27 Anti Aircraft Section RGA

[brownegaz]

On the 1st Jan 1918 my grandfather Lewis George Brown RFA 950638 was transferred from 15 Bde RFA to 27AA section of RGA, he was sent to the Lewis Gun School at Rouen between 4th and 25th July 1918 and completed a course in Lewis and Hotchkiss Gunnery then proceed to Etaples and on 3 August he rejoined 27AA section

Any information on the AA section like where they served, what battles they were in etc appreciated.

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Brownegaz

Throughout 1918, 27 AA Section were employed on the Lines of Communication, defending the base ports and important towns behind the lines. There were three groupings of AA sections:Northern, Central and Southern. In March 27 Sec was with the Northern group, and from 1 May onwards it was with the Central group. I'm afraid that I have no more details than that.

There is a War Diary but it only covers a single month, October 1915, so it won't help you.

Forum Pal rockdoc knows a lot about AA Sections and he will probably see this thread.

Ron

[brownegaz]

Thanks Ron

[LOSCHES]

My great great grandad was in AA. 225th section (I think) Q, L, and O Bty - 133678 Charles Edward Askew. no idea where he served though.

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Losches, and welcome to the Forum!

225 AA Section first appeared in France in July/August 1917. At first it served on the Lines of Communication but from Dec 1917 onwards it was part of various batteries (Q, L and O as you say), all attached to Third Army which, broadly speaking, covered the front around Arras and Vimy Ridge.

Ron

[Rockdoc]

All the 200-series AA sections were equipped with the 3-in 20-cwt gun rather than the more common 13-pdr 9-cwt. They were mounted on the same types of lorry chassis, although they were much heavier, and it was quickly found that they broke bridges and had a high centre of gravity, making them difficult to use off-road. As a result, the 20-cwt guns were kept in areas where metalled roads were commonest, such as docks and equipment dumps.

Keith

[LOSCHES]

thanks for the replies, Ive been to Vimy (did a 60 mile trek last year on the Somme for Charity) info on Anti Aircraft seems a bit thin on the ground....

[Rockdoc]

It is very thin on the ground. It always appeared ineffective because AA guns firing into the sky did not guarantee bringing a plane to earth. There were no AA "aces" to give the gunners a touch of gloss, unlike the RFC/RAF, so there wasn't the drive to write of their experiences. The best appreciation of the purpose of AA gunnery I've found is in the History of the Ministry of Munitions, of all things. Their purpose was not simply to bring down aircraft, however obvious that might have been to the average Tommy. It was primarily to deny access to an area and, if that could not be done (quite quickly planes could fly higher than an AA gun of the period could reach) to force enemy planes to fly higher than the optimum height, making photographs less clear and bombing less accurate.

Keith