Royal Australian Artillery

Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery

Cap badge of the Royal Australian Artillery
Active 1 March 1901 – present
Country Australia
Branch Australian Army
Type Artillery
Role Field Artillery (3 regiments)
Air Defence (1 regiment)
Surveillance and Target Acquisition (1 regiment)
Size 5 regiments
Nickname(s) The 9 Mile Snipers
Motto Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt (Whither right and glory lead)
March Quick – Royal Artillery Quick March
Slow – Royal Artillery Slow March
Anniversaries 1 August (Regimental Birthday).
Commanders
Captain-General HM The Queen
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Red over blue.

The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia’s first guns were landed from HMS Sirius and a small earthen redoubt built, near the present day Macquarie Place, to command the approaches to Sydney Cove. The deployment of these guns represents the origins of artillery in Australia. These and subsequent defences, as well as field guns, were operated by marines and the soldiers of infantry regiments stationed in Australia. The first Royal Artillery unit arrived in Australia in 1856 and began a succession of gunner units which ended with the withdrawal of the imperial forces in 1870 resulting in the raising of the Victorian Artillery Corps in Melbourne in 1870 and the New South Wales Artillery in Sydney in 1871. The First World War saw the raising of 60 field, 20 howitzer and two siege batteries along with the heavy and medium trench mortar batteries. Until 19 September 1962 the Australian Artillery was referred to as the 'Royal Australian Artillery', however on this date HM Queen Elizabeth II granted the RAA the title of 'The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery'. The Regiment today consists of Regular and Reserve units.

Regular Army

Unlike their British and Canadian relations, there are no regiments of horse artillery in the order of battle of the Royal Australian Artillery. The Australian Regular Army came into being in 1947, while prior to this artillery units were predominantly militia based. The permanent artillery consisted of one field battery, 'A' Field Battery, which now perpetuates the New South Wales Artillery raised on 1 August 1871, HQ P Anti-Aircraft Battery with 1st, 2nd and 3rd AA Cadres under command, the independent 4th and 5th AA Cadres, HQ 1st, 2nd and 3rd Heavy Brigades and the 1st to 13th Heavy Batteries.[1] Prior to the Second World War heavy artillery, later called coast artillery, units were established at strategic locations around the coastline, however these units were progressively phased out by 1962. During the Second World War, the RAA raised in excess of 70 regiments of field, medium, anti-tank, anti-aircraft and survey artillery, and in excess of 200 anti-aircraft and coast artillery batteries with their attendant anti-aircraft group or fire command headquarters in the fixed defences. Many saw action in the Middle East, Malaya and Southwest Pacific theatres, with two field regiments, one anti-tank regiment, one independent anti-tank battery, an anti-aircraft battery and two coast batteries being captured by the Japanese in Singapore, Ambon, Timor and New Britain.

The present School of Artillery (completed in 1998) is located in Puckapunyal in central Victoria and maintains modern training facilities. The School of Artillery is co-located with the Australian Army's Headquarters Combined Arms Training Centre. 53rd Battery, Royal Australian Artillery supports courses run by the School of Artillery.

Major units of the Royal Australian Artillery include:[2]

Army Reserve

Artillery Memorial, Canberra
M198 Howitzers from 8/12 Medium Regiment firing during an exercise in 2001

Future development

The Royal Australian Artillery coordinates and plans Joint Offensive Support for the Australian Defence Force and is presently studying options that will see significant changes in its structure for the future. The RAA applies the latest technologies to maximise the effectiveness of the extant fleet of towed guns. The RAA is further studying options to upgrade and update ammunition and fuzes to be used with the present and future gun fleets.

Land 17 artillery replacement

This programme examined new systems with a view to replacement of all 155 mm M198 medium guns and 105 mm L119 and M2A2 field guns as well as the adoption of an integrated digital fire control network structure.[3] The project initially had A$1.5 billion allocated for the purchase of new guns, through life support and maintenance, replacement infrastructure, retraining of personnel and provision of simulation and training systems and joint fires command and control.

Phase 1A has seen the selection of the towed gun replacement; the US M777 155 mm Lightweight Medium Howitzer, over the Singaporean Pegasus alternative. With acquisition now complete.

Phase 1C was cancelled in May 2012 after down-selection to two self-propelled gun candidates; the German PzH 2000, and South Korean K9 Thunder.[4]

Land 17 does not allow for the purchase of new guns in sufficient quantity to re-equip the Army Reserve. Army Reserve Artillery Batteries have been re-equipped with 81mm Mortars.

Land 19 Short Range Air Defence

Ground Based Air Defence has recently been equipped with additional RBS-70 systems and a significant upgrade of radar and monitoring systems. This project is forecast to meet the Army's needs until 2015 where future forecast planning calls for a significant upgrade of the longer ranging air defence capability from 2018.

Banners of the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery is the only Regiment of Artillery of the nations of the British Commonwealth to have been presented with The Banner of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen’s Banner was presented to the Regiment on the 1 August 1971, replacing the King's Banner. The silver plaque fixed to the Banner pike reads “ Presented by Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Captain General of The Regiment of Royal Australian Artillery, to replace the Banner presented by His Majesty King Edward VII and in Honour of the Centenary of the Regiment 1971.[5]

The King's Banner was presented in November 1904 by the Governor General Lord Nortcote.[6] The silver plaque reads “Presented by His Gracious Majesty the King Emperor to the Royal Australian Artillery in recognition of the services rendered to the Empire in South Africa 1904”. The artillery units or sub-units that served in this war were A Battery, NSW Regiment RAA, and the Machine Gun Section, Queensland Regiment RAA, although many Gunners, permanent and militia, enlisted in the various colonial contingents, and after Federation the battalions of Australian Commonwealth Horse, that served in South Africa.

Traditions

Affiliations

Order of precedence

Preceded by
Royal Australian Armoured Corps
Australian Army Order of Precedence Succeeded by
Royal Australian Engineers

See also

References

  1. The Army List, Part I, 1st February 1939
  2. Kennedy, Mitch; Doran, Mark (3 March 2011). "Changes in Artillery". Army News (Canberra: Australian Department of Defence). p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  3. "Australia’s A$ 450M-600M LAND 17 Artillery Replacement". Defense Industry Daily. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  4. "Rethink of Defence projects to save billions". ABC Online. May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 RAA SO 2014
  6. General Order No 243 of 20 October 1904
  7. RAA Standing Orders 2014
  8. Army Standing Orders for Dress
  9. Standing Orders for Dress 1952
  10. Standing Orders for Dress 1958
  11. Army Dress Manual 1963
  12. Standing Orders for Clothing, Part 3, 1925
  13. Standing Orders for Dress 1931
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