5th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom)
| 5th Anti-Aircraft Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 September 1938–30 September 1942 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Type | Anti-Aircraft Division |
| Role | Air Defence |
| Part of |
Anti-Aircraft Command (1938–40) 1 AA Corps (1940–42) |
| Garrison/HQ | Reading, Berkshire |
| Engagements |
Battle of Britain The Blitz |
The 5th Anti-Aircraft Division (5 AA Division) was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army, created in the period of tension before the outbreak of World War II. It defended Southern England during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
Increasing concern during the 1930s about the threat of air attack led to large numbers of units of the part-time Territorial Army (TA) being converted to anti-aircraft (AA) gun and searchlight roles in the Royal Artillery (RA) and Royal Engineers (RE), and higher formations became necessary to control them. One such formation was 5 AA Division, raised on 1 September 1938 at Reading, Berkshire, to command all the TA AA units in the South, South West and South Midlands of England and South Wales. Its area was roughly aligned with that of No 10 Group of RAF Fighter Command under whose orders Anti-Aircraft Command operated. The formation's first General Officer Commanding (GOC) was Major-General Alan Cunningham.
The divisional badge was a falling black aircraft silhouette trailing red flames, on a khaki background.
The deterioration in international relations during 1939 led to a partial mobilisation of the TA in June, after which a proportion of TA AA units manned their war stations under a rotation system known as 'Couverture'. Full mobilisation of AA Command came in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939.
The division's composition on mobilisation in August 1939 was as follows:
On mobilisation in August 1939, 5 AA Division had the following equipment:
The HAA guns were deployed as follows in September 1939:
The process of training and equipping the newer AA units had hardly begun when they were mobilised, but the delay in active operations during the autumn and winter of 1939–40 (the Phoney War) gave the AA formations time to address the worst deficiencies. Modern guns remained scarce, however.
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