Even before the capture of Sicily was complete, Eighth Army reorganised for its next operation (Baytown), the landing by XIII Corps on the 'toe' of Italy beginning on the night of 2/3 September. 53rd LAA Regiment was one of the units assigned to provide AA cover under 2 AA Bde. 158 LAA Battery was allocated to the initial landings on the beaches near Reggio, which came under dive-bombing attack. However, the landings went smoothly and by 5 September the whole regiment was protecting the beaches while the rest of 2 AA Bde moved on to Reggio and the airfields. As XIII Corps worked methodically through Calabria, 2 AA Bde's units followed up to cover the small harbours and airfields as they were captured.