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Battery celebrates
By Maj Michael Leichsenring
Edition 1171, July 26, 2007 |
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First shots: 1 Anti-Aircraft Bty fires its 3-inch guns at Narrabeen, NSW, in 1936.
Photo courtesy National Artillery Museum |
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Clearing the air: A 3-inch mobile anti-aircraft gun and crew in action at Darwin circa 1942.
Photo courtesy State Library of Victoria |
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Clearing the air: A 3-inch mobile anti-aircraft gun and crew in action at Darwin circa 1942.
Photo courtesy State Library of Victoria |
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THREE notable anniversaries for the air-defence artillery fraternity are being celebrated this year.
These are the 50th birthday of 111 AD Bty; the arrival 80 years ago of the first Army anti-aircraft guns in Australia; and the 80th anniversary of the purchase of land to establish Woodside Army Barracks – the home of air-defence artillery.
111 AD Bty – part of 16 AD Regt, – celebrated its 50th birthday in May.Raised at Middle Head, NSW, on May 21, 1957, 111 Light Anti-Aircraft Bty was an independent unit formed from elements of 103 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Bty.
Over the years, the battery underwent a number of name changes – first to 111 AD Bty (Light), then 111 Div AD Bty and, heading back to its roots, 111 AD Bty (Light) and, finally, its present-day 111 AD Bty. It has also twice alternated from being an independent battery to one under command of 16 AD Regt.
During the mid-1920s Lt-Gen Sir Harry Chauvel, Chief of the General Staff and Inspector-General of the Australian Military Forces, consistently emphasised to Parliament that the AMF needed to develop capabilities in new equipment such as tanks, anti-aircraft guns and mechanised transport.
When two 3-inch mobile guns and their Hathi tractors arrived in Australia in 1927, 1 Anti-Aircraft Bty, which was raised in anticipation the previous year with only a small cadre, expanded to a battery headquarters, a 3-inch gun section and a Lewis-gun section. A year later, a second 3-inch gun section was formed.
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of Woodside Army Barracks, South Australia, the current home of air-defence artillery.
In 1922 an option was taken out to purchase the abandoned and flooded Bird-in-Hand gold mine in the Inverbrackie Valley near Woodside as a potential source of fresh water for a military camp in the Adelaide Hills, with about 420 acres officially purchased on December 15, 1927.
During World War II, many units were raised at Woodside, including elements of 9 Div – the Rats of Tobruk.
After the war, Woodside was used as an immigration centre and the home of 16 National Service Bn. It was also home to 3RAR from 1965 to 1981.
Air-defence artillery’s association with Woodside Barracks began on May 10, 1965, when 110 Light Anti-Aircraft Bty was raised there.
In June 1966, 110 Bty relieved 111 Bty at RAAF Butterworth, Malaysia, and, on return to Australia, 111 Bty took up residence at Woodside.
16 Light Anti-Aircraft Regt – now 16 AD Regt – was raised at the camp on June 2, 1969.
On a much minor note, this year I celebrate my 25th anniversary as a member of the air-defence artillery fraternity, graduating from Portsea in June 1982 for an initial posting at Woodside, where I served 12 years in total – culminating as BC 111 Air Defence Bty and 2IC 16 AD Regt. |
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