| 16 Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 September 1947 – Present |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Artillery |
| Role | Field Artillery/Low Level Air Defence |
| Size | One regiment |
| Part of | Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery |
| Garrison/HQ | Linton |
| Motto | Ubique (Everywhere) (Latin) |
| March | Quick - The Right of the Line Slow - The Duchess of Kent |
| Engagements | Korean War Vietnam War |
| Commanders | |
| Captain General | HM The Queen |
| Insignia | |
| Tac-Sign | |
The Royal New Zealand Artillery forms the artillery section of the New Zealand Army. In its current form it was founded in 1947 with the amalgamation of the regular and volunteer units of artillery in New Zealand.
Contents |
Today, the RNZA consists of a single regiment:
In addition, there are a number of Territorial Force artillery units; these were formerly units of the RNZA, but were moved into the structure of the TF battalion groups on the restructuring of the army in the late 1990s:
The Battle Honors of the above three Territorial Force artillery units are for South Africa, World War I and World War II.
A composite unit of the RNZA became the first specific New Zealand unit to mount the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace in 1964 (previously, the contingents sent to the Coronation had mounted the guard).
161 Battery was awarded both the United States Meritorious Unit Commendation and the South Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation for its service in the Vietnam War as part of the 1st Battalion Group, Royal Australian Regiment (see Non-U.S. recipients of U.S. gallantry awards).
The RNZA were distinguished by a blue and red puggaree around the traditional "Lemon Squeezer" hat of the New Zealand Army, until this headdress fell into abeyance in the late 1950s. It has subsequently been reintroduced for ceremonial use but the RNZA now wear the same red puggaree as most other corps and regiments. Artillery officers wore a dark blue jacket and trousers with red lapels and trouser stripes for mess dress but this is now being phased out in favour of a universal scarlet mess jacket for all branches of the Army. The traditional blue and red artillery colours still survive in the full dress of the band of the RNZA.