29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, based in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. The

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

is under the operational control of the UK Commando Force, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery observation.

History

The regiment was established in 1947 by the redesignation of the 25th Field Regiment.J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-009-X, p. 947. In 1951, it was renamed as the 29th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery and was based at Brancepeth Camp in Durham. In 1957, it was deployed to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

on internal security duties, and spent three years at Karlaos Camp, near

Famagusta Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city located on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It is located east of the capital, Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime ...

. By now it had reverted to a field regiment, at one point loaning its 25-pounder field guns to another regiment that was hurriedly deployed with a

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force to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. In late 1960 the regiment exchanged with 42 Field Regiment and on return to the UK took over that regiment's guns and station at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth.Major Colin Robins, '29 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in Kuwait, 1961', ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'', Vol 99, No 396 (Spring 2021), pp. 95–100. In June 1961, Abd al-Karim Qasim's Iraqi Republic announced its intention to annex newly-independent

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, and a British military force was hurriedly sent to the kingdom in Operation Vantage. Regimental Headquarters (RHQ), 79 (Kirkee) and 145 (Maiwand) batteries of 29 Field Regiment were flown without their guns to

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

. 25-Pounder guns and 3-tonner lorries arrived a few days later by sea from the strategic reserve at

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. The regiment moved up close to the border with Iraq and established gun positions and observation posts (OPs). The threatened invasion did not happen, and in October the British force was relieved by the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

. 29 Field Regiment moved back to Aden to await sea transport to Plymouth. In 1962, the regiment re-roled and became 29 Commando Light Regiment, Royal Artillery. At that time, each battery consisted of four 105mm pack howitzers (Italian Mountain Gun). In the 1970s, batteries from the regiment completed operational tours in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. During the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, 29 Commando Regiment accompanied the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

, providing much needed close support with their L118 Light Guns. In 1996, the honorary Freedom of the City of Plymouth was conferred on the regiment, with the unanimous support of Plymouth City Council. The regiment conducted numerous operational tours in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

to provide artillery support during operations against

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and

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

militants. A

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

to the fallen of 29 Commando Regiment in post-1945 conflicts was unveiled on

Plymouth Hoe Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south-facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth, Devon. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and commands views of Pl ...

on 16 January 2011; It features a Commando dagger made from shells used in the Afghanistan conflict.

Organisation

The present regiment consists of a HQ battery, three gun batteries, a Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observation battery and an attached

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

workshop, which includes a

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

stores section. The gun batteries are equipped with six L118 105mm light guns and three OPs each. The batteries are as follows: *7 (Sphinx) Battery Royal Artillery – Commando trained L118 gun battery based at RM Condor,

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

. *8 (Alma) Commando Battery Royal Artillery – Commando trained L118 gun battery based at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth *79 (Kirkee) Commando Battery Royal Artillery – is a Commando trained L118 gun battery based at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth. It is also responsible for preparing soldiers and officers for attendance of the All Arms Commando Course. *23 (Gibraltar 1779–1783) Commando Battery Royal Artillery – The Headquarters Commando Battery, and Radar Troop, for 29 Commando Regiment are based at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth *

148 (Meiktila) Battery Royal Artillery 148 (Meiktila) Commando Forward Observation Battery is a specialist Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observation (NGSFO) unit within 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery of UK Commando Force Royal Marines. The unit provides Fire Support Teams (FS ...

– The battery, which is based at RM Poole, has the primary role of a Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observation (NGSFO) battery. Tasked to direct

naval gunfire support Naval gunfire support (NGFS), also known as naval surface fire support (NSFS), or shore bombardment, is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of seve ...

from

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

ships, air strikes from Royal Navy and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

aircraft and artillery fire from the regiment's gun batteries, when landed in support of UK Commando Force. The battery is attached to Surveillance Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group *29 Commando Regiment Workshop Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers – Workshop main HQ is based at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth, with battery fitter sections permanently attached to, and based with, each battery. *289 Commando Battery (TA) Royal Artillery – Commando Trained L118 gun battery based at East Ham London. (Disbanded 1999)

Gallery

A 105 mm light gun of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery sited under camouflage netting between Fitzroy and Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands, June 1982. FKD170.jpg, A 105 mm light gun of 29 Commando Regiment sited between Fitzroy and Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands, June 1982. 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery Commando Conditioning Course MOD 45149252.jpg, A gunner from 29 Commando Regiment, during a Commando Conditioning Course on Dartmoor, 2006. 29th Commandos finish operations in Helmand province 110912-N-TH989-182.jpg, A gunner of 29 Commando Regiment in

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

, Afghanistan, September 2011. Soldiers of 29 Commando Regiment Firing a 105mm Light Gun MOD 45157207.jpg, Soldiers of 29 Commando Regiment Firing a 105mm Light Gun on exercise in Norway, February 2014. ROYAL NAVY PHOTOGRAPHERS RECOGNISED FOR PICTURE PERFECT SHOTS MOD 45162869.jpg, 8 (Alma) Commando Battery, operating from during Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) operations in the Mediterranean, October 2016.

References

External links

Royal Navy Official siteBritish Army Official site
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Commando units and formations of the United Kingdom Royal Artillery regiments Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Falklands War Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military units and formations established in 1962 1962 establishments in the United Kingdom