickname then they didn't.
     
  6. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Map from inside covers of Div History.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Photo of 18 LAA from 5th Division History.
    Sorry it's blurred , took it on my lap as keeping an eye on kids in bath.
    :)

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  9. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Bit on 18LAA on Sicily on page 125.
    Briefly it says,


    Santa Demetri Valley became know as Messerschmidt Valley when 18 LAA shot several of them down .
    By time they reached the Catania Plain they'd already shot down 32 enemy planes.
    On night of 15th July 3 hedge hopping enemy planes machine gunned 2 Cameronians and all 3 were shot down by 18 LAA.
    18th July , 18 LAA shot down five 109Gs out of one sortie.
    Quite a few planes fell onto the divisional gun areas causing casulaties to the 25 pdr crews.
    The Bofors were located on ridges in front of the field guns and sometimes shot down into the gun positions at enemy aircraft.
    Their tracer set fire to the olive trees.


    At Anzio, on page 223 it says ,
    On Wednesday 12th April , 18 LAA repeated their feat in Sicily and shot down eight enemy planes.


    Hope all this helps.
     
    Wobbler likes this.
  10. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    Sounds like they had an eventful time, one of the
    pictures taken in this small collection has been taken
    at Lecce Airodrome with downed hun aircraft. When
    looking at an article about the 5th Division in a copy
    of the "Crusader the Eighth Army Weekly dated the
    29th August 1943" it states "Lets us not forget the
    worlds record set up by our light Ack Ack Regt who
    pursuaded the Luftwaffe to fly elsewhere, shooting
    down thirty one planes for certain and ten probables
    in their first week on the island (Sicily).

    Owen they were also given a couple of other nicknames
    by all accounts going by this article "Cooks Tours"
    and The Floating Fifth"

    Picture below is part of that article, thanks again
    Owen
     

    Attached Files:

    Wobbler likes this.
  11. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    The following is taken from the diary of A.H.Lee, a Wireless Telegraphist on a Harbour Motor Defence Launch (HMDL) and gives a account of a anti aircraft ack ack barrage during the Sicily campagain.

    On the 13th July, we left the south east corner of Sicily, we called it Bank East, en route for Syracuse, a short trip of about one hour. Upon arrival there we had some more ferrying to do. This time our passengers were none other than the famous General Montgomery and Admiral Ramsay. They, I believe, were in complete charge of the whole job.
    That night, we had a particularly heavy air attack. The flak that went up was so thick you could not put a finger in between the shell bursts. We saw nine planes brought down.
     
  12. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Delving into Brig. Routledge's AA history, 'Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914-55' again I see that there is no specific index entry for 99th Bty, 18th LAA. However 18th LAA Regt. RA does have five mentions.

    Paiforce The next arrivals came in August 1942: HQ 4th AA Brigade, reconstituted after Tobruk, with 75th HAA and 80th, 99th and 100th LAA Regiments. The last two, with 18th LAA Regiment from 8th AA Brigade, were sent forward as divisional troops. After all this, Tenth Army still had only three HAA and six LAA regiments to call upon.

    SicilyAA Order of Battle, Operation 'Husky', Sicily 1943
    10th/11th July, the landings

    Divisional LAA: 18, 25, 40, 2 RCA Regts

    Italy 1943First, Eighth Army in Operation 'Baytown' was to cross from Messina and secure the 'toe' of Italy up to Catanzaro...
    'Baytown' was allotted to 13th Corps, with two infantry divisions, an extra infantry brigade and a tank brigade. Under command was 2nd AA Brigade commanded by Brigadier H.J. McIntyre. The corps plan was to take Reggio from flanking beaches and to advance up both sides of the Calabrian peninsula, 5th Division on the north-west and 1st Canadian Division on the south-east; between them was rugged hill country... the two divisional regiments were 18th LAA and 2nd Canadian LAA, and the brigade had to cover both sides of the straits at first.

    Italy 1944: Anzio BridgeheadThe battered 1st Division was relieved by the British 56th Infantry Division in the line in February, and in March the British 5th Infantry Division arrived as reinforcement, bringing 18th LAA to relieve 100th LAA which returned to Naples... When the Allied advance resumed, from Anzio, in June 1944, 18th and 90th LAA Regiments were withdrawn for rest and refitting.

    They ended the war as divisional LAA in 8th Corps, Second Army, 21st Army Group in Northern Germany, Hamburg/Lubeck area.
     
  13. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    Cheers Bodston really appreciate the
    information

    Regards
    Kieron
     
  14. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Cheers Bodston really appreciate the
    information

    Regards
    Kieron

    No problem mate. It's a pity Routledge isn't more expansive on divisional regiments, he tends to concentrate on the more specific AA formations.

    cheers,
    Bod
     
  15. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    The follwing pictures are of the 99 Battery 18th Light Anti
    Aircraft Royal Artillery in Sicily and Italy, I hope you enjoy.

    A few questions someone maybe able to answer:

    How many guns made up a battery?
    How many men maned these gun?
    What rate of fire could these guns achive?
    Sea defences - the pictures show Lt. H.Watts, one
    upto his neck driving stakes into the seabed, what
    would this achive? I thought it could have been a
    counter measure to stop landing craft.

    Picture 1,2,3,4 - these pictures are of No.1, No.3, No.4
    and No.6 guns
    Pictue 5 - Lt H. Watts in what I believe would be a gun pit
    Picture 6 & 7 - Lt H. Watts building sea defences on the
    beaches of Portopalo, Sicily
    Picture 8 - looking over Avola plains Sicily
    Picture 9 - Castle at Portopalo Sicily, this is a good candidate for a then and now photo, get searching guys.
    Picture 10 - I am guessing this to be a Italian Bank, looks very secure.
    Picture 11 - Shot down German plane at Lecce Airodrome Italy

    I hope you have all enjoyed as I have.

    Cheers
    Kieron
     

    Attached Files:

    Wobbler likes this.
  16. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    the rest of the pictures
     

    Attached Files:

  17. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Picture 9 - Castle at Portopalo Sicily, this is a good candidate for a then and now photo, get searching guys.


    few similar images but this webpage got my attention.

    Sicily Guide » Michael Schumacher might buy a castle in Sicily

    According to Corriere della Sera, the formula one pilot - Michael Schumacher - might buy Castle Tafuri located nearby Portopalo in the Syracuse province of Sicily. The deal should be reached soon, apparently because Corinne - Schumacher’s wife - is rumored to have totally fallen in love for Sicily during a trip there.
    Castle Tafuri was commissioned by the Bruno family in 1936. They owned a local tuna fishery and their fortunes were mostly linked to this business activity in those years.
     
  18. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  19. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    That is spot on Owen the second picture must have been
    taken feet away from where the original one was taken
    in 1943...good detective work :D
     
  20. Kieron Hill

    Kieron Hill Senior Member

    Just been having a look at information on the
    Bofors gun and the rate of fire, which was 120
    rpm looking at one of the pictures I have it shows
    that the rounds came in 4 round clips...jesus those
    loaders must have been busy and buy the looks of it
    were prone to injury, as nearly everyone of them is
    wearing a bandage.

    Here is a link to a AA bofors being practised fired, the
    target is being towed by a plane...don't give it
    to much lead boys

    YouTube - Bofor Gun practise fire, England. 1942
     
    Owen likes this.

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