page_title: 100th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
section_title: Italian campaign
hierarchical_section_title: 100th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery / World War II / Italian campaign
caption_attribution_description: English: A 3.7 Anti-aircraft Gun of 393/72 Haa Regt, Ra, Cmf image: Four British soldiers man an anti-aircraft gun in almost full elevation, which is housed within a gun emplacement. Another British soldier looks on to the right, with a few empty shell cases strewn on the ground in the right foreground. Mountains are visible in the right background, including the peak of the volcano Mount Vesuvius, which has white smoke emerging from the crater.
context_page_description: 100th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, was a Scottish air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army formed at Motherwell during the period of international tension leading up to the outbreak of World War II. It defended Glasgow during the early part of the war and then took part in the assault landings in Sicily and on mainland Italy. The regiment continued in the postwar TA until amalgamated in 1950.
context_section_description: According to the RA regimental history, 'the regiments of 12th AA Brigade were, by now, raring to go on the long-planned move to Naples. Brigadier (Mortimer Wheeler), indeed, prepared a scheme to break out with a column of AA troops along the coast to Pompeii', but the bold plan was vetoed by Corps HQ. RHQ with 305 HAA and 328 LAA Btys and the AAOR remained at Salerno, where the rear party arrived by sea on 30 September. On 4 October they moved to Naples, and came under the command of 22 AA Bde while 12 AA Bde continued moving north. Naples was a difficult place to defend, because the rugged hinterland interfered with the GL radar and radio communications. One serious air raid was engaged on 5 November and the AA defences claimed some successes. 304 and 321 HAA Batteries arrived by road convoys between 7 and 9 November in time to engage an air raid on 9/10 November. On 10 December the regiment returned to the Salerno area, where it came under the shared command of 22 AA Bde and 66 AA Bde. Regimental HQ and 321 HAA Bty were at Salerno, 304 HAA Bty at Paestum and 305 HAA Bty at Montecorvino Airfield. In January 1944 the Salerno AA defences were strengthened to cover the build-up of shipping for the Allied landings at Anzio (Operation Shingle).
  On 31 March 1944 the regiment moved from Salerno to the Foggia Airfield Complex under 62 AA Bde. 321 HAA Battery deployed at Spinazzola Airfield, later at Celone Airfield, 305 HAA Bty initially went to Barletta under operational command of 25 AA Bde, then to San Severo Airfield. 52 AA Bde arrived from North Africa on 20 April 1944 and took over defence of the Foggia complex. In June the batteries were switched around the Foggia airfields, with RHQ moving to Termoli.
  By now, the Allied forces in Italy were suffering an acute manpower shortage, and AA gunners were being redeployed to other duties. Several HAA regiments were 'diluted' (as the process was officially described) by troops from the African Pioneer Corps (APC) who were replacing a proportion of the British personnel. 100th HAA Regiment was informed that it would be diluted by 1916 (Basuto) Company, APC, arriving at Naples about 10 June. By 26 June the whole regiment was non-operational so as to carry out this process. However, surplus AA units were being disbanded in increasing numbers and the decision to dilute was changed. Instead the whole regiment was ordered to disband, with all the officers and men reassigned, about one-third to be retrained as infantry.
  100th HAA Regiment, with 304, 305 and 321 HAA Btys passed into suspended animation on 18 August 1944.
caption: 3.7-inch HAA gun deployed near Naples, with Mt Vesuvius in the background (painting by Henry Carr.
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