page_title: 344th Moonlight Battery, Royal Artillery
section_title: Postwar
hierarchical_section_title: 344th Moonlight Battery, Royal Artillery / Postwar
caption_attribution_description: English: Germany Under Allied Occupation Searchlights set up to illuminate the compound at night of the camp for German political prisoners at Isenbruck barracks near Hamburg. In the background are the barrack block buildings used to house the detainees.
context_page_description: The 344th Moonlight Battery, Royal Artillery was a searchlight unit of the British Army that provided artificial illumination, or 'Monty's Moonlight', for night operations by 21st Army Group during the campaign in North West Europe in 1944–45. Previously, it had served on anti-aircraft duties during The Blitz.
context_section_description: In May 1945, after the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath, 344 Bty was used to provide illumination over Hamburg, particularly the Prisoner of War (PoW) cages and the bridging operations on the Elbe. In July it was moved to Spandau, near Berlin, and then back to Brussels, on PoW escort duty. The order to disband the battery was received on 30 August 1945.
  581 Bty's lights were used to control shipping on the Kiel Canal until it received its disbandment orders on 15 August.
  In 1947, 58th S/L Regiment reformed in the TA as an AA artillery unit, with members of the Women's Royal Army Corps integrated into its ranks, as 593rd (Mixed) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA (Harrow). It was disbanded in 1955.
caption: Searchlights set up to illuminate the Isenbruck Barracks near Hamburg, used to house German political prisoners after World War II
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