Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company
ENewsletter Edition No 74 August 2023
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Dear Gunners (Readers) -
Welcome to Airburst No 74 August 2023
July has rolled around bringing us closer to the end of 2023. Tempus certainly continues to fugit! It has certainly been a year for the Australian Defence Force with the Defence Strategic Review upsetting the status quo apple cart. The Review has calls for a change to the Defence of Australia doctrine to a National Defence concept which is defined as:
‘National Defence is focused on the defence of Australia in the face of potential threats in our region. Our nation and its leaders must take a much more whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach to security.’
It would appear that the Review has identified war as a national problem not a matter for just the ADF. Who would have thought!
The review conducted by a past CDF and Minister for Defence, has changed development priorities for the ADF. Army projects have been either deleted or reduced with some extant Army projects supported and expanded. The Review has introduced the term domains and has identified five of them; maritime, land, air, space and cyber.
The immediate investment priorities for the land domain are:
- To immediately accelerate the acquisition of LAND 8710 Phases 1-2 – Army Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels (Landing Craft Medium and Heavy) and expand the scope of this capability. Without this, only limited numbers of major land capabilities can be projected offshore.
- To acquire the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and its associated missiles. The review recommends the acquisition of additional HIMARS and strongly supports the ongoing co-development and rapid acquisition of the Precision Strike Missile in all its forms.
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To meet the most demanding land combat tasks new infantry fighting vehicles are required. LAND 400 Phase 3 – Land Combat Vehicle System (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) acquisition must be reduced from 450 to 129 vehicles. This will provide one mechanised battalion for littoral manoeuvre, including training, repair, and attrition stock Army must cancel LAND 8116 Phase 2 – Protected Mobile Fires (the second regiment of self-propelled howitzers). These systems do not provide the required range or lethality. The cancellation of this program, in addition to savings from the reduction of LAND 400 Phase 3, will help enable the acceleration and the acquisition of additional HIMARS and a land-based maritime strike capability.
- The acquisition of the UH-60M Black Hawk and AH-64E Apache provides the opportunity to posture most of the Defence’s battlefield aviation in Townsville to enable a robust air-mobile capability. This includes basing the AH-64E Apache capability in Townsville.
The public Defence Strategic View paper can be viewed by CLICKING HERE
The review makes no comment on a disturbing ADF growth area, the growth in star level ranks. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI} has stated that:
“…the growth in star rank levels (brigade er equivalent and above) has been astonishing over the past two decades—June 2022 figures are navy, 58; army, 86; air force, 61; and defence public service, 156.”
The Courier Times published an article on 30 July 2023, it fleshes out that comment by observing that:
“The United States Army (including reserves) has a soldier to general ratio of 3632 GIs for each brass hat compared with just 1560 diggers per general in Australia.”
It may be that the proliferation in higher ranks has increase the level of bureaucratic process in Defence thereby leading to slow decision making and less acceptance of risk. Has anybody counted the number of Defence Reviews over the past 50 years?
UBIQUE
Ian Ahearn
Chair RAAHC
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Talisman Sabre 2023
Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 (TS23) will run from 22 July to 4 August 2023 and will be the 10th and largest iteration of the exercise. It will consist of field training exercises incorporating force preparation activities, amphibious landings, ground force manoeuvres, and air combat and maritime operations.
Forces will be moving into Australian training areas from mid-July 2023.
Participants
More than 30,000 military personnel from 13 nations will directly participate in TS23, with others attending the exercise as observers.
Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany will attend as participants. The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will also attend as observers to the exercise.
Tragedy
A devastating accident has marred the exercise with the crash of a MRH- 90 Taipan helicopter on the night of Friday 28 July 2023. The four crew members were Captain Danial Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs, all belonged to 6 Aviation Regiment. On behalf of the RAAHC I extend our condolences to their family and friends.
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Preparing a M777A2 Howitzer to be lifted by a CH-47 Chinook, on the flight deck of HMAS Adelaide |
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An Australian Army CH-47 Chinook takes off from the flight deck of HMAS Adelaide during Exercise Talisman Sabre 23 |
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Lift off of a M777A2 Howitzer by CH-47 Chinook from the flight deck of HMAS Adelaide during Exercise Talisman Sabre 23.
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United States Army 2-11 Field Artillery from the 25th Infantry Division |
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United States Army 17th Field Artillery Brigade High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
Exercise Talisman Sabre 23.
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Lieutenant General Greg Bilton , AO, CSC, Chief of Joint Operations, (and the senior serving gunner) talks with Japanese participants. |
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Two Australian Army M113AS4 armoured logistics vehicles, fitted with optionally crewed combat vehicle technology and a remote weapon station. |
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US and Australian Joint Fire Controllers engaging in live fire training. |
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Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade with the Type 03 Chu-SAM medium range anti-air missile system on TS 23. |
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Type 03 Chu-SAM medium range anti-air missile system firing. |
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Exercises ‘Sea Explorer 2023’ (SE23) and ‘Sea Raider 2023’ (SR23) 16 June - 07 July 2023.
The Whitsundays were the perfect setting last week for the start of the Australian Defence Force’s largest amphibious exercises in North Queensland.
