73rd (Kent Fortress) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
| 73rd (Kent Fortress) Searchlight Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1955 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Type | Searchlight Regiment |
| Role | Air Defence |
| Size | Regiment |
| Engagements |
Battle of Britain The Blitz |
The 73rd (Kent Fortress) Searchlight Regiment was a volunteer air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1939 until 1955, at first as part of the Royal Engineers, later in the Royal Artillery. It served during the Battle of Britain and The Blitz.
The unit was first formed in April 1939 as part of the expansion of TA Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences under Anti-Aircraft Command before the outbreak of World War II. It was created by combining three existing AA Searchlight Companies of the Royal Engineers (RE): 322 and 347 AA Companies from 29th (Kent) AA Battalion, and 331 AA Company from 32nd (7th City of London) AA Battalion. It appears that 347 (Kent) Company was drawn from personnel of the three Electric Light and Works companies of the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers based at Northfleet, which gave its title to the new battalion:
73rd (Kent Fortress) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers
The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the Munich Crisis, with units manning their emergency positions within 24 hours, even though many did not yet have their full complement of men or equipment. The emergency lasted three weeks, and they were stood down on 13 October. In February 1939 the existing AA defences came under the control of a new Anti-Aircraft Command. In June a partial mobilisation of TA units was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA and searchlight positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations. The battalion formed part of 29th (East Anglian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade in 6th Anti-Aircraft Division, responsible for the air defence of the Thames Estuary and the adjacent Kent and Essex shores.
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