21 Signal Regiment is a signal regiment of the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

within the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. The regiment was, until the initial

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

reforms, the only signal regiment to support the Royal Air Force. It has recently reformed as the Army's second Electronic Warfare Regiment, since 01st September 2023.

History

The regiment can trace its roots to the 12th (Air Formations) Signals formed in 1943. Each

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

was assigned an Air Formation Regiment to the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

. The regiment was divided into two companies in 1944 upon moving into France, namely: * 2nd Tactical Air Force Main Company * 2nd Tactical Air Force Reserve Company At the end of 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 ...

, the regiment's two companies were stationed at

Bad Eilsen Bad Eilsen (West Low German: ''Ahlsen'') is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Stadthagen, and southeast of Minden. Bad Eilsen is also the seat of the ''Samtgemein ...

and Bueckeburg in Western Germany. From 1952 to 1954 the squadron supported the West Germany-based

No. 83 Group RAF No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group is a group within the Royal Air Force, currently based at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Originally formed in 1943, during the Second World War it formed part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF) and was known as No ...

. In 1959, the 11th Air Formation Support and 12th Air Formation Support Signals Regiment were hurriedly deployed to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

but were disbanded in 1971 upon returning to Germany. As a result of their disbandments, 21st Signal regiment was the only remaining air formation signals regiment. From 1971 until 1992 the regiment was part of the 4th Signal Group supporting the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

. After the

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

plan, the regiment was re-designated as 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) and moved to

Colerne Colerne is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of the town of Corsham and northeast of the city of Bath. It has an elevated and exposed position, above sea level, and overlooks the Box valley to ...

where it remains presently. During the

2003 Invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, the regiment provided communication support for the

Joint Helicopter Command Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes. History Background Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppo ...

(which consisted of 27 Puma and Chinook helicopters, as well as around 1,100 personnel). After the initial

reforms, the regiment was assigned as part of 7th Signal Group within 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands. The 21st Signals regiment is classified as a "Multi-Role" signal regiment. As part of the initial

reforms, the regiment also was no longer designated as an air support signal regiment and 244 (now carrying the Air Support designation) and 214 signals squadrons were transferred to 30th Signal Regiment and 2nd Signal Regiment respectively. Following further changes under Army 2020 Refine, from 2018 to 2022 the regiment has supported 1(Armoured Infantry) Brigade in developing the STRIKE concept. As announced in late 2021 under the Army's Future Soldier programme, the regiment will re-role to become the Army's second dedicated Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence (EWSI) unit.Royal Signals Interactive Map

Current organisation

The current organisation of the regiment is (with roles): * Regimental Headquarters, at Azimghur Barracks, Colerne * 215 Signal Squadron (supports brigade HQ) * 220 Signal Squadron (supports brigade elements) * Support Squadron

References

{{Reflist

External links

21 Signal Regiment
Regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals Military units and formations established in 1943