135th Australian Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery
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Brief History
Originally raised as the 5th Anti-Aircraft Battery (Militia) in Perth during March 1940. The militia members were called to full time service in March 1941 and the unit, now known as 5th Australian Anti-Aircraft Battery, manned positions at Skinner Street, Buckland Hill and Scotsman Hill to provide cover for the port of Fremantle. By June additional sites were manned at East Fremantle Oval and North Fremantle.
In July the Skinner Street and Scotsman Hill sites had been transferred to the 29th Anti-Aircraft Battery, allowing the 5th Anti-Aircraft Battery to take control of 417th HAA Gun Station on Rottnest Island; the 419th HAA Gun Station at Buckland Hill; 421st HAA Gun Station at East Fremantle Oval and 422nd HAA Gun Station at North Fremantle. During November some of the unit's personnel were used to form "X" AA Battery which was then sent to Exmouth to establish AA positions and then hand them to Victorian AA unit, before returning to Fremantle to join the rest of the battery as it prepared to move to Darwin in January 1943, minus the 417 and 419 AA Gun Stations which transferred to the 29th Australian Anti-Aircraft Battery.
In Darwin the unit began by providing protection to the Hughes and Strauss airfields south of Darwin. It was in February 1944 that the unit was restructured as the 135th Australian Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery with 'A'(421) and 'B'(422) Troops which in May moved to protect Long airfield before returning to the Hughes sites in July. 421 Troop was located at Station 439 (H1 or Strauss) on the eastern side of the North-South Road, southeast of Strauss Strip and North of Hughes Field. 422 Troop was stationed at Station 431 (H2 or Livingstone) located on the western side of the road across the track from the north eastern end of Hughes field.
With reduced enemy activity, several anti-aircraft units including the 135th HAA Battery were concentrated before moving to Wallgrove in December, with personnel gradually dispersing before the unit was formally disbanded in May 1945.
Unit Personnel
See also 5th Anti-Aircraft Battery (M)
- George Millman 31 Aug -21 Nov 1942
- James Sydney Truscott 22 Jan 1943 - 15 Apr 1944
- Roy Searle Williams 3 Sep 1942 - 30 Nov 1944
Notes
Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 3 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, pages 3.253 & 3.254 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018