16 Fire Command Post Unit - British Beute Coastal Artillery in Normandy

I am looking for information and any photographs of this unit and details of its locations and equipment.

16 Fire Command Post Unit was a small battery sized coastal artillery organisation that deployed to Normandy under command 80 AA Brigade. Before D Day it comprised three officers, (Major I A Johnstone, Captain P Couchman(?) and Lieutenant C G Pybus one sergeant two bombardiers and 17 Gunners, one of whom was in lieu of an ACC Cook. No 76 and 103 Coastal Observation Detachments came under its command each with a strength of one sergeant one bombardier ten gunners and a cook. The unit's equipment includes at least one radar.

It collected German equipment from the D Day beaches and installed them in a coastal defence role at Ouistrehem. Its area of responsibility seems to have included the lock gates and the light house. It seesm have waged a semi private war with Germans at Merville Franceville over the Orne estuary as well as reporting naval activity.

The war diaries refer to
- Examining and firing a 5cm kwk from a blockhouse in Ouistrehem (8 June)
- Repairing two 5cm kwk guns and bringing them into action, (12 June)
- Inspecting two 2cm flak with Brigadier 80 AA Bde (14 June)
- Repositioning two 2 cm Flak in coastal defence role (15 June)
- 40mm in CD role shelled out (15 June) (( Was this originally German or a re-captured British, or was this an LAA 40mm temporarily in a CD role?) )
- Their "field gun" engaged and hit a German bunker (25 June)
- Targets identified by Flash spotters and engaged with a "roving gun" (30 June)
- Exposed SL pick up object which disappeared - submarine reported (8 July)
- No 2 SL illuminated...
- SL picked up 3 MLs (2 Aug)
- 88mm troop engaged SL 18 rounds fired light went out. (16 Aug)

So this organisation seems to have at least one 88mm gun in addition to 5cm and 2cm two searchlights and a radar.

Anyone have any more information or photos?

 

On VE Day the unit was under command 75th Anti-Aircraft Brigade

16 Fire Command Post: Major IA Johnstone MBE
4 Coast Artillery Search Light Troop + 862 RMD (CA) + 103 COD - not sure what RMD and COD mean!

17 May 45 – Kiel Almere-NL – 1st Canadian Army – returns 19 May 45
24 May 45 – Geemente School Tamise south-east of Sint-Niklaas-B
23 Jun 45 – disbandment order issued
10 Aug 45 – 4 Coast Artillery Search Light Troop to Royal Artillery Branch 8th Corps District
1 Sep 45 – disbanded

 

I assume COD is Coastal Observation Detachment

Major Johnstone was posted away from 16 FCP at the end of July 1944 to Light AA, so he must have been posted back.

Was Major Johnstone an IG Coastal? Someone in that unit must have had some specialist expertise. Most gunners were taught by means of drills. RSA Larkhill did not run Gunner Basic courses on the 8.8cm Pak, 5cm KwK or 2 cm flak 30. Developing procedures from basic principles, evaluating enemy equipment and ammunition, and ad hoc drills, takes the kind of knowledge you might receive on the IG course.

 

A serious issue with using captured artillery is ensuring a supply of ammunition. Even if one is in a battlefield area it still has to be found, gathered, sorted, checked and delivered. One wonders how this was achieved.

 

Hi,
If they were firing a 5cm gun from a bunker near the lock gates on the 8th June across to the Merville area then it was probably from the R 667 marked as No 1 on the attached photo.

I think the guns in No 2, 3 and the one that was supposed to be in the area of No 4 would have their view of the Merville/Sallenelles area blocked.

The R 667 marked as No 2 for obvious reasons. The ground rises behind the emplacement marked as No 3 and there were too many obstructions in the way of No 4.

Regards

Danny

 

Its not so difficult, e.g. Germany and Finland used huge numbers of captured pieces. Finland was small and poor country and the enemy (SU) had first class small arms and artillery pieces, so we used what we captured from pistols through 47 tons tanks to 12" coastal cannons (weight 348 metric tons). During the later part of the war most of the LMGs used by front line troops were Soviet made, and we used hundreds of Soviet made field artillery and medium artillery pieces. And the most numerous tank of the Finnish army was T-26 (the Soviet copy of Vickers 6 ton tank). Of course when one relies massively on captured weapons one has to built a proper logistical system for them, it is of course a different case in an ad hoc situation, but during the Winter War (30 Nov 39 - 13 Mar 40) the troops themselves improvised the use of captured Soviet 45 mm A/T guns, we had at the beginning of the war under 100 37 mm Bofors A/T guns and the attacker had thousands of tanks so the need for A/T weapons was desperate.

 

Yes but done on a different scale and with time to organise

 

^I know, that was why I also mentioned the 45 mm A/T case, in several cases troops used them immediately after capture against their original owners and then searched for additional ammo etc. Of course they were direct fire weapons, field and medium arty were more difficult, one had first to calculate firing tables etc before they could be used effectively. But the 5 cm KwK and 20 mm AA guns used in CD role were similiar cases as 45 mm A/T guns.

 

US Third Army had to leave many attached units behind in England including artillery units due shortages especially in 155mm Long Tom cannons. Some units were turned into POW guards until as late as Christmas and others used 88 mm PAK and 76.2 Russian captured guns in the attack on Metz. All this was captured during the breakout from Normandy.

 

"- 40mm in CD role shelled out (15 June) (( Was this originally German or a re-captured British, or was this an LAA 40mm temporarily in a CD role?) )"

It might well have been Polish or Norwegian made Bofors 40 mm LAA, both countries licence built them before being occupied by Germany. Or even Hungarian built, they also had the licence.

Juha

 

The war diary records recce missions exploring German defences the recovery of minefield maps and light based speech radio equipment.

As a coastal defence unit they weren't expected to fire a lot of ammunition as Field artillery. There was obviously a lot of 2 cm, 5cm and 8.8cm ammunition in the defences overrun on D Day. This would be usable as long as they got to it before it was damaged by the elements or misuse.

They weren't the only unit in 21AG to use German kit. One of the HAA regiments 113 (?) had one or two deployed in their anti tank positions covering the approaches to Arromanches and Gold Beach.