20 SATA Regiment, nicknamed the ''Alma Mater of Locators'' and ''The Originals'', is a Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) artillery regiment, which is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

Formation

The Regiment was raised on August 4, 1924 at the School of Artillery in

Kakul Kakul (Kakol) is a village situated in the Tehsil and District Abbottabad, at an elevation of 1300 metres, 5 km northeast of center of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills. Abbottabad is a District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pa ...

(now in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) as 1 Survey Section Royal Indian Artillery under Captain E. R. Culverwell. Upon establishment, it consisted of only nine personnel, which included two British officers, as well as several V.C.Os, Indian Officers and Other Ranks. These nine persons, later to be known as the ‘Nine Originals’, had passed a

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

survey course at

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī; ) is a city and Municipal Corporations in India, municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar, the district headquarters. It is spread over a flat terrain under the ...

. They were selected from Mountain Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry Units to form the nucleus of Survey Section Royal Indian Artillery.

History

1 Survey Battery
Captain Culverwell commanded the section for several years and was followed by Captains H. D. W. Sitwell, C. L. Ferard, K. F. Mackay Lewis, W. J. Gyde and R. MacCaig. 1 Survey Section was reorganised in 1941 as the ‘Survey Troop’ and carried out the survey of the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...

. In January 1942, it was re-designated as 1 Survey Battery under Major J. H. C. Hunter, and shortly afterwards re-joined the School of Artillery at

Deolali Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region. Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian mi ...

. 1st Indian Survey Regiment
In August, 1942, the 1st Battery and a new Regimental Headquarters (R.H.Q.) were combined to form the 1st Indian Survey Regiment. The first Commanding Officer was Lieutenant-Colonel J. F. S. Rendall, with Major J. H. C. Hunter as Second-in -Command and Captain Matthews as Adjutant. Major S. A. Brighty commanded No. 1 Battery. In June, 1943, No. 2 Battery was formed under Major F. A. von Goldstein. A radar troop was raised in 1943 as part of the Regiment. World War II
In July 1944, the Regiment moved by road to

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

and in August to the

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

area to join the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It came under command of 33 Corps, which had begun the pursuit to the

Chindwin River The Chindwin River (), also known as the Ningthi River (), is a river in Myanmar and is the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy River. Sources The Chindwin originates in the broad Hukawng Valley of Kachin State of Burma, roughly , where the Tanai, ...

line in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. No. 2 Survey Battery under Major von Goldstein joined the

11th (East Africa) Division The 11th (East Africa) Infantry Division was a British infantry division consisting of troops from the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces which was formed in February 1943 during World War II. Consisting of East African troops, the division fough ...

, which was pressing down the Kabaw Valley. The No. 1 Survey Battery under Major B. C. Slater joined the 2 British Division and moved south to take part in the corps artillery concentration covering the crossing of the

Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River (, , Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the ...

. After the crossings the survey battery joined 20 Division. No. 2 Survey Battery joined 19 Indian Division for the northern crossings of the Irrawaddy. One

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and three

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

s were awarded to personnel from the regiment. Orders had been issued that units not urgently required were to return to India and on 13 May 1945, the 1st Indian Survey Regiment was flown to

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

. Lieutenant-Colonel H. G. Croly was now in command and repatriation had begun, and many changes of all ranks were taking place. The regiment eventually moved to

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

(Sind) under Lieutenant-Colonel von Goldstein as commanding officer.
Partition
On 25 January 1947, as a result of the Partition, the 1st Indian Survey Regiment became 20th Survey Regiment, R.I. A., under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Rajbahadur, having shed 2nd Survey Battery. This became the 2nd Survey Battery, R.P.A. (later 13th Survey Battery, R.P.A.).
Post independence
In July 1952, the Regiment was reorganised as the 20 Locating Regiment. In June 1987, the Regiment was redesignated as the 20 Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) Regiment with the role of carrying out all weather surveillance of targets including enemy guns and mortars.

Operations

;Pre-independence *World War - II (Burma Theatre) – 1944 ;Post independence * Hyderabad Police Action – 1948 and Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. *

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

in 1961-62 – The unit saw action in

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

and NEFA. * Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 in the Western Sector. The unit took part in Operation Ablaze (1965) and Operation Riddle (September 1965 to February 1966). * Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 - It was part of the 15th Infantry Division during the war in the Western Sector. It was part of the force tasked to defend the

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

and

Dera Baba Nanak Dera Baba Nanak is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, in the state of Punjab (India), Punjab, India. It is the sub-district headquarters of Dera Baba Nanak (Sub-district), Dera Baba Nanak tehsil. It is 36 km away from Gurdaspur ...

sectors. Commenting on the artillery support, Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh (Deputy Director Military Operations, Army Headquarters), writes in his book ‘India's Wars Since Independence: Defence of the western border’, ''“The Independent Artillery Brigade supported the operation with intimate, timely and abundant artillery fire. So effective was the brigade’s counter-battery programme that there was no interference by the enemy artillery, “The performance of the Flash Spotting Troop of 20 Locating Regiment in particular, had been commendable. It had started “fixing’ the Pakistani gun areas from Day One, when Pakistan attacked Kasowal. Thereafter, whenever and from wherever the enemy artillery opened up, the eyes and instruments of the flash spotters kept updating its latest locations, enabling effective counter bombardment''. The four personnel from the regiment were

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. *

Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was a military operation by the Indian Armed Forces conducted between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh militants from the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), a holy site of Sikhism, and i ...

- 04 June 1984 to 17 September 1984). * Operation Trident - 23 January 1987 to 14 February 1987 *

Operation Rakshak Indian Army operations in Jammu and Kashmir include security operations such as Operation ''Rakshak'', which began in 1990, Operation ''Sarp Vinash'' in 2003 and Operation ''Randori Behak'' in ''2020''. Other operations include humanitarian m ...

– 15 November 1989 to 15 July 1991 in Jammu and Kashmir. *Operation Rakshak - Counter terrorist operations in Punjab between 15 June 1992 and 13 August 1992. * Operation Vijay - 24 May 1999 to 31 January 2000 *

Operation Parakram Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

- 19 December 2001 to 31 July 2003 *Operation Rakshak ll - 1 August 2004 to 07 June 2008 *Operation Snow Leopard - May 2020 to September 2020

Awards and citations

*The regiment was awarded the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Unit Citation during the Army Day Parade in 2021. *World War II **

- Captain ER Culverwell, 1944 **

- Captain Asserlie, Havildar Girdhara Singh, Havildar Abdullah Khan, Havildar Anwar Hussion (Military Medal) 1944 *Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 ** Mention-in-Despatches - Captain KS Battra, Havildar Bhim Singh, Havildar Shadi Lal, Lance Naik Mihan Singh, Havildar T Brahama * GOC-in-C Commendation Cards #Subedar (TIFC) K M Khan (WC 1995) #Subedar (AIG) Baldev Singh (WC 1995) #Subedar Bane Singh (WC 1995) #Subedar (AIG) Prayag Singh (NC 1997) #Subedar (TIFC) Surjit Singh (NC 2000) #Subedar (TIFC) Jagjiwan Age (NC 2000) #Lance Naik Jia Lal (NC 2001) #Captain Y P Singh (NC 2001) #Subedar (AIG) William Masih (NC 2001) #Havildar B B Phukan (NC 2001) #Lance Havildar Anbazhagan P (NC 2006) #Captain SK Ojha (WC 2010) #Lance Naik Santosh Kumar B (WC 2010) #Havildar PK Rao (WC 2010) #Colonel (Now Brig) NR Pandey (WC 2012) #Naib Subedar SK Sahoo (WC 2012) #Colonel NR Pandey (EC 2015) #Lieutenant Colonel Subodh Chaudhary (EC 2015) #Havildar Ratheesh M VCOAS (CC 2019) #Major KS Kiran, SM (NC 2020) #Major Jadhav Ajinkya (SWC 2020) #Subedar (OPR) Suresh S (NC 2020) #Naib Subedar (RST) Ramesh Kumar (NC 2020) #Major Alex Sebastian (NC 2021) #Major Shagun Sharma (SWC 2022) #Subedar (OFC) SS Parmar (SWC 2022) #Naib Subedar (OpR) Sumanta Aich (SWC 2022) #Naib Subedar (AIG)Khajavali Shaik (SWC 2023) #Subedar (AIG) Eswara Rao Vempada (SWC 2023) #Havildar (RST) Durga Rama Rao (SWC 2023) #Havildar (RST) K Lakshmana Rao (SWC 2023) #Major KS Kiran, SM (SWC 2023) #Subedar Eswara Rao 2020 (SWC 2023)

Achievements in sports

Personnel from the Regiment have excelled in sporting competitions and represented their formation at different levels. They include - *Lance Havildar (DMT) Jadumani (Football), Command Level *Gunner (DMT) Ankit Jadon (10 m Air Rifle), National Level *Naik (OPR) Himashekhar (Boxing), Command Level *Naib Subedar Santhosh B (Water polo), Command Level

Other achievements

*The regiment had the honour to participate in the

Republic Day Parade The Delhi Republic Day parade is the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade takes place every year on 26 January at Kartavya Path, New Delhi. It is the main attraction of India's R ...

in 1993.

References

External links

''Obituary – Col E. R. Culverwell, pages 103-5 – The Alpine Journal, Vol 63, 1958''

Military units and formations established in 1942 Artillery regiments of the Indian Army after 1947