32nd Regiment Royal Artillery

32 Regiment Royal Artillery ("The Wessex Gunners") is a regiment in the Royal Artillery, part of the British Army and is equipped with the Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III and PUMA 2 miniature unmanned aerial vehicles. 32nd Regiment is the only Royal Artillery unit that operates MUAS and along with the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery provides an integrated tactical and strategic; intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability.

32nd Regiment Royal Artillery
Active1939 – present
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
RoleMini-Unmanned Aerial Systems (MUAS)
SizeRegiment
398 personnel[1]
Part of1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade
Garrison/HQRoberts Barracks
Nickname(s)The Wessex Gunners
EquipmentDesert Hawk III PUMA 2
Website32 Regiment Royal Artillery

As part of 6th Division, under the immediate command of 1st Intelligence & Surveillance Brigade (1ISR), 32nd Regiment supports the Reactive Force elements of the British Army and provides dedicated MUAS capability to the 3rd (UK) Division.[2]

History

The regiment has its origins in 7th Medium Brigade which was raised in 1927, evolved into 7th Medium Regiment and served throughout the Second World War.[3]

In 1947, the 32nd Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) was retitled as the 45th Field Regiment[4] and the 7th Medium Regiment RHQ was retitled as the 32nd.[5]

In 1966, the regiment became a Heavy Regiment with M107 175 mm self-propelled guns.[5] In 1972, it became a light Regiment, equipped with 105mm Light Guns; then, in 1978, a Guided Missile Regiment equipped with Swingfire anti-tank missile.[5] In 1985, it became a heavy regiment again with M107 guns based in Dortmund.[5] During the Gulf War, the regiment was equipped with M110 self-propelled 203 mm howitzers and served as part of the Divisional Artillery Group supporting the 1st Armoured Division.[5]

In December 2016 it was announced that the Regiment would be disbanded and its personnel redistributed to other parts of the British Army.[6] In the British Army's Soldier Magazine October 2020 edition, it was confirmed the regiment would not disband but will continue to support the field army in the Mini-Unmanned Aerial Systems (MUAS) support role, using the Puma and Wasp AE (All Environment) mini unmanned air system.[7][8]

As part of the Future Soldier Programme, the regiment will gain an addition MUAS battery by 2023 in the form of 42 (Alem Hamza) Battery.[9][10]

Batteries

The Regiment currently comprises the following batteries:[11][12]

References
  1. "Army – Question for Ministry of Defence". p. 1. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. "6th Uk Division 1st intelligence surveillance & reconnaissance brigade at MoD.com".
  3. "32 Regiment Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  4. "45th Regiment RHA". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. Young, A. "32nd Regiment RHA". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  6. "Strategic Defence and Security Review - Army:Written statement - HCWS367". www. parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  7. "Flying High". Soldier Magazine. No. October 2020. 1 October 2020. p. 29. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. "Exercise Wessex Seahawk: Army Flies Unmanned Aircraft In Cornwall". Forces.net. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  9. "The Integrated Review and Future Soldier - RA Association". www.thegunners.org.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. "Future Soldier Guide" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. p. 78. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  11. "32nd Regiment Royal Artillery – Our History". British Army. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  12. "32 Regiment Royal Artillery". army.mod.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  13. "32 Regiment - British Army Website". 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2019.


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