Airburst No75

AIRBURST

Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company

ENewsletter Edition No 75 September 2023

Dear Gunners (Readers) -

Welcome to Airburst No 75 September 2023

Many of you may be aware of the RAAHC project currently under way to produce an Essential History of the Employment of Australian Artillery 1871-2021. The final publication title under consideration is Action! Action! Action!

The book will provide the broader Gunner Community (serving and retired) as well as the general community, with a succinct, engaging, authoritative and accessible source of information on the important facts of the history of Australian artillery from the colonial period to the first two decades of the 21st century.

The RAAHC is seeking to arrange publication of the book, partially funded by a Defence Veterans Affairs (DVA) grant. The grants application seeks evidence of community and stakeholder support. We have sought letters of support from senior serving gunners and varies Gunner Associations. You can express your support by sending a short email to

chair@artilleryhistory.org or you can make a donation by going to the RAAHC DONATION Page: fill in the online form and in the comments section state " For ACTION! ". Any amount will help although a formal funding campaign will be launched at a later date.

A brief on the project is contained later in this newsletter.

Other articles covered in this Airburst include a report on the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, an over view of the WW1 Battle of Hamel, the 2023 National Gunner Dinner and some information on North Fort.

Hope you enjoy

UBIQUE

Ian Ahearn

Chair RAAHC

Action! Action! Action!

Essential History of the Employment of Australian Artillery 1871-2021.

About the Book

The Essential History is a work that covers the first 150 years of artillery service to Australia. The book:

• is written in a brief, non-academic and well-illustrated style, designed for straightforward and effective communication.

• is planned to be around 200 pages, with over 70 photographs, and dozens of maps, tables and informative 'break-out boxes' that focus on Australian artillery gunners, commanders, tactics, and technical equipment and expertise.

• is fully cited and draws on dozens of primary and authoritative secondary sources.

• is planned to be offered in both print and soft-copy e-versions, to maximise public and serving Gunner accessibility.

About the Audience

The book will be offered as a gift from the RAAHC to the serving gunners and it will be commercially available to other ADF personnel and the wider Australian community. In summary, the target readers are:

• Gunners who are currently serving - aiming to contribute to unit morale and esprit de corps, and to provide a professional historical context for artillery operations past, present, and future.

• Retired Gunners.

• Descendants and extended families of Gunners.

• Wider Australian Defence Force seeking knowledge of artillery.

• Historians who need an authoritative overview of Australia’s artillery.

About the Project

The RAAHC has a strong record of achievement in supporting and directly producing quality books and publications on Australian artillery history. The authors are both experienced, qualified, and published. They, and all the volunteers involved have given their time for free.

Writing and manuscript production is almost complete, and it is intended that to have the book produced, and available, no later than 1 August 2024.

2023 NATIONAL GUNNER DINNER - CALOUNDRA

The 2023 National Gunner Dinner was held on Saturday 26th August 2023 at The Event Centre

in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

A total of 143 personnel attended and the event was supported by the 1st Regiment by way of providing the

Band of the 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery and the Banner Party.

View a video of the evening which is considered another successful event by the Australian Artillery Association Inc.

Set up ready to go

Another view.

Approximately 12 months ago the Australian Artillery Association was contacted via email by a Mr Rob Beavis simply stating ‘hi my Grandfather served in Artillery would you like his sword?’ Initially the AAA were going to say no, however, following a conversation with Rob Beavis and an online investigation of the sword owner it became apparent very quickly that this sword was of historical significance to the Regiment. Thereafter the AAA set about fully understanding the history of Major General Leslie Ellis Beavis CB, CBE, DSO, MID and how best we could present the sword to the Regiment at the 2023 National Gunner Dinner.

Major General Beavis's biograpny appears on the RAAHC websire in GUNNERS OF RENOWN

United States Army 2-11 Field Artillery from the 25th Infantry Division

Lieutenant General Greg Bilton , AO, CSC, Chief of Joint Operations, (and the senior serving gunner) talks with Japanese participants.

Rob Beavis and his wife pose with his grandfather's sword

The presentation of the sword to the Regiment.

The dinner underway

March in of the Queen's Banner with part of the 1st Regiment , RAA band in the background.

The Banner Party

Battle of Hamel 4 July 1918

The Battle of Hamel in World War I was a small-scale, brilliantly successful attack made by elements of the Australian Corps and United States (US) troops with British tanks and air support. It was the first set-piece operation planned by Lieutenant General John Monash since taking command of the Australian Corps the previous month. Under Monash's strategy, infantry, tanks, artillery and air support worked together on the battlefield for the first time under Australian command. In just 93 minutes, the Allies captured 1,600 enemy soldiers. Around 1,380 Australian and US personnel were killed or wounded in the battle. It was the first time that Australians and Americans fought together on a battlefield. The planned attack became a model for innovative tactics, which the Allies repeated on larger-scale advances from 8 August and helped to end the war in November 1918.

Australian 18 Pounders near Hamel Americans and Australians visiting captured guns at Tincourt.

Other reading:

To read more from the Australian War Memorial Click Here

To read another view at Honour Monash-A Great Australian Click Here

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CARTOON CORNER-a laugh is as good as a holiday

50th Anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War

On 18 August 2023 the Australian Government marked 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.

The service was well attended with an estimate of over 2,000 attendees. Part of the crowd is shown in the photo below.

Below: The Federation Guard marches on.

The Catafalque Party is mounted at the Vietnam Memorial

Did you Know?

North Fort including the Plotting Room

Established at North Head in 1936, North Fort is a remnant military complex. Strategically placed at the northern entrance to Sydney Harbour, the now-demilitarised fort formed part of a defence system that spanned 300km of coastline during World War II. At the height of the war, North Fort was manned twenty-four hours per day.

Until 1952, the North Fort Battery featured two 9.2 inch calibre guns. Serviced by a 200-metre-long network of underground tunnels, each was capable of firing a distance of 26.4km. Target coordinates were relayed to these heavy weapons from the nearby Plotting Room.

Located eight metres underground, the concrete-reinforced, bomb-proof Plotting Room is accessible via a camouflaged, shed-like entrance. Despite its name, the structure actually consists of two rooms – the Fortress Plotting Room (FPR) and the smaller Battery Plotting Room (BPR).