13 Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery was formed in

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during September 1915 as the 13th Field Artillery Battery, part of 5th Field Artillery Brigade. Today 13 Field Battery is one of 4 batteries that make up the 1st Field Regiment, part of 7 Brigade.

History

The entire 5th Field Brigade Australian Field Artillery was formed as part of 2nd Division Artillery at Fleurbiax, France (near

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...

) during World War I as the requirement for artillery increased on the Western Front battlefields. The Regiment was composed of 13th,

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

and 105th Batteries. The battery saw action in

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Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

and on the Western Front, the battery was disbanded at the end of the war. In 1921 the Citizen's Army was reconstructed based on the

1st AIF The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Au ...

framework. As part of this, 5th Field Regiment was re-raised at Kelvin Grove,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and consisted of 13th, 14th, 105th Field Batteries. In 1938, 15th Field Battery was raised, making the Regiment the same composition as in World War I. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 5th Field Regiment amalgamated to form the newly raised 2nd/5th Field Regiment. This unit was later redesignated 2nd/1st Anti Tank Regiment. At the end of World War II this unit was disbanded. In 1955, 5th Field Regiment was reformed and was equipped with 25 Pounder Guns. In 1960, 5th Field Regiment was re-organised as part of 1st Division. 13th Field Battery and Headquarter Battery were based at Kelvin Grove. In 1964 the battery changed to 105 mm L5 Pack Howitzers and later to the 105 mm M2A2. On 1 July 1975, 5th Field Regiment amalgamated with 11th Field Regiment to form 5th/11th Field Regiment and as a consequence of the amalgamation 13th Field Battery was taken off the Army order of battle. In 1981, 13th Field Battery was re-raised at

Kallangur Kallangur is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Kallangur had a population of 20,405 people. Geography The North Coast railway line, Queensland, North Coast railway line form ...

as part of 5th/11th Field Regiment and was equipped with 105 mm L5 Pack Howitzers. The battery has close affiliation with the Pine Rivers Shire and Local citizens and was granted the Freedom of the Shire of Pine Rivers on 22 April 1989. In 1991, as part of 5th/11th Field Regiment 13th Field Battery was equipped with the 105 mm L119 Howitzer which is currently in service. On 23 April 1993 upon the separation of 5th/11th Field Regiment, 13th Field Battery, the only Battery of 5th Field Regiment became an independent Battery. On 1 May 1997, as result of the restructuring of the Army, 13th Field Battery came under command of 1st Field Regiment. On 4 March 2001 13th Field Battery was re-located to

Caboolture Caboolture () is a town and suburb in Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 26,433 people. It is located on the north side of the Caboolture River, which separates the town from Morayfi ...

. Due to the operational requirements of 1st Field Regiment, 13th Field Battery was re-equipped with 155mm M198 Howitzers in January 2008. Having served with the M198 Howitzers for two years, 13 Field Battery was once again equipped with the L119 Hamel and oversaw the Army's retirement of the L119. In October 2011, it was decided that 13 Battery would transfer to 9RQR and provide indirect fire support as 13 Mortar Battery, to the 9th Battalion. In 2013 the battery, after being re-equipped with 81mm mortars, amalgamated with 41 Battery and was renamed the 5/11th Light Battery. The amalgamated battery now comes under the command of 9 Regiment Royal Australian Artillery and 13 Battery and 41 batteries have now been removed from the order of battle.

References

13 Battery's Website
1 Military units and formations established in 1915 1915 establishments in Australia