During this period I have ascertained that there were 6 enemy air raids that were carried out against the town of Gosport. The latter two of March 10. and April 10. of 1941 caused much destructive damage to the naval victualling yard and its immediate surrounds. It is probable, because of the relatively light damage, that the first four raids were 'overflow' or collateral damage where the naval base in Portsmouth was the primary target. Would anyone know with certainty where the A. A. batteries were located in Gosport. I believe there was one at Browndown and another at Daedalus airfield protecting the NASs based there, but am seeking definite locations. Is it possible to work out, eg from ORBs, which RAF fighter squadrons, if any, were scrambled to intercept the Luftwaffe bombers on 10 March in particular, and also 10 April 1941. Thanking responders in anticipation. Regards Rattler
All the info below Map of Heavy Anti-Aircraft gun sites in England, Scotland and Wales Gilkicker Anti-Aircraft Gun Site – Friends of Stokes Bay Portsdown Tunnels - Surface Sites - WWII heavy anti-aircraft guns - page 1 https://www.britishmilitaryhistory....124/2019/04/5-Anti-Aircraft-Division-1940.pdf
CL1 - the response from you to my posting is outstanding ..... within 9 minutes on the scope and really useful information. Thank you so much. Moderator - is it permissible for me to re-pose the second element of my question on 'The War in the Air' Forum to attract the attention of aviation experts? TIA Rattler
Rattler i am not a mod but im sure you ate ok to post your other query where you so require it to be regards Clive
Don´t think so: Tragic Loss of Life at 933 Barrage Balloon Squadron at Gosport 12th August 1940 Raid on Gosport 16 August 1940 - Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum Kampfgeschwader 54 - Wikipedia From the history of the Sturzkampfgeschwader 3: On August 16, the so-called "Adlertag," the intensified air war against England began. I / Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 attacked the naval air base at Gosport near Portsmouth on this day. The following day was a rest day, and on August 18, the group again attacked Naval Air Station Gosport.
Hello Itdan, I think you have misunderstood the span of my dates. Per the title of the thread, I am referring to the period November 1940 to April 1941. Regards Rattler
The Portsmouth area fell within 11 Group’s Tangmere sector in 1941. 219 squadron based at Tangmere with Beaufighter If is the most likely candidate to have intercepted any raids in March / April 1941 or maybe the Fighter Interception Unit. The latter was a trials unit heavily engaged in developing night fighter tactics at the time. Another possibility, depending on the routing of German aircraft would be 604 at Middle Wallop in 12 Group. Some additional info here HyperWar: The Defense of the United Kingdom [Chapter 17] HyperWar: The Defense of the United Kingdom [Appendix XXXIII]
I'll have a look through 35AA Brigade diary later to see if there are any references to the area around Gosport although I don't think the diary I have covers the time period, a later one probably will. Most Brigade diaries will have battery locations and details of regiments so it is usually possible to follow right through to individual battery and regimental diaries which will almost always detail their positions.
35th AA Brigade diary does have a lot of detail but gun site grid references seem a bit thin. I can see references to Browndown but not Daedalus. The small extract from WO166/2262 in August 1940 suggests a number of sites in Gosport and crucially who was manning them. 57 LAA has a diary for this period, WO166/2730 and for 170 Bty, WO166/2903. Perhaps Daedalus is one of the 3 Gosport sites referred to. Those diaries will definitely be worth looking at. In addition, 35th Brigade has a lot of detail on the raids themselves. Tactics, damage (both sides) etc.
Ewen and hutt, Thank you for your useful inputs. It does seem that the AA defence of the Gosport area at this time fell to 35th Brigade, and 215 Battery of 57th Rgt, LAA. Are the diaries you refer to kept at the National archives? Regards Rattler
Hi Rattler All the diaries I referred to are at Kew and 35th AA Brigade (WO166/2262) includes December 40 but only photographed up the the end of September with the remainder to be copied on a future visit. For the 35th AA Brigade diary for 1941, you will need WO166/ 2263. Unfortunately it looks like 215 LAA Bty has only one diary, WO166/2946 from the beginning of November 1940 to the end of February 1941. Your best bet for detail and raid reports will be WO166/2263. See example page for the sort of detail recorded in WO166/2262, hopefully the detail for 1941 would be similar.
Hutt. Most of the RAF squadron Operational Record Books for WW2 are currently available as free downloads from the National Archives, provided you register.
Not sure it helps but bear in mind there was another airfield in Gosport other than RNAS Lee on Solent (HMS Daedalus). RAF Gosport located near Brockhurst, later post war named HMS Siskin and now the site of HMS Sultan. Tim
Gosport was home to 86 squadron with Blenheim IV during the period in question. It was also home to the Torpedo Development Unit in WW2 with the advantage, like Lee-on-Solent and Thorney Island, of its proximity to the Stokes Bay torpedo ranges. These bases therefore became useful for Coastal Command and FAA torpedo bomber squadrons forming, converting or working up in the torpedo dropping role.
The War Cabinet’s Weekly Resumes provide a useful timeline for those less familiar with these events. CAB 66/13/45: Frater mine depot near Gosport was bombed on the 22nd [Nov 1940]. CAB 66/14/8: Attacks were also carried out in the Portsmouth-Gosport area on the night of the 5th/6th [Dec 1940]... Naval property and the Dockyard at Portsmouth were damaged. CAB 66/14/33: 10th/11th January [1941].—Portsmouth and Gosport were attacked in two phases of short duration. Central areas in Portsmouth were badly damaged by fire, which mainly affected private houses, shopping centres and civic buildings. Twenty-one serious and 150 medium fires were caused by this raid, in which 68 people were killed and 161 seriously wounded... At Portsmouth the naval dockyards were hit and several establishments burnt out. Docks and vessels were unaffected, and damage is not considered vital. There was a fire at R.N. Fuel Depot, Gosport. CAB 66/15/31: The Portsmouth area was bombed on five nights of the week, but only on the night of the 10th/11th [Mar 1941] was any important damage caused. On that night there were extensive fires in the Naval Dockyard and at the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard. Three cisterns were fired at the R.N. Fuel Oil Depot at Gosport, where two magazines were exploded and considerable damage was done to Naval shore establishments. Damage to two underground cables caused a complete failure in Portsmouth electricity supply, but as no direct damage was done to the Power Station it is expected that repairs will be completed quickly. The Power Station of the Dockyard system was considerably damaged and this supply also failed. CAB 66/16/18: 27th/28th April [1941]... In Gosport there were six fires, which included one at a cinema and another at the railway station, and six people were killed.