The ability for the ADF to function in a joint environment will be tested across the Sea Series of exercises - Sea Explorer and Raider - with a full range of capabilities including infantry, armour, artillery, naval, aviation and logistics elements in a complicated littoral environment.
Conducted over four weeks at sea and ashore in the vicinity of Bowen and Shoalwater Bay, the exercises provide realistic scenarios to certify, practise and develop the ADF’s amphibious capability, ensuring the Australian Amphibious Force (AAF)* can rapidly deploy forces ashore from the sea and air in a range of scenarios.
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Chinooks lifting 4 Regiment RAA M777, Tiger Armed Helicopters, an Army LCM 8 Landing Craft, a RAN LHD Landing Craft transit from HMAS Canberra & HMAS Choules. |
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HMAS Canberra with a Chinook carrying a 155mm M777 Howitzer overhead. |
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Australian Defence Force landing craft carrying M1A1 tanks approach Cowley Beach during Exercise Sea Explorer (Photo by LACW Jacqueline Forrester) |
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A 5th Aviation Regiment CH-47 Chinook with an underslung M777 howitzer from the 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery during Exercise Sea Raider 2023.
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1st Regiment Band members supporting the Solomons Island Police Force Band on Ex Coastwatchers.
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13th Battery (Albury’s Own)
5th Field Artillery Brigade
Noreuil Park Artillery Heritage
On the bank of a bend in the Murray River at Albury NSW is beautiful Noreuil Park. Its name is directly associated with Australian Artillery heritage.
“The park was named to commemorate the actions on the 13th Battery of the Australian Field Artillery in the attack on Noreuil in France during World War One. Noreuil was the scene of a fierce engagement between Australian troops and the Germans on 15 April 1917.”
“The Battery served in France and Belgium and was involved in all the major battles fought by the Australians perhaps most notably at Noreuil where the Battery found itself surrounded but continued to fight till eventually the enemy was driven back. Following the war members of the Battery nominated this battle as their most significant achievement and consequently a newly developed recreational reserve on the Murray River foreshore was named Noreuil Park.”
Source: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/culture/display/101986-noreuil-park
The map below has been sourced from The Gunners, David Horner, 1995, page 144
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Other reading:
Bean’s Official History of events on and around 15 April 1917 is compelling reading for gunners who want to know more about the events and batteries being over run. To read more Click Here
Remembering (With Advantages):
The nearby Albury Monument Hill War Memorial is magnificent. A plaque commemorating ‘Albury’s Own’ 13th Battery tells their story (shown above). The well worded memorial plaque includes a minor overstatement.
It has been observed that the author of The Albury Battery, Douglas Hunter managed to identify some 38 members of 17 Bty who served in 13 Bty, and about 95 overall who served in the AIF with previous 17 Bty service. 150 is perhaps a stretch too far.
Henry V, William Shakespeare:
“He that shall live this day, and see old age, And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
And say "To-morrow is Saint Crispian." But he'll remember, with advantages,
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, What feats he did that day.”
Gunner Heritage: Gunners visiting Albury NSW should stop by Monument Hill and Noreuil Park and reflect on Australian Artillery history.
John Cox, Chairman RAA Regimental History Committee
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Become a part of history by purchasing your Australia's Memorial Walk paver today. For more information view website. |
Publicise Your Upcoming Event |
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CARTOON CORNER-a laugh is as good as a holiday
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50th Anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War
In 2023, the Australian Government will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War with a national service at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra on 18 August 2023 from 10:00am.
To acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs will produce a Commemorative Medallion and Certificate of Commemoration.
The medallion and certificate will be made available to every living veteran, widows of veterans and other family members of veterans of the Vietnam War. Please note that only one medallion is available per Vietnam War veteran. While Australia can never repay the debt we owe to the 60,000 who served in Vietnam, this medallion and certificate are a small but meaningful way to honour their service and to recognise the sacrifice of those who never returned home.
Information on the national Service and the medallion and certificate can be found by CLICKING HERE
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Did you Know?
The Australian Army Artillery Museum
The plaque commemorates the opening of Royal Australian Artillery National Museum in December 1990.
The Australian Army Artillery Museum was an artillery museum located in North Fort, on the northern head of the entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia.
It was formerly called the "National Artillery Museum”, and had a large collection of the heritage and history of the Royal Australian Artillery. It was administered by the Army History Unit (AHU) with the assistance of volunteer members of the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company (RAAHC).On 19 December 2010 the museum closed and the collection moved into storage at Bandiana pending creation of a new army artillery museum at Puckapunyal army base in Victoria, the base the Artillery School had moved to in 1997, leaving the museum behind at North Head. The museum project for Puckapunyal has been cancelled.
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Gunners Around the Nation & The World |
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View the websites/ Newsletters from various Artillery associations around the nation and overseas:
RAA Association Victoria Newsletter - Cascabel
Locating Surveillance and Target Acquisition Association - Website
Royal Australian Artillery Association (NSW) -Website
Australian Artillery Association - Website
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PO Box 171
Cremorne Junction
NSW 2090 Australia
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