The RA Cap Badge of World War 2

The main part of this site is a comprehensive account of the Royal Artillery's Methods in World War 2.  It assumes you have a basic understanding of field artillery.  However, if this assumption is wrong then you should start by looking at the short description of the Field Artillery System, and even if you think you understand you may get some new insights from here.

The account 'Royal Artillery Methods in World War 2' concerns field artillery and has 5 main Parts:

Background

Organisation and Grouping

Operational Methods

Engagement of Targets

Fire Planning

It then discusses some Issues and provides a Review of the essential characteristics of the British artillery system, its problems and some aspects of its evolution after World War 2.  It's quite a long account so you may want to take a copy to study at your leisure.  However, it's an evolving piece of work that gets updated from time to time, so do the other items in this site, so you'll need to revisit. Don't forget to bookmark.

There is expanded information in three forms:

First, a Glossary hyperlinked from the main texts.  This provides short explanations of many of the terms used in the texts.  Definitions include the modern equivalents.

Next there are longer descriptions and pictures that provide greater detail or illustration. Various texts get added to these. There are:

The Basics of Gunnery - the basics of indirect fire - how the guns attack targets they cannot see.

Organisations - how the men and equipment were organised in regiments and batteries, it includes detailed organisation tables for various types of regiment and has an outline of divisional organisation and its units.

Artillery Communnications - indirect fire artillery is totally dependent on effective and efficient communications and field artillery used all the normal facilities plus its own special methods.

Target Acquisition and Counter Bombardment - this is where artillery starts to get intelligence systems - sound ranging, flash spotting and radars - and the counter bombardment and counter mortar organisations.

Weight of Fire - what happens at the target and how many shells to fire to get the results needed on the ground.  There's some real meat here for wargamers to chew on and it will help historians ask intelligent questions.  When did you last read a book that analysed the effectiveness of a fire plan?

Mistakes and Errors - do you know the difference?  Statisticians love this stuff but don't be put off, particularly if you're a wargamer.

There is also a list of the field artillery regiments of Australia, Britain Canada, Colonial territories, India and New Zealand, outlining where they served and the formations they were with..

Finally there is a list and review of Useful Sources of Further Information and Links to the main holders of information relevant to this site.  The sources outline the various types of official publications about artillery for the period as well as some other 'good reads'.

This site continues to involve and is reaching the stage where information is harder to come by.  Can you help? 

 Site history.
 This site was first launched in February 2001, with additions in April 2001 and major additions in August 2001. Further revisions in October 2001, February, April, July and August 2002. 

Copyright © 2001, 2002 Nigel F Evans. All Rights Reserved.

Material from this site may be copied for free distribution providing acknowledgement of this source is given. The author welcomes comments. nfe@optusnet.com.au.  Nigel F Evans asserts his moral rights to the authorship of this site.