| 90th Searchlight Regiment, RA | |
|---|---|
 Royal Artillery cap badge | |
| Active | 25 March 1941 – 4 August 1943 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Searchlight |
| Role | Air Defence |
| Size | 3 Batteries |
| Part of | 3rd AA Brigade |
The 90th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery, was a short-lived air defence unit of the British Army during World War II. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command from 1941 to 1943, mainly in Northern Ireland, and never deployed overseas.
90th Searchlight Regiment (90th S/L Rgt) was created during the rapid expansion of AA defences during The Blitz. Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) was formed at the HQ of 3rd AA Brigade at Orangefield House, Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 25 March 1941. On 5 May it was allocated three S/L batteries numbered 546, 548 and 560. The batteries came from different training regiments, where each had been formed around a cadre of experienced officers and men drawn from existing S/L units: [1] [2]
The regiment was immediately assigned to 3rd AA Bde covering Northern Ireland in 12th AA Division. This brigade had just been through the Belfast Blitz and was being reinforced, (the new 91st S/L Rgt joined at the same time as 90th) but after May 1941 there were only rare incursions by enemy aircraft over Northern Ireland. [3]
The role of the S/L units was to track and illuminate raiders for the Heavy AA (HAA) guns of the Gun Defence Areas (GDAs) and for the few available Royal Air Force (RAF) Night fighters. In November 1940 AA Command had adopted a system of clustering three S/Ls together to improve illumination, but this meant that the clusters had to be spaced 10,400 yards (9,500 m) apart. This layout was an attempt to improve the chances of picking up enemy bombers and keeping them illuminated for engagement by AA guns or night fighters. Eventually, one light in each cluster was to be equipped with Searchlight Control radar (SLC) and act as 'master light', but the radar equipment was still in short supply. [4] [5] [6]
Later SLC radar became more widely available and towards the end of 1941 the lights in Northern Ireland were redeployed singly to form a 'killer belt' primarily to assist night fighters. This system required fewer lights, and in November 1941 AA Command decided that 91st S/L Rgt would be converted to the LAA gun role as 114th LAA Rgt. [7] [8] 90th Searchlight Rgt remained as the only S/L unit in Northern Ireland. [9] [10]
A reorganisation of AA Command in October 1942 saw the AA corps and divisions disbanded to replaced by a smaller number of AA Groups more closely aligned with the groups of RAF Fighter Command. 12th AA Division amalgamated with 3rd and 7th AA Divisions to form 6 AA Group in Scotland, while Northern Ireland came under a separate 7 AA Group based at Belfast and working with No. 9 Group RAF. There was now no need for two AA headquarters in Northern Ireland and 3 AA Bde disappeared during October. [6] [11] [12]
90th Searchlight Rgt remained directly responsible to 7 AA Gp until April 1943 when it was moved to 5 AA Group in the East Midlands and Humberside. However, the regiment remained unbrigaded. [13]
With the lower threat of attack by the weakened Luftwaffe, AA Command was forced to release manpower for the planned invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord). All Home Defence S/L regiments were reduced, and some like 90th were run down altogether. [6] [11] The regiment and its three batteries began disbanding on 4 August 1943 and completed the process by the end of the month. [1] [2]
The 28th (Essex) Searchlight Regiment was a volunteer air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1935 until 1961, at first as part of the Royal Engineers, later in the Royal Artillery. During the Second World War it defended the approaches to London in The Blitz and Operation Diver before becoming a garrison unit in the liberation of Norway.
The 31st Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1948. During the Second World War it defended West Yorkshire and later participated in the North West Europe campaign.
The 32nd (Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command in Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1936 to 1955, charged with defending the East Midlands of England.
48th (Hampshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed just before the outbreak of World War II from existing searchlight companies of the Royal Engineers. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command until 1944, including the Portsmouth Blitz and Operation Diver. At the end of the war it formed an infantry unit for garrison duties in liberated Europe. It continued in the postwar TA until AA Command was disbanded in 1955.
The 51st (Highland) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was a Scottish unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed for air defence just before World War II. It later served as an anti-aircraft (AA) artillery unit in the North West Europe Campaign 1944–45, and continued in the postwar TA into the 1950s.
The 59th (Warwickshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of the Territorial Army (TA), part of the British Army, and was raised in Birmingham in 1938 just before the Second World War. It later served as a light anti-aircraft gun unit and continued in the postwar TA.
The 54th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was engaged in defending the West Midlands of England during the war. It comprised a varying number of searchlight (S/L) battalions and later included light anti-aircraft units. It was disbanded at the end of 1943. When the TA was reconstituted in 1947, the former 54th AA Bde was reformed as 80 Anti-Aircraft Brigade but was disbanded on 9 September 1948.
The 71st Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA), which was raised just before the outbreak of World War II and served as part of Anti-Aircraft Command during and after the war.
72nd (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) raised just before the outbreak of World War II, which served as part of Anti-Aircraft Command during and after the war.
The 133rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. It saw action during the campaign in North West Europe, defending the vital port of Antwerp against V-1 flying bombs and supporting the advance into Germany.
The 76th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was a British Army air defence unit during World War II. It was engaged during the Battle of Britain and The Blitz, defending Royal Air Force airfields and the towns of southern England.
3rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade was a Supplementary Reserve air defence formation of the British Army formed in Northern Ireland in 1938. On the outbreak of the Second World War it saw active service with the British Expeditionary Force during the Battle of France and Operation Aerial. It then returned to Northern Ireland and defended the Province for the next two years. Postwar, it was reformed in the Territorial Army and served until the disbandment of Anti-Aircraft Command in 1955.
The 77th Searchlight Regiment was an anti-aircraft (AA) unit of Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) formed during World War II. After serving in Anti-Aircraft Command during the Blitz it was converted into a Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) gun unit. Although assigned to 21st Army Group for Operation Overlord, it did not go overseas and was disbanded in June 1944.
78th Searchlight Regiment, was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. It protected the United Kingdom as part of Anti-Aircraft Command from the Blitz of 1940 until 1943.
83rd Searchlight Regiment, was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. It protected the United Kingdom as part of Anti-Aircraft Command from the Blitz of 1940 until the V-1 flying bomb offensive in 1944.
The 132nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, was an air defence unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery during World War II. The regiment was formed in March 1942 from the short-lived 85th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery which had only been raised in the previous year as part of the rapid expansion of Anti-Aircraft Command. It served in Home Defence throughout the war, until disbandment in 1945.
The 128th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. The regiment was formed in March 1942 from the short-lived 87th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery, which had only been raised in the previous year as part of the rapid expansion of Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences. It served in AA Command until near the end of the war, when it was converted into an infantry battalion for garrison duties in North West Europe.
The 88th Searchlight Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. The regiment was formed in March 1941 as part of the rapid expansion of Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences during The Blitz. It served in AA Command until disbandment in 1943.
The 92nd Searchlight Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery during World War II. The regiment was formed in May 1941 as part of the rapid expansion of Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences during The Blitz. It served in AA Command until disbandment in 1943.
The 3rd (Ulster) Searchlight Regiment was a Supplementary Reserve (SR) unit of the Royal Artillery raised in Northern Ireland just before the outbreak of World War II. It distinguished itself in the Battle of France before being evacuated from Dunkirk. It then served in Anti-Aircraft Command, converting into the 4th (Ulster) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment in 1942. In that role it served in the campaign in North West Europe, defending Brussels against V-1 flying bombs. It was reformed postwar and its successor units continued to serve in the Territorial Army (TA) until 1993.