RAA Liaison Letter 2024 - 2025 Edition

RAA L I A I SON L ETTER – 2024 – 2025 E D I T I ON C ANNON BALL S UP PLEMENT 136 equipped with the L5. Successive batteries left 1 Fd Regt to serve in Malaysia (102 Bty in late 1963 and A Bty in late 1965) and both units had to convert to the L5 prior to their departures. RAA Regiments in Australia had 8- gun batteries while the Battery deployed to Malaya / Malaysia was a 6-gun battery. All of this compounded by the issue which emerged during 1966 that the L5 was not the right gun for the task at hand so everyone except the Bty in Malaysia went over to the M2A2. We also entered 1965 splitting a very large 1 RAR into much smaller 1RAR and 5 RAR units while in Brisbane the Pentropic 2RAR split into 2 RAR and 6 RAR. 4 RAR was formed in Adelaide on the small Battalion model in Feb 1964. History records that we got there in the end despite the shaky start. FSCC and AWCC. The need for such enhancements to the Artillery Tactical HQ was recognised very early in proceedings in 1966 and procedures were well developed over the two years that followed. We deployed mortar locating radars for the first time and I suspect we were startled by the volume and density of all manner of aircraft passing overhead on all manner of missions. Throw in a significant naval gunfire presence and a large and diverse number of friendly forces adjacent to and within the 1 ATF Area of Operations. The 1700 h to 2200 h shift in Arty Tac was the busiest five hours you could wish for. Defence of the Gun Position. The events at FSB Coral were a “wake-up” call for the RAA in this area and highlighted among many things the important roles the Regt 2IC and the Bty Capt. had to play. Without prejudice to any of the previous incumbents these important roles were undervalued by the RAA. The events at FSB Coral were a “wake-up” call for the RAA on many things … the important roles the Regt 2IC and the Bty Capt. had to play. When I left Australia in 1965 with A Fd Bty, I think the batteries still relied on the heavy barrel SLR as their LMG. (In 28 Brigade we still had the 7.62mm Bren). It is not clear to me when we adopted the M60 and despite its faults it surely made a big difference at FSB Coral. Also, the groundwork by 4 Fd Regt on the XM546 antipersonnel round in 1967 was another fortuitous event. The Need to Get our History Right. If this article, produced as it is by the custodians of Artillery History, is representative of our current capabilities we have some distance to travel. It is now 60 years since the first Gunner departed for SVN. All of the CO’s are now deceased along with all but two of the 2IC’s and five of the BC’s. The rest of us are not getting any younger either so the end of the SVN Corporate memory is in plain view! A big part of the problem is there is a lot of information available in the large volume of official and unofficial histories, books, newsletters and everything you could imagine on the Internet. I have found in my brief research a lot of contradiction and inaccuracy in all these resources so the most reliable resource is those who were actually there (and even then we will have some differences). Attachment 1: RAA Key Postings in SVN Sep 65 – Nov 1971