29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery

29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
Active 1947 – Present
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Branch  British Army
Role Field artillery
Size 5 Batteries
Part of 3 Commando Brigade
Garrison/HQ Royal Citadel, Plymouth
Nickname(s) The Commando gunners
Equipment L118 Light Gun

29 Commando Regiment is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery observation.

History

The regiment was established in 1947 by the redesignation of the 25th Field Regiment.[1] In 1951, it was renamed as the 29th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery and was based at Brancepeth Camp in Durham.[1] In 1957, it was deployed to Cyprus.[1]

In 1962, it re-roled and became 29 Commando Light Regiment, Royal Artillery. At that time, each battery consisted of four 105mm pack howitzers (Italian Mountain Gun).[1]

In the 1970s, Batteries from the regiment completed operational tours in Northern Ireland.[2]

During the 1982 Falklands War, 29 Commando Regiment accompanied the Royal Marines, providing much needed close support with their L118 Light Guns.[3]

In 1996, the honorary Freedom of the City of Plymouth was conferred on the regiment (with the unanimous support of Plymouth City Council).[4]

The regiment conducted numerous operational tours in Afghanistan to provide artillery support during operations against Al Qaeda and Taliban militants.[5]

Organisation

Practice firings by 7 (Sphinx) Commando Battery on exercise near Cape Wrath in Scotland.

The regiment consists of a HQ battery, three gun batteries, a Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observation battery and an attached Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers workshop, which includes a Royal Logistic Corps stores section. The gun batteries are equipped with six L118 105MM light guns and three Observation Posts each. The batteries are as follows:[6]

In addition, the regiment is supported by 266 (GVA) Commando Battery, their affiliated Territorial Army unit, who train with and support 29 Regiment on operations. This will not be the case under Army 2020.

Memorial to member of the Regiment killed in Afghanistan

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "29th Regiment RA". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "3 April 1973 → Written Answers (Commons) → DEFENCE". Hansard, UK Parliament. 3 April 1973. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  3. ↑ Fairhall, David (21 May 1982). "Why British invasion will be risky affair". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  4. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 1 Feb 1996 (pt 18)". Hansard, UK Parliament. 1 Feb 1996. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  5. ↑ Gall, Carlotta (6 May 2002). "From Hilltop Perch, British Troops Watch for Holdouts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  6. ↑ "29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery: Batteries". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 May 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 29th Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, October 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.