184th AAA Battalion ( United States ) The 184th AAA Gun Battalion was an Anti Aircraft Artillery battalion of World War II . The 184th was activated in 1943 as part of the reorganization of the 61st Coast Artillery Regiment . After training in England , it took part in the air defense of London in 1944 . Shortly after D - Day , the 184th landed at Omaha Beach in Normandy , where they defended the beach as well as the port of Cherbourg from Luftwaffe air attacks . After a two - month stay in Paris , the battalion was moved into positions around Antwerp , Belgium to defend the important port against German V - 1 attacks . As the Battle of the Bulge progressed , the 184th was moved to a position on the Meuse River , where in addition to its normal anti - aircraft role , it was prepared to provide field artillery support as well . Returning to Antwerp in early 1945 , the 184th was able to earn more victories against V - 1s than any other AAA unit in the region . In April 1945 , the 184th moved into Germany , where they defended bridges over the Rhine River . After V - E Day , the unit moved into the heart of Germany to take part in disarmament duties . Organization . The 184th – like most American AAA battalions in Europe – was never permanently attached to any one parent unit . Instead , they were assigned to various organizations on an as - needed basis . Batteries were also attached individually to other units , and batteries from other AAA battalions were attached to the 184th as needed . The 184th was divided into four batteries : A , B , C , and D . Each battery had 4 90mm Antiaircraft guns . The unit also included a headquarters battery , that was responsible for the overall operation of the battalion . The 184th was classified as a " mobile " battalion , which meant it provided its own means of transporting its guns and troops , instead of relying on a separate transportation unit . The M4 Tractor was used for moving the 90mm guns . Activation and training . The 61st Coast Artillery Regiment – after spending 18 months training in Iceland – arrived in Scotland on 8 August 1943 , disembarking in the mouth of the River Clyde near Glasgow . They then moved by train to the south of England in the county of Devon , where they were stationed at Camp Heathfield in Honiton . It was here on 10 August 1943 that the 61st Coast Artillery Regiment , 1st Battalion was renamed the 184th AAA Gun Battalion . The new unit spent the next several months training on the new 90mm guns and conducting field maneuvers , moving from camp to camp with some regularity . Organizational structure : London . On 1 January 1944 , Battery A was detached from the rest of the battalion and took up a position on Lippits Hill , northeast of London to take an active role in the defense of London . The remaining batteries , after completing mobile training , were stationed around London as of 3 March 1944 . Headquarters Battery took up position with Battery A at Lippits Hill , Batteries B and C were moved to Middlesex county north and northeast of London , respectively . Battery D was stationed on an island in the Thames River east of London . Shortly thereafter , Battery A was replaced at Lippits Hill by Battery B of the 115th AAA Battalion in order to perform the training they had missed while on duty defending London . They returned to their former position on 21 April . During their time defending London , the 184th fired a total of 875 rounds of 90mm ammunition and were credited with 2 enemy planes shot down . Organizational structure : Normandy . The 184th arrived at Southampton on 9 June 1944 in preparation for the cross - channel trip to the mainland , but did not leave for Normandy until 16 – 18 June . Batteries A , C , and D were all offloaded on Omaha Beach between 17 – 20 June , but Battery B and HQ Battery were prevented from landing by strong storms until 25 June . The unit was located about inland and had the mission of protecting the beach from Luftwaffe air attacks against the Allied shipping that was still offloading personnel and supplies . These raids took place mainly at night , due to the daytime air superiority enjoyed by the Allies . During their time at Omaha Beach , the 184th was credited with five confirmed planes shot down , with an additional four probable kills . The 184th left the Omaha Beach area on 2 August 1944 and moved to the port of Cherbourg , where they were stationed to the west of the city . They remained here only until the end of August , and saw little action . They turned over their positions to British units 23 – 24 August . From 26 August – 3 September 1944 , the 184th was in a defensive position around the town of Rennes in Brittany , but again , saw no action Organizational structure : Paris . The 184th left Rennes on 4 September 1944 and travelled to Paris , where they arrived on 6 September . They took up positions southeast of the French capital . Battery B was set up in an old French fort , while the other batteries occupied various former German anti - aircraft sites . Even though Paris had been liberated on 25 August , it was feared that it might still be the target of German air raids . However , once again , the 184th saw no action during their two - month stay in Paris . Organizational structure : Antwerp . On 6 November 1944 , the 184th left Paris and travelled for two days to the region of Antwerp , Belgium to protect the vital port against attack from German V - 1s . Montgomery and the British 21st Army Group had captured Antwerp on 4 September , and it was one of few ports that had not been damaged by the retreating Germans . Other options , such as Cherbourg or the Normandy invasion beaches were more than behind the front lines by that time . Antwerp had the capacity to supply six different U . S . , British , and Canadian armies , and was much closer to the fighting . The Germans realized it was necessary to destroy Antwerp if they had any hope of cutting off the Allied supply line . To that end , the fist V - 1 attack on the port was launched on 24 October . When the 184th arrived on 9 November , they took up position about east of the port as part of a " gun belt " of anti - aircraft units that had been set up side - by - side in an arc across the expected line of attack . The batteries of the 184th were sited about apart and during the action that followed , normally all fired on the same target to maximize the chances of destroying the incoming V - 1s . Between 9 November and 21 December , the 184th claimed 13 V - 1s destroyed in the air , while causing another 48 to crash . Organizational structure : Battle of the Bulge . On 16 December 1944 , the German army launched Operation Watch on the Rhine , by attacking the Allied front line in the lightly defended Ardennes Forest region of Belgium , with the object of capturing Antwerp to disrupt the flow of supplies to the Allied armies . By 20 December , advance elements of the 2nd Panzer Division had penetrated , reaching the Ourthe River near the town of Ourtheville . To meet this threat , any units in the region that could be spared were sent to stop the German advance . The AAA battalions around Antwerp were no exception , and on 21 December , the 184th was underway to Namur , Belgium , which was strategically located at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers . They arrived the next day and set up positions in the hills surrounding the town . Since American AAA units were trained to use their 90mm guns against ground targets as well as aircraft , the 184th was prepared to provide field artillery support to the infantry and tank units in Namur , should the need arise . This never proved necessary – while the 2nd Panzer Division reached the town of Dinant , about south of Namur on 23 December , its advance was halted there by counterattacks from Patton ' s Third Army . While in Namur , the 184th performed its primary AAA role by defending the bridges over the Meuse . Between 24 and 31 December , the 184th was in action almost every night against attacking German bombers . During this time , they fired 1341 rounds of 90mm ammunition , including 721 rounds with the new proximity fuze . They were credited with 10 enemy planes confirmed shot down , with another 5 probable kills . Organizational structure : Return to Antwerp . With the threat subsiding in the Ardennes , the 184th turned over their positions in Namur to the 143rd AAA Gun Battalion on 3 – 4 January 1945 , and returned to the defense of Antwerp , this time setting up near the town of Meer , about northeast of Antwerp near the border with Holland . The main direction of attack came from the northeast by this time , and the 184th had the good fortune of being positioned by itself in the first of several gun belts , about from the next AAA gun battalions in line . Because of this , they had the first opportunity at every V - 1 that came from the main launching areas in Holland . There were only five days between 5 January – 29 March 1945 , on which the 184th did not fire at oncoming V - 1s . They shot down an average of 73 % of the buzz bombs that flew over their positions , with a 100 % score on 13 February . During a six - day stretch in February , the whole of Antwerp X claimed a kill ratio of over 97 % , shooting down 89 out of 91 V - 1s . The 184th fired a total of 75 , 500 90mm rounds , including more than 13 , 800 armed with a proximity fuze . They claimed 365 V - 1 victories , more than any other AAA unit under the command of Antwerp X . For their participation in the defense of Antwerp , the 184th was twice cited in the Belgian Army Order of the Day , earning them the Belgian Croix de Guerre ribbon with Fourragère . Organizational structure : Germany . On 16 April 1945 , the 184th left the Antwerp region and moved into Germany , reaching Mainz on 18 April . Batteries B , C , and D were positioned in Mainz to guard the Rhine River crossing . Battery A was moved north to the town of Bingen , where it performed the same duties until 26 April , when it returned to Mainz . The 184th remained here until Germany surrendered , and did not have any encounters with enemy planes during this time . After V - E Day , the 184th took part in the disarming of German AAA sites . Their area of responsibility was in an area outlined by the cities Leipzig , Eisenach , Muhlhausen , and Magdeburg . This work began on 15 May 1945 and lasted through 24 June . The main objective was the gathering of anything of intelligence value , but from 28 July until the end of September , also included moving scrap material from the German AAA installations to dump sites . During disarmament duties , many replacements joined the unit to offset the losses of officers and men being shipped back to the United States . A large contingent left between 30 May and 7 June ; many more departed in August and September . The remainder of the unit was transferred stateside in October , ending the 184th AAA Gun Battalion ' s WWII operations . Organizational structure :