The 32nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, (32nd LAA Rgt) was a Scottish air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) during World War II.

The regiment was formed as part of the rapid expansion of Britain's anti-aircraft (AA) defences at the beginning of World War II.

With the need to move gunsites and the unpopularity of the TAR amongst employers they had been replaced by normal TA members who were liable for fulltime service in the event of war.

[4][5] At the outbreak of World War II the Bofors 40 mm gun was in short supply, and LAA units had to make do with a range of stop-gap weapons.

[6] Unlike most of Britain's defence forces, 3rd AA Division was frequently in action during the so-called Phoney War that lasted from September 1939 to May 1940.

The first action occurred unexpectedly on 16 October 1939, when nine enemy aircraft suddenly appeared out of cloud and dived on warships off Rosyth Dockyard, close to the Forth Bridge; they were engaged by heavy AA (HAA) guns.

[7] By the autumn of 1940, when the Luftwaffe 's night Blitz against Britain's cities began, the regiment had transferred to 36th (Scottish) Anti-Aircraft Brigade covering Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth.

[13][14][15][16][17][18] After the first attacks in June 1940, air raids on Malta had dwindled, but in January 1941 the intensity increased markedly when the German Luftwaffe 's Fliegerkorps X joined the Italian Regia Aeronautica in an effort to neutralise the island.

[15][16][19][20][21][22] However, the Regia Aeronautica continued its raids and the fall of Crete to combined air and sea landings on 1 June led to fears that Malta would be next, so further reinforcements including 32nd LAA Rgt were sent out in Operation Substance.

However, the troops aboard were transferred to escort vessels and convoy, including the damaged ship, reached Grand Harbour on the morning of 24 July.

[29][30][31] In October the Luftwaffe reinforced Fliegerkorps II, and a new round of heavy raids against the island began in an effort to restrict the RAF and RN's ability to interdict Axis convoys to Libya.

[32][33][34] In May 1943, Axis aircraft reappeared in an attempt to disrupt preparations for the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), but by now the AA defences of Malta had been hugely increased and the raids caused little damage.

[12][25][39] On return to the UK, 32nd LAA Rgt was assigned to 107th Anti-Aircraft Brigade in 21st Army Group preparing for the Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord).

[40] As the Normandy campaign progressed, 107th AA Bde eventually embarked, arriving in the beachhead area between 6 and 19 August and joining First Canadian Army.

II Canadian Corps passed through Lisieux and forced crossings of the River Risle, with bridging sites at Pont-Audemer, Pont-Authou and Brionne.

[43][44][45][46] 107th AA Brigade's units along the Somme were relieved on 15 September, and they moved up behind First Canadian Army, whose role now was to liberate the Channel ports.

For the next five months the brigade remained in these positions acting as an Army Group Royal Artillery in the ground support role, only occasionally called on to provide AA fire.

However, no deliberate assault was attempted, the besieging force (latterly the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade and French units) being ordered simply to 'mask' Dunkirk and harass its defenders.

In mid-October the Luftwaffe began trying to supply the defenders by parachute drops at night, using Heinkel He 111 bombers approaching at very low level to try to avoid detection.

On 18 March 107th AA Bde arrived and took over responsibility for Kleve, Gennep and the Maas bridges at Mook en Middelaar, with 223 LAA Bty detached as part of this deployment.

[50][51][52] During April, 107th AA Bde advanced through the North Netherlands and Germany with First Canadian Army, crossing the Twente Canal and reaching Oldenburg, Groningen and the Frisian coast by the end of the month.

32nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment was still serving with British Army of the Rhine when it, together with 55, 98 and 223 LAA Btys, entered suspended animation between 4 and 25 February 1946.