20 SATA Regiment (India)
| 20 SATA Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942 – present |
| Country | India |
| Allegiance |  British India India |
| Branch |  British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Type | .svg){kind=small} Artillery |
| Size | Regiment |
| Nickname(s) | Alma mater of Locators The Originals |
| Motto(s) | Sarvatra, Izzat-O-Iqbal (Everywhere with Honour and Glory). |
| Colors | "Red & Navy Blue" |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Col E. R. Culverwell, Maj Gen H. D. W. Sitwell, Maj Gen K. F. Mackay Lewis, Gen O. P. Malhotra, Lt Gen MM Lakhera |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | 20 SATA Regt |
20 SATA Regiment, nicknamed the Alma Mater of Locators and The Originals, is a Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) artillery regiment, which is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.
Formation[edit]
The Regiment was raised on August 4, 1924 at the School of Artillery in Kakul (now in Pakistan) as 1 Survey Section Royal Indian Artillery under Captain E. R. Culverwell. Upon establishment, it consisted of only nine personnel, which included two British officers, as well as several V.C.Os, Indian Officers and Other Ranks. These nine persons, later to be known as the ‘Nine Originals’, had passed a Royal Engineers survey course at Roorkee. They were selected from Mountain Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry Units to form the nucleus of Survey Section Royal Indian Artillery.[1]
History[edit]
[2] Raising
(a) 20 SATA Regt was raised as First Svy Sec, Royal Indian Artillery, on 01 Aug 1924 at School of Arty, Kakul (now in Pakistan).
(b) In 1941, this Svy Sec was re-organised and was named asA Svy Tp
(c) In the same year, the Svy Tp was re-org as "First Svy Bty" On 22 Jun 1942, the Svy Bty was expanded to raise 1st Survey Regt. In August, 1942, the 1st Battery and a new Regimental Headquarters (R.H.Q.) were combined to form the 1st Indian Survey Regiment. The first Commanding Officer was Abbreviation 20 SATA Regt Lieutenant-Colonel J. F. S. Rendall, with Major J. H. C. Hunter as Second-in -Command and Captain Matthews as Adjutant. Major S. A. Brighty commanded No. 1 Battery. In June, 1943, No. 2 Battery was formed under Major F. A. von Goldstein. A radar troop was raised in 1943 as part of the Regiment.
(d) On 25 Jun 1947, the unit was re-designated as 20 Svy Regt.
(e) In Oct 1947, as a result of partition, the Regt was split and one Svy Bty from the unit was allotted to Pakistan Army.
(f) In Jul 1952, the Regt was re-org as 20 Locating Regt.
In June 1987, the Regiment was redesignated as the 20 Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) Regiment with the role of carrying out all weather surveillance of targets including enemy guns and mortars.[3] [4] [5] [6]
Ops Participated[edit]
Over the years the Regt has participated in a number of operations, some of them are as follows
(a) World War - II (Burma Theatre) 1944
(b) Hyderabad Police Action (Op POLO) 1948
(c) Indo-China War (1962-1962)
(d) Op Ablaze (1965)
(e) Op Riddle (Sep 1965 to Feb 1966)
(f) Op Cactus Lily (1971)
(g) Op Blue Star (04 Jun 1984 to 17 Sep 1984)
(h) Op Trident (23 Jan 1987 to 14 Feb 1987)
(j) Op Rakshak (15 Nov 1989 to 15 Jul 1991)
(k) Op Rakshak (Punjab) (15 Jun 1992 to 13 Aug 1992)
(I) Op Vijay (24 May 1999 to 31 Jan 2000)
(m) Op Parakram (19 Dec 2001 to 31 Jul 2003)
(n) Op Rakshak ll (01 Aug 2004 to 07 Jun 2008)
(o) Op Snow Leopard (May 2020 to Sep 2020)
Awards and Citation[edit]
Detls of Honours & Awards.
(1) Capt ER Culverwell (Military Cross) 1944
(2) Capt Asserlie (Military Medal) 1944
(3) Hav Girdhara Singh (Military Medal) 1944
(4) Hav Abdullah Khan (Military Medal) 1944
(5) Hav Anwar Hussion (Military Medal) 1944
Mention-in-Despatches (1971)
(6) Capt KS Battra
(7) Hav Bhim Singh
(8) Hav Shadi Lal
(9) LNk Mihan Singh
(10) Hav T Brahama
GOC-in-C Commendation Cards
(11) Sub (TIFC) K M Khan (WC 1995)
(12) Sub (AIG) Baldev Singh (WC 1995)
(13) Sub Bane Singh (WC 1995)
(14) Sub (AIG) Prayag Singh (NC 1997)
(15) Sub (TIFC) Surjit Singh (NC 2000)
(16) Sub (TIFC) Jagjiwan Age (NC 2000)
(17) LNk Jia Lal (NC 2001)
(18) Capt Y P Singh (NC 2001)
(19) Sub(AIG) William Masih (NC 2001)
(20) Hav B B Phukan (NC 2001)
(21) LHav Anbazhagan P (NC 2006)
(22) Capt SK Ojha (WC 2010)
(23) LNK Santosh Kumar B (WC 2010)
(24) Hav PK Rao (WC 2010)
(25) Col (Now Brig) NR Pandey (WC 2012)
(26) Nb Sub SK Sahoo (WC 2012)
(27) Col NR Pandey (EC 2015)
(28) Lt Col Subodh Chaudhary (EC 2015)
(29) Hav Ratheesh M VCOAS (CC 2019)
(30) Maj KS Kiran, SM (NC 2020)
(31) Maj Jadhav Ajinkya (SWC 2020)
(32) Sub (OpR) Suresh S (NC 2020)
(33) Nb Sub (RST) Ramesh Kumar (NC 2020)
(34) Maj Alex Sebastian (NC 2021)
(35) Maj Shagun Sharma (SWC 2022)
(36) Sub (OFC) SS Parmar (SWC 2022)
(37) Nb Sub (OpR) Sumanta Aich (SWC 2022)
(38) Nb Sub (AIG)Khajavali Shaik (SWC 2023)
(39) Sub (AIG) Eswara Rao Vempada (SWC 2023)
(40) Hav(RST) Durga Rama Rao (SWC 2023)
(41) Hav (RST) K Lakshmana Rao (SWC 2023)
(42) Maj KS Kiran, SM (SWC 2023)
(43) Sub Eswara Rao 2020 (SWC 2023)
"The Regiment was awarded the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Unit Citation 2021"
Achievements in Sports[edit]
Personnel from the Regiment have excelled in sporting competitions and represented their formation at different levels. They include -
- Lance Havildar (DMT) Jadumani (Football) Command Level
- Gunner (DMT) Ankit Jadon (10 m Air Rifle) National Level
- Naik (OPR) Himashekhar (Boxing) Command Level
- Nb Sub Santhosh B (Water polo) Command Level
See also[edit]
List of artillery regiments of Indian Army
References[edit]
- ^ Graham, C. A. L. (1957). The History Of The Indian Mountain Artillery. Aldershot Gale & Polden Ltd.
- ^ "20 SATA Regiment - Golden Jubilee 1992". 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "Sainik Samachar, Aug 7-15 2007 - 84th raising day". Retrieved 2020-09-14.
- ^ "SATA Regiment celebrates 58th Raising Day". 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
- ^ "Republic day parade 1993". Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "23 Indian Army Units Set To Receive COAS Citations For 2020". 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
Further reading[edit]
- Larkhill's Wartime Locators: Royal Artillery Survey in the Second World War by Massimo Mangilli-Climpson. Published by Pen & Sword, 2007. ISBN 978-1844155149.