Other than the basics on Paradata and Wiki, there's very little I can find (via Google) about 64th Airlanding Battery RA - can anyone help with any info on this unit please - am specifically interested in the period up to and including Operation Dragoon - equipment used, number of men in the unit, CO and officers, casualties etc. Thanks Tim
Tim, for this period War Establishment 1/163/3 (effective fro 26th April 1944) woulld apply. You will find in the Trux area.
The Trux data is very generic... although it appears to suggest that the Airlanding Battery at this time would have been equipped with the 75mm Pack Howitzer - this is a good start. However, am really looking for more specific information about the 64th - so any other data would be welcome. Cheers Tim
It looks like there is a direct lineage for 64 A/L Lt Bty from 64 Fd Bty via 'A' A/L Lt Bty. 64 Fd Bty remained in India in Jan 1940 when it's parent - 5 Fd Regt - went to Malaya, never to return. 64 Bty then formed half of 157 Fd Regt which was with 10 Ind Div until the regt was disbanded in August 1942. Presumably 64 Bty floated around until it was attached to 2 Para Bde in June 1944. All of this has been interpreted from Joslen. The only two '64' war diaries that I've found so far are both listed as 64 Fd Bty: WO 169/1472 and the possibly more useful WO 170/981.
HI Don't have a lot but they were with 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade in Greece from 14 October 1944 to 28 January 1945. The airborne troops flew into Megara Airstrip on board C-47 of 51st Troop Carrier Wing, 12th US Air Force on 14th October 1944 whereas the the seaborne troops sailed into Piraeus on board HMS Ajax from Italy along with just 8 x 25 Pdrs. As 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade was sent to Greece as part of a stabilizing force to fill the power vacuum left by the retreating Germans, 64 Lt Bty RA were acting as infantry. Their CO was Major D.M.Duncan. On the 4th December 1944, when the civil war broke out in Athens, One half of the Bty was in northeast suburbs of Athens: the other half was guarding Averoff Prison, where political prisoners were held. Averof prison was attacked by ELAS on 10 Dec 1944. The garrison held out for a almost a day and was eventually rescued by an infantry column and 2 troops tanks, all from of 50 RTR. Just to confuse things 64 & 66 LAA Regt RA were in Greece too. I could not find a war diary for 1944 but the one for 1945 is WO 170/4684 Hope this helps Gus
Looks like W0 170/981 is the one I need to get - thanks! Will see if I can find someone to copy it. DId wonder why 64th Battery existed - interesting to know it was part of 5th Field Regt, but split off to fo to 2nd Para Brigade... a bit like 1st Ind Para Platoon was split out from 21st Ind Para Coy I guess. Cheers Tim